Alva Review-Courier -

Patsy Kaye was born on January 28, 1945, in Hardtner, Kansas, to her parents James Edwin and Verda (Liggenstoffer) Miller. She departed this life on Thursday, January 4, 2024, at the Kiowa District Manor in Kiowa, Kansas, at the age of 78.

Patsy is the middle child between her older sister, Sharen Ann, and her younger sister, Peggy Sue. Patsy lived in Burlington, Oklahoma, for the first year of her life, then moved to Kiowa after her father got a new job.

In 1963, Patsy graduated from Kiowa High School where she took pride in being a Rainbow Girls member. After high school, Patsy attended Neldean's Academy of Beauty cosmetology school in Pratt, Kansas. When she finished cosmetology school, she managed the Magic Mirrors Beauty Shop in Kiowa. Her parents later purchased the beauty shop and called it Miller Magic Mirrors.

In 1966, Patsy married her now former husband, James Demont Wilson. They moved to Jetmore, Kansas, where she helped manage a clothing store and was also a bookkeeper for a mortician. After a few years in Jetmore, they moved to Independence, Kansas, where their first daughter, Raquel Leigh, was born. A brief time later, they moved back to Kiowa where their second daughter, Jennifer (Jenny) Kaye was born, and Patsy spent most of her time being a mom.

Patsy began working for John Deere in 1984 as the shop bookkeeper and dispatching trucks. After the business ceased operations in 2003, Patsy spent her time spoiling her two granddaughters, Alyssa Renee and Kaleigh Lynn, before she started working at the Kiowa District Manor in 2004 where she managed medical records and transports. In 2014, she decided to retire and spend more time with her second set of grandkids, this time two boys, Kadan Chipper and Kyler J. Maddux.

In her spare time, Patsy enjoyed working in her flower gardens, attending her grandkids' school and sporting events, and watching KU basketball. She was one of KU basketball's biggest fans and enjoyed collecting decorations, memorabilia, books, and anything else that might involve KU basketball.

Patsy had a great love for family and heritage, and she enjoyed receiving photos of family and events that reminded her of the people she loved. She was a member of the Kiowa United Methodist Church and oversaw the prayer chain and memorials committee and served as secretary of the United Methodist Women's organization.

Patsy is preceded in death by her parents, James and Verda Miller. She is survived by her daughter Raquel Velasquez and son-in-law Johnny of Kiowa, Kansas; daughter Jenny White of Wilson, Oklahoma; grandchildren, Alyssa and Kaleigh Velasquez, and Kadan and Kyler White; sisters Sharen Jahnke of Tampa, Florida, and Peggy Mason of Kiowa, Kansas, and numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and church family members.

A celebration of life ceremony will be held graveside at Kiowa Riverview Cemetery March 15, 2024, at 2 p.m. In lieu of traditional funeral clothing, the family requests attendees to wear red and blue, or KU attire to honor Patsy's love for KU basketball. Arrangements are by Lanman Funeral Home Inc. of Kiowa (www.lanmanfuneralhome.com, Facebook: Lanman Funeral Home Inc.).

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Patsy's name to the Kiowa District Manor: Spa Room Renovation, or to the South Barber Memorial Scholarship Fund in care of the funeral home.