Norma Kay Christie

At noon on February 24, 2021, the Lord took our mother home. No more pain. No more confusion. With her daughter at her side, she passed from this life. She walks at Jesus’s side in peace and joy, greeted by all our loved ones that have gone before. 

On November 1, 1943, in Burley, Idaho, Norma “Kay” Faught was born to Lester Truel “Pete” and Ella Thomsen Faught. She had six siblings, Anna Marie, Sharon Jean, Lora Lynn, Dennis Nels, Brenda Lee, and Shelly May. She is survived by Sharon, Lora, and Shelly.

She married Curtis Sheldon Russell in 1958. They were divorced on October 16, 1961. On November 04, 1961, Kay married her surviving lifetime partner, Richard Lester Christie. Richard was a career Navy man until his first retirement in 1978. Throughout the years of their marriage, he was often deployed overseas. Norma spent these times in Utah with her family. They spent his stateside deployments together in California, Alaska, and Oregon. After retirement, they settled in Hermiston, Oregon until 1998. They moved to his hometown of Neillsville, Wisconsin to care for his aging mother.

Kay was an exceptional woman, wife, mother, foster mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother that never failed to meet life’s challenges head-on. She leaves behind a very dysfunctional family that she was proud of. Preceded in death by her son, Richard Jr. she is survived by her daughters, EvaJean and Ella Kay. Also surviving her are her grandchildren Steffan, Tamyra, Kirsten, William, Kelly, Tony, Joseph, and Travis. Her great-grandchildren Alyssa, Alissa,(yes there are two) Alexis, Claire, Natalie, William Jr., Brian, and Gemma will have fleeting memories of the woman who loved them all. William’s eldest, Khloe, finally has a grandma in heaven to shower her in all the love we wish we could have.

Kay was well known for not holding back her opinion and her knack for telling it like it is. She always told you the truth, even if it wasn’t what you wanted to hear. She either liked you or she didn’t. She didn’t sugarcoat things. She went to the school of hard knocks and believed we could all do with a few hard lessons in life. Her words of wisdom, encouragement, and comfort kept us in line, taught us “the school of hard knocks” and gave us something to pass down to our children. 

She was a master cook and a wonderful baker that loved learning to bake all the danish recipes of our family heritage. She was creative, teaching herself to crochet and tat as Grandma Great did. She was a Jill of all trades. You were just as apt to find her remodeling the house (by herself) as you were to find her decorating a wedding cake. She also had an amazing green thumb. Guess that’s why she opened a florist and gift shop where you could find her creativity all around. Kay loved sweets, and making fudge in her candy store was a favorite. She spent years running a family-owned diner. Until retirement, she was a very busy woman with a finger always on the pulse of things.

For the women in our family, she was an awesome role model. She taught us that we could achieve what we set our minds to. We could go after our dreams and didn’t have to rely on anyone else to reach for the stars. We weren’t the extension of our life-partners but powerhouses ourselves that contributed just as fully to our relationships. At the same time, she could be cantankerous when we didn’t do things the way she thought we should.

Kay had a special brand of forgiveness when it came to the shenanigans of the boys in her family. She stuck by her husband’s side for sixty roller coaster years as they braved the challenges of life and marriage. She raised her own wild child then went on to help raise four grandsons, each a challenge in their own right. 

She will be sorely missed.

Online Condolences may be made at www.geschefh.com. 

Gesche Funeral Home and Cremation Service is assisting Kay’s family with Funeral arrangements.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.