On November 25, 2025, Kathy (Townsend) Eddy, 74, passed away peacefully with her beloved children at her side. Kathy was born on February 16, 1951, to Darlene (Warner) and Thomas Townsend (deceased) in Lebanon, Nebraska. She grew up there, attending classes in a one-room school house until high school. Armed with her smarts, a goal, and grit in spades, she made her way to Fort Hays State University in Kansas and became the first in her family to go to college.
After college, she moved to Salina, Kansas, where she worked as a Certified Public Accountant at Woods and Durham until her retirement many years later. In the fall of 1976, after a brief courtship, she married Dale M. Eddy. Friends said it would never last but Dale and Kathy had the last laugh. I like to think they celebrated their 49th anniversary in heaven, as Dale passed earlier this year.
Raising her two children, daughter Darcie and son Darren, was her pride and joy and she loved watching them grow into successful adults. Kathy attended dance recitals, skating rink and paintball parties, and football games with a dedication only mothers can know. Gardening was her passion, everything grew a little bigger, a little prettier, under her loving and watchful eye. There was usually a dog or two around to help out and a cat to keep her company while she relaxed on the back porch after a long day of tending her yard. A keeper of lists until the end, there was always one more item to check-off before the winter freeze. Kathy was the heart of the home, at the “Eddy Inn” she made all feel welcome and loved. The matriarch of our traditions, she made sure every holiday was properly celebrated (and decorated for). At Thanksgiving, everyone had their favorite dish on the table (with leftovers for days), at Christmas, there was a little something for everyone. Homemade ice cream awaited our birthdays, a special treat hand cranked (until we finally got an electric machine) with love.
All who stood in Kathy’s circle were deeply loved. From long lunches catching up with friends, to the card nights hosted at the house, her circle of women friends was deeply important to her. Equally important were the life-long friends she made as part of a couple - going out dancing in the heady days of their 20’s, going to the lake with the kids in their 30s and 40s, and reminiscing in the golden years, we were raised with friends as family.
Like a sunflower after a summer storm, Kathy stood strong, resolute, and always looking on the bright side. There were many things people told her she couldn’t do - go to college, have a better job, walk after major spinal surgery, but she did it anyway in her quiet way. She didn’t like to make a fuss, she just did it. When the news of breast cancer came back as stage 4 in early 2024, she quietly got to work. Like the Tammy Wynette song of her old country favorites, she was going to leave here Standing Tall.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the nurses and palliative/hospice care team at KU Medical Center who helped care for Kathy in her final week. We cannot thank you enough for the kindness and compassion you showed our mother in her final moments. In addition to her children, Kathy is survived by her granddaughters, Taylor (Dylan Lee) and Patience Eddy; her sister, Mary Peter; sister-in-laws Barbra (Mike Hopper) Eddy-Disney and Alice (Bill) Eddy-Sears; and many much loved nieces and nephews and cousins. Husband Dale Eddy and brother Steven Townsend preceded Kathy in death. Kathy did not want a service or memorial, she asked instead that you meet up with your friends for a long lunch full of laughter and memories, enjoy the sunset with your favorite person, and relax with a good book and your favorite snack.