Kay L. (Lakey) Hand

Kay Lakey Hand, 83, of the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community in Harrisonburg, formerly of Luray, passed away on Friday, April 26, 2019, at VMRC, where she had resided since 1999.

She was born on Nov. 17, 1935, in Florida and was a daughter of the late Carl Alva Lakey and Inez Lancaster Lakey.

One of Kay’s fondest childhood memories was spending summers at Skyland in Shenandoah National Park. She loved to ride her horse, Bonnie, to White Oak Canyon Falls and other places in the park. Her father worked for George Freeman Pollock (founder of Skyland) managing the dining room at Skyland.

Most of Kay’s career was in the tourism industry including hotel/motel/restaurant management for the Luray Caverns Motel East and the Mimslyn Inn. She was previously a department manager for Belk (Leggett) in Luray, a professional nanny in the Washington, D.C. area and an administrative assistant for the U.S. Forest Service in Edinburg, Va.

Kay had a passion for the Lord. She enjoyed attending Bible study classes at VMRC and was a member of He is for Us Ministries in Luray.

She was an artist of many different mediums including china painting, oils, acrylics, watercolors, handmade jewelry, hand-painted resin figurines and other crafts. She enjoyed being a Big Sister for a couple of years with the Harrisonburg Big Brothers/Big Sisters program while living at VMRC. She was also the author of a self-published children’s book, “Bonnie and Katie ― A Mostly True Story of a Girl and Her Horse.”

On May 9, 1992, she married Richard Seymour Hand, who died on Jan. 1, 1994.

She is survived by two daughters, Kathryn Alger and husband Randal of McGaheysville, and Carlee Iverson and husband Jeff of Mount Jackson; five grandchildren, Karl Taubenberger, Destiny Iverson, Harmonie McDonaldson, Peyton Alger and Kaiden Alger; and one great-granddaughter, Syerra Cesar.

A graveside service was conducted on Sunday, April 28, at the Beahm's Chapel Cemetery in Luray by Pastor Archie Webster.

A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday May 7, at VMRC’s Detwiler Auditorium.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to: Bargain Center Fund (for employees), c/o VMRC Attention: Vickie Lohr, 1501 Virginia Ave., Harrisonburg, Va. 22802.

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