Mary Catherine 'Kay' Roath, 83

Mary Catherine (“Kay”) Phillips Roath was born in Billings on July 26, 1934, the oldest child of Craig and Julia Stiver Phillips. She was raised in Forsyth and graduated from Forsyth High School, where she was active in school and church activities. She attended Montana State College, later graduating from North Dakota State University.

Kay married William Roath in Forsyth on July 2, 1955. They lived in Bozeman until he completed his studies at Montana State; then lived in various places in the United States during his Air Force career. They were parents of seven children, two of whom were adopted. They were also foster parents of more than 40 youngsters, and enjoyed having several foreign exchange students in their home.

When most of her children were teenagers, Kay began fulfillment of a long-held dream and started her journey to ministry in the United Methodist Church. Several years of summer school and winters of home study resulted in ordination in 1979. She happily served as campus pastor, as well as church pastor at parishes in North Dakota and Iowa, before retiring in 2001.

She and Bill then returned to their beloved Montana and have lived in their home near Bigfork since then. She had enjoyed preaching occasionally and had been active in the Bigfork United Methodist Church, Bigfork Rotary and Red Hat Society. She enjoyed knitting, bowling and crosswords.

She was preceded in death by her parents; a sister, Julia; and an infant son, Randy. Survivors include her husband Bill; sons Bill (Seeta) of Judith Gap, Craig (Wanda) of Fargo, Paul of Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania and David (Stefanie) of Rodenbach, Germany; and daughters Patricia of Bigfork, Michelle Voeller (Randall) of Buffalo, Minnesota and Beverly (Randy Zandt) of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Also surviving her are 15 grandchildren, two great-granddaughters and one great-grandson. Her brother, Jim, resides in Bellevue, Washington and her sister, Joyce Rash, in Des Moines, Iowa.

A celebration of life will be held at the Bigfork United Methodist Church on May 12, 2018 at 11 a.m. with a luncheon to follow services. Cremation has taken place, with the ashes being interred on the family property. Please visit www.jgfuneralhome.com to leave condolences for the family. Johnson-Gloschat Funeral Home and Crematory is caring for the family.