Anna Catherine Cheney

Anna "Kay" Catherine Edwards Cheney

October 17, 1921 - January 27, 2025

There are no words to describe our extraordinary "Kay" with enough color and character to truly capture her spirit and love of life.

World traveler.

Voracious learner.

Fearless adventurer.

Avid birder.

Expert photographer.

Lover of nature and poetry.

Painter, artist and harp player.

Colorful Red Hatter.

Pie aficionado.

Licensed pilot.

Storyteller.

Skier, roller-skater, motorcycle and horse rider.

Scuba diver.

Curious scholar and antique collector.

Wicked Scrabble player.

Lunch partner.

Sharpshooter and chicken protector.

Fierce lover of family.

Teacher of life lessons.

Faithful friend.

Daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Daughter of the one true King.

Kay, as she was known by most, was born to Herbert Royce Edwards and Clara M. Talcott Edwards on October 17, 1921, in Geneseo, IL, where they owned a farm, raised Clydesdale horses and corn. Kay and her two sisters and brother lived through the great depression. Inquisitive with constant questions from a very early age, her frustrated mother once replied, "Anna Catherine, why hens teeth?" After graduating from high school at the age of 16, she studied in St. Louis to become a research lab technician and moved to Chicago with her sister Roberta. When the war broke out in 1941, Kay was studying to be a doctor but ended up working on radiation sickness for the Manhattan Project at the Univ. of Chicago.

After the war ended, she married Harry "Frank" Cheney on February 10, 1945, whom she had known before the war. Frank was an avid hunter and fisherman and together they raised three children; Karen (Kurt) Payne, Royce Cheney, and Carita (Steve Grand); while living in Boulder, CO, Sacramento and Pomona CA; Great Falls, MT; Kimball, NE; Minot, ND; and Salt Lake City, UT. Frank worked on the Minuteman Missile projects and the family moved almost yearly wherever the missiles were installed. As a family, they spent most if not all vacations and weekends camping, fishing, hunting in the mountains and climbing in the Mesas. Frank and Kay took their children with them from California beaches to Yosemite and Glacier Park, to hiking, camping in the desert, and riding horses in Montana and North Dakota. Kay and Frank had parents in Illinois and Colorado whom they drove to visit regularly. When Frank passed away in 1982, Kay moved to Stoneham, CO, where she lived on a cattle ranch, feeding a prize herd of Angus bulls and protecting her chickens with her sharpshooter skills, until moving to Grant, NE, in 1995.

Kay's children were her pride and joy, and always on her mind, no matter how far they roamed. She taught them to be world adventurers too, and they settled around the globe in Vietnam, Alaska and Nebraska.

For Kay's 100th birthday celebration, she helped her family trace all the places she traveled. From East to West through almost every U.S. state, abroad to England, France and Germany. She went to Australia, camped and climbed Ares Rock and rode a camel. With her daughters Karen and Carita, she visited our missionaries in Africa and went on safari to see the animals. She drove to Costa Rica twice with her son Royce, where she went scuba diving at age 80. Royce then took her to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia, traveling many times on motorbike. For her 90th birthday, her children sent her to the Hudson Bay in Canada to see the polar bears with her good friend Lola Lu who was 99. She loved her polar bears!

Kay adored her three granddaughters: Kari Payne, Kaylyn Hudson, and Kolay Carver, (the dynamic daughters of Karen and Kurt Payne) and her sons-in-law (James Doyle, Robert Hudson, and Jordan Carver). No other grandmother could hold a candle to Kay - she was known for her nature treks, trips to the Grand Canyon, Alaska, teaching Kari and Kaylyn to snow ski in Utah, attending Kolay's school and sporting events, finding a 1908 Chickering grand piano to solidify Kaylyn's love of piano, and singing made-up songs to her five great-grands: Mikayla, Anna, Kolo, Zoli and Gia. How lucky are we to have known her joyful spirit for so many years?

Did you ever meet Kay without a smile or a colorful hat? Or hear a story of her travels and marvel at her curiosity, knowledge and resilience? Kay worshiped Jesus and loved the Holy Bible, reciting her favorite verse of John 3:16 for all to hear. She earned her private pilot license, twice. With a tissue up her sleeve, she was never without something to read, be it National Geographic, Popular Mechanics, or the Audubon News. She was a keen observer and never stopped wondering at all God's creations. She also loved reciting poetry from memory. Please "take a lesson from the Spider and the Fly." Or learn the tune "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue...he sailed by night, he sailed by day, he used the stars to find his way."

Columbus had nothing on Anna "Kay" Catherine Edwards Cheney - a true adventurer, lover of God and family, and extraordinary historical family legend. Sail on, sail on, sail on.