Ina Kathryn McKewen passed away peacefully last Saturday morning after a lengthy struggle with Parkinson’s Disease.

Born in Houston, Texas, to parents William and Loudelle Querry, she was never one to let the grass grow under her feet. It would take volumes to describe all the amazing and wonderful things she accomplished during her life, but to mention just a few: Bongo-playing beatnik; Pasadena Rose Bowl Princess; stage and recording opera singer; hospital nurse; cocktail waitress on the Las Vegas Strip; skydiver; winner of “Queen for a Day;” airplane pilot; racing crew- pit mechanic; Cub Scout den mother; fighter jet avionics inspector; asbestos and uranium prospector; elementary school teacher; real-estate agent; Christian missionary in the Middle East, North Africa, and Ukraine. She even drove a tank once.

But beyond living a life of adventure, she was a blessing to everyone whose life she touched – to the refugee children in Crimea whom she rescued and for whom she secured life-saving medical care; to the “Ridge Kids”on Meredith Ridge Road in Anneta, Kentucky, with whom she shared her love of God; to the countless others whom she took under her wing and nurtured to physical, mental, and spiritual health; to her late husband Howard “Mac” McKewen; to her siblings, Bettye and Sarah; to her children Karen, Kirk, Keith, Kris, and Richard; to her stepchildren Glenn, Janet, Karen, and Kathy; to her friend and caregiver, Joyce; to her many grandchildren; and to her many more great-grandchildren. Her memory, love, and spirit live on through them all.

A memorial service will take place at 2:00 pm., Saturday, February 9, at Turner Christian Church, in Turner, Oregon. A second memorial service for her Kentucky “family” will take place at 10:00 am, Saturday, March 2, at Leitchfield Christian Church, Leitchfield, Kentucky. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kathryn’s memory to Willamette Valley Hospice (http://www.wvh.org). The family is eternally grateful for the loving care WVH provided in Kathryn’s final days.