Kay (Miller) Sallade passed away peacefully on October 5th, 2020 in Kirksville, Missouri at the age of 81 with her daughter by her side and the love of her family surrounding her. Kay was born August 31st, 1939 in Kirksville, MO, the youngest of Maurine Elizabeth (Evans) Miller and Warren T. Miller’s four children.
Kay was a quintessential Kirksville girl. Her mother, Maurine, was an accomplished school teacher, music instructor, and homemaker. Her father, Warren, was a talented contractor who built many of the beautiful homes you see in Kirksville today. In the 1940s and 50s Kay spent her youth frequenting local hotspots like Pete’s Candyland and The Kennedy Theatre. As a teenager on Friday nights she would pack up her father’s work truck with girlfriends (including her best friend, Nancy (Casner) O’Neill) to hit the Kirksville square and stir up mischief.
She was blessed to grow up in a town where her maternal grandparents, Clifton Clare and Minnie Belle (Purdin) Evans resided. She would speak often of the many day trips she took with her grandparents to nearby towns which were marked by the scent of her grandmother’s White Shoulders perfume and her grandfather’s cigars. Kay would forever cherish her memories of Clifton and Minnie Belle and of her two dearest aunts, Maybelle (Evans) Sees and Pauline (Evans) Pullen.
On August 1st, 1958 at age 18 she married her first and only love, Gary Bud Sallade at The First Christian Church in Kirksville. This would come as no surprise to anyone who knew her or who had peered into her childhood diary where, from the time she was 12 years old, she wrote “I love Gary Sallade” on almost every page. Gary Sallade was the son of Fern Ruth (Johnson) and Charles William Sallade. Upon their death, Gary’s paternal aunt Lena and her husband Bud McHenry of Kirksville would raise him. After marrying, Kay and Gary built a life together in St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked as a Principal and Administrator at Hazelwood School District while Kay raised their children.
Together, Gary and Kay had five children. Three, by blood: Warren Bud Sallade, Tara Elizabeth (Sallade) Pfuhl, and Charles Lewis Sallade, and two by bond: Joe Allen and Valerie (Allen) McIntosh. Family was the center of her world. Kay’s love, loyalty, and devotion to her children and grandchildren became her legacy. As her children grew up and attendance at family gatherings increased, Kay made every holiday full of joy and vibrance, and notoriously took the term “Deck the Halls” to exciting new heights. She astonished her loved ones with table length spreads of family dishes and desserts that are made and enjoyed to this day. Her sugar cookies are perhaps the most iconic; existing in a tenuous space between a cake and a cookie, and haphazardly decorated, always, by her grandchildren.
Upon the loss of Gary in 1991, Kay shared a home with her daughter, Tara, and her granddaughter, Maurine, in La Plata, MO for several decades. During this time her life was rich with love, music, laughter, and many road trips full of stops for pie and coffee at nearly every opportunity.
Kay relished a hot cup of black coffee or a cold Coca-Cola. She treasured the quotidian, everyday pleasures of a slice of homemade cream pie, an afternoon cigarette in the stuffy Missouri sunshine, an impromptu stop at a roadside antique mall. In the last few years of her life, she resided at The La Plata Nursing Home where she was known affectionately as “Miss Kay” and cared for lovingly by the nursing staff. She was known there as a fashionista by way of her eclectic (and very colourful) wardrobe and her outrageous jewelry. It was not uncommon to find Kay with a ring on every finger and multiple dazzling bracelets and necklaces. Several nurses and staff thought of Kay as family and opened their homes and hearts to her. Her children and grandchildren remain eternally grateful for the care and love she was shown there.
Kay will be remembered by her family and loved ones by way of her fiery personality, humour, and warmth. To be sure, Kay was not one to suffer fools gladly. She had a wit and quickness that stayed with her until the end and a feistiness that can never be extinguished.
She is survived by her beloved children Warren Sallade (and wife Julie (Long) Sallade), Charles Sallade, Tara (Sallade) Pfuhl, Joe Allen (and wIfe Beth (Baker) Allen), and Valerie Allen (and husband Dave McIntosh). Her grandchildren: Maurine Elizabeth Pfuhl, Emily Rose Sallade, Benjamin Gary Sallade, Kaelie (Wolf) Harris, Morghan Wolf, Sam Allen, Max Allen, Grace Allen, Kelcie Oldani and Bryan Oldani. Her sister-in-laws: Sharon (McPherson) Miller.Faye (Ellsworth) Sallade, and Shirley (Mabis) Sallade Her brother in law: James Sallade. And countless beloved nieces, nephews, and cousins across the country.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Gary Bud Sallade; mother, Maurine (Miller) Evans; her father, Warren T. Miller; her three brothers: Warren Clare Miller, Robert Edwin Miller, and Don Miller.
Graveside services for close family and friends will be Saturday, October 10th at 1 pm at Maple Hills Cemetery in Kirksville, MO. We ask that those in attendance adhere to CDC guidelines for social distancing. Due to Covid-19 the family will not be holding any gatherings after the service.
In lieu of flowers the family encourages monetary gifts be made in Kay’s name at The La Plata Nursing Home 100 Old Stagecoach Road La Plata, MO 63549.
Arrangements in the care of Davis-Playle-Hudson-Rimer Funeral Home in Kirksville, MO.