Kathryn Buechele McCoy was born December 7th, 1941, infamously departing from our world after a courageous battle with cancer on August 6th, 2023.  Up until her final breath she was a crazy, funny, cantankerous, tender, belligerent, sweet yet stubborn redhead who lived a full life.

Visitation will be from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Friday, August 11th, 2023, at Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Road. The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, August 12th at the funeral home with Fr. Dennis Quint officiating. In lieu of flowers Kay would wish a memorial in her name be given to Hospice of Dubuque.

Kay was an artistic woman with a flair for fashion which fit so naturally into her career as a hair stylist spending 60 years trimming, cutting, coloring, plucking and styling generations of clients. She did not just stand behind the chair; she was an owner, a mentor, a counselor, a confidant, a friend and loved not just the industry but the countless stylists she worked with along the way.

She was blessed with a loving family; daughters Mary Clarke through an earlier relationship and Michelle (Hirsch) Elkhabbaz through her first marriage. In both daughters she saw parts of herself but loved the whole person with all of her being.   She worked hard to fill her life with art, music, movies & dancing and more hours of watching professional tennis than one would consider healthy.  She loved her time with friends and family and would spend hours talking and laughing but also the quiet moments of life coloring with her granddaughter Callie (Elkhabbaz) and watching old movies.

It was late, but fortunately not too late, in life she met her last love Robert McCoy.  Together the two of them built a beautiful home and life together enjoy sunsets near their garden and wintered as oft as they could in Naples. The tranquil peace of their marriage was woven with intense matches on the pickle ball court where they would compete mercilessly, forgoing all sense of decorum and civility.

Words cannot capture the moments of her life of great joy and happiness. How does one sum up a lifetime of immeasurable beauty and strength.  For all those stories missed, and those people not named, know that she held close the memories and experiences that defined her and yes, she lived a full life.  She will be sorely missed by the many with the good fortune to have met her.

Kay will join in Heaven those who have passed before her:  her father & mother Arnold & Virginia Buechele and her younger sister Mary (Dave) Schaller.

She is survived by her husband: Robert McCoy, her children Mary (Jeff) Clarke and family, Michelle Elkhabbaz and family, sister Joan Emberton and family, Kay was Step Queen to James (Amy) McCoy and family, Jonathan (Jennifer) McCoy and family and more amazing cousins, nieces and nephews than one could, or should, shake a stick at.

The family wishes to thank the compassionate nurses & staff of Hospice of Dubuque for all the loving care they gave to Kay.