She really was an incredible person – She took me down Haight Street in San Francisco in the 60’s, like it was no big deal. We rode a cable car with Loren Green of Bonanza, the most popular television show of it’s time. We watched the fires set at Alcatraz in maybe 1972? At the Bing Crosby Open Golf Tournament, she stalked Clint Eastwood, Doug McClure, James Garner and all those celebrities that she and Arlene “accidently” bumped into at Pebble Beach. She once visited the Eilean Donan, (The McRae Castle in the Highlands of Scotland), but the castle was closed. She and Arlene did not back down until they managed to convince the castle to open it’s doors for a private tour that included me and cousin Claudine – as well as at least 75 McRae’s from all over the world. The last year she was able to travel, she went many places. On her trip to Ireland, publicly, she was great, backstage, not so good, but at the end of the day… it was an amazing trip. She even had her hair done at a fancy salon in Dublin, she looked very sheik.
Lots of people are generous – Carolyn Kay was extraordinarily generous.
Carolyn Kay (Stitt) Peterson died on Thursday, May 8th, 2025 at the Tonganoxie Terrace nursing facility. She was 86. Kay suffered for many years with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, however that did not define who she was. Kay was a fun-loving, happy, caring, and generous woman. She was devoted to her family. Her husband of 68 years, John (of the home), sons Brett (Wendy) and Bart (Paula), and grandchildren, Brock, Whitney, Bryce, and Maryssa. Unfortunately, her illness kept her from knowing her amazing great-grandchildren: Maverick, Gentry, Lily, Charlie, Brandon, and Bodhi. Kay was 9 years younger than her only sibling, Arlene Jane (Floyd) Duren. Those two Stitt girls were close allies at times, and then there were times they were not, however her brother-in-law Floyd, and their children Claudine and Dave were definitely on her A List.
Kay grew up in Herington, Kansas, the daughter of A. J. “Pete” and Jane McRae Stitt. Her dad was an engineer on the Rock Island and so train-travel was very important to this small town girl. When she and John were married on Halloween in 1957 in the Marion County Courthouse, John was in the Navy and eventually she was able to join him living in San Francisco, and Seattle. She loved the West Coast and her stories of packing her station wagon full of Navy wives and exploring were some of her favorite memories. Kay continued to travel for many years, including countless trips to California, and three trips to the UK, and Hawaii. She was certainly fond of her grandfather Thomas McRae’s homeland of Scotland.
Lots of people are generous – Carolyn Kay was extraordinarily generous.
Kay lived well, and she was loved by everyone who knew her. She was a life-long Democrat and she also enjoyed trips to Washington, DC. She was bonded to her McRae family without exception, but she was equally popular with the Stitt’s and the Peterson’s. She had many friends. Kay rarely missed a sporting event, she attended track meets, volleyball games, cross-country, softball, equine competitions, baseball, motorcycle hill climbing. Her grandchildren’s friends were also her grandchildren. She made a positive impact everywhere she went. John and Kay were a motorcycle gang, well possibly just a group of fun loving folks that liked to ride. She really loved animals too, except chickens. She was crazy about Rottweilers. She also loved a good margarita, or any margarita. She loved oceans, ponds, pools, sandy beaches, boats and walking on a long pier. She could be easily to dive off the board at the local pool. Once a lifeguard, always a lifeguard.
Kay (Nin to her grandchildren) will always be missed by those who loved her and they will carry their own special memories of her all of their lives.
