Arkansas Online

KATHY KAFKA,

76, of Maumelle, Ark., passed away on August 8, 2022. Born Kathleen Ellen Jameson in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, on March 12, 1946, to Claude John and Marie Emma Jameson, she grew up in Sikeston, Missouri. She went on to get her Bachelor’s and Masters of Education from Southeast Missouri State University, receiving her masters while being a single mom, an accomplishment that her family greatly admires knowing the sacrifices she made in order to obtain her degree. Kathleen taught in the Scott County school district in southeastern Missouri as a speech therapist and teacher until 1979. She then made the bold decision to switch careers and go into software development where she went on to become a programming manager with Alltel Communications in Little Rock, Arkansas. She retired in 2009.

Kathy was one of those people that once you met her, you would never forget her. Being a single mom, she had to wear both hats as a mother and father, something she did with great success. She was loving but stern, quick to shower praise when deserved and even quicker to discipline when needed. She was an incredible mother, although she never thought so. However, the unmatched love her family and friends have for her speaks to how accomplished she was as not only a mom, but as a friend, daughter, sister, aunt, and grandmother. As a devout Catholic and active retiree, Kathy devoted much of her time to her community and church by volunteering at the local Maumelle chapter of AARP, as well as being member of the Maumelle Newcomers’ Club, a member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Altar Society, and an active participant at the Maumelle Senior Center.

Not a person with a taste for the mundane, Kathy had many hobbies and interests that she accrued over the course of her life. She possessed a strong love of music and was a member of many church and choral societies throughout the years. She loved bridge and brought her poker face to many bridge games and bridge tournaments she would help plan. Her love of art extended to far more than just music, however. Kathy was an active patron of theatre and took great joy in assisting with past productions by The Maumelle Players. Kathy also had a love of art and history visiting museums all over the country which would inspire her to create her own art through photography and watercolor, a passion she shared and passed on to her children and grandchildren. But perhaps her greatest work of art was her unique personality, quick witted, tough, and determined, Kathy went from being a speech therapist and teacher into an entirely new career in IT in 1979 rising to a manager position in a then (and still) overwhelmingly male-dominated field serving as an inspiration to women who came after her including her own daughter who would go on to become an accomplished IT delivery manager in her own right.

Through her experiences living through the women’s rights movements of the 60s and 70s, she became a devout believer in the democratic process and the power of people making their voices heard. During her retirement years, she worked as a poll worker in local, state and federal elections and attended many Maumelle City Council meetings to add her voice to addressing issues affecting the community in which she lived. The world has lost a light and a laugh with her passing.

She is survived by her sister, Nora Springs of Sikeston, Mo., her son, David (Sheri) Gray, of Springfield, Mo., her daughter, Kristina (Dwight) Davis of Lake Mary, Fla., and her four grandchildren, William Davis, Marie Davis, Roenick Gray, and Emma Gray. She is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters, Mary Lee Puckett, Anne Edmondson, and Patricia Scott, and her brother, C. J. “Bud” Jameson.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, August 12, 2022, at 11 a.m., at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, 7006 Jasna Gora Drive, North Little Rock, Ark., 72118, with Fr. Ruben Quinteros officiating. A reception will follow at the Parish Life Center followed by a drop-in reception from 4 to 9 p.m., at 138 Ridgeland Drive, Maumelle, Ark. Please share your messages of love, comfort and support with Kathy’s family at: www.griffinleggetthealeyroth.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Kathy’s memory to the Alzheimer’s Association and Maumelle Friends of the Animals.

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