Constance 'Connie' Victoria Kay, 59
Constance "Connie" Victoria Kay, 59, died peacefully at her home in Swan Lake, April 1, 2007, with her family by her side after a year and a half battle with lung cancer. She was born on June 29, 1947, to Decla (Smith) Kay and Ron Benn Kay in Denver, Colo.
Connie lived a full and varied life. She grew up with horses and was a champion barrel racer. Connie graduated from Golden high school in 1965.
After high school she lived in Aspen and San Francisco. She lived and traveled in Europe for a year where she married Campbell Dalglish with whom she had her daughter, Sierra Camille Kay, born in Boulder Colorado in 1971.
She moved to the Oregon coast after she was divorced. There she worked as a florist and pursued her career as an artist. She made many beautiful watercolors and did one of her most beautiful custom tile jobs of images of the native flora and fauna for a restaurant.
In the early '80s she moved to Whitefish where she made some of the most lasting and important friendships of her life. She adored hiking the mountains of Glacier.
She moved to Santa Fe, N.M. where she had a successful tile business and gallery with her sister, Ronda Kay. Connie's creative custom tile work and murals have been installed in homes, businesses and gardens all over the world from a public garden in Milan, Italy, to a McDonald's restaurant in Singapore. Her work ranged from beautiful landscapes, to life-sized Day of the Dead skeletons and has been published in most all of the major interior design magazines including Architectural Digest, and House Beautiful. Her daughter, who is also an talented artist, and her sister are continuing the Counterpoint Tile Studio and her inspiration will always be felt.
Connie always dreamed of having property in Montana. She purchased her home in Swan Lake in 1999, but because of her tile business and her mother's failing health she didn't move back to Montana until 2005. We all wish she had more time to live this dream.
Connie was at home in nature. It was not that long ago that she was known to take a 16 mile hike by herself in the mountains of Montana or Colorado.
Connie was an incredible artist and a beautiful and unique person that left an unforgettable impression on everyone she met. She was very spiritual but also had a wicked sense of humor so it was very appropriate that she died on Palm Sunday and April Fool's Day.
Connie is survived by her daughter, Sierra Kay; sister, Ronda Kay; and her grandson, Bixby Boss, whom she loved dearly.
In the last months of her life she enjoyed playing and cooking with him and seeing him perform at plays at the Bigfork Theater.
One of her favorite things to do was to look for the first signs of spring. We invite all who knew Connie to join us at 11:30a.m. on April 14, at her beautiful home and property where we will celebrate her life. At 1 p.m. we will be hiking to Bond Falls so if you wish to join the walk, wear appropriate shoes.
Stop at the Swan Lake Trading Post for directions to Connie's House
In lieu of flowers, Connie would have liked for donations to be sent to Friends of the Wild Swan, who work hard to protect the land that she so loved. Friends of the Wild Swan, P.O. Box 5103, Swan Lake, MT 59911.
Buffalo Hill Funeral Home is caring for the family.