Obituary

With hearts full of sadness but also love and peace in eternal life, the family of Kathryn Ann (Kathy) Hughey announce her passing on October 31, 2023. Kathy battled breast cancer for many years, and is now in heaven no longer suffering with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and all her loved ones that have passed before her. Kathy was an incredible wife, sister, mother, grandmother, and friend. She had a servant’s heart and was loving, loyal, and encouraging to everyone around her until the last day of her life.

Kathy grew up in the small town of Cameron, Missouri, near the “big” cities of St. Joseph and Kansas City, enjoying both rural and city activities, with many cousins and countless friends. Kathy and her only sibling, Jeanne Marie Rooney, were so lucky to have had parents providing unconditional love, stability, and a lot of fun. Her parents were Joseph Cletus and Marguerite Catherine (Schuele) Rooney, who also grew up in Cameron, he a rural postal carrier and grain farmer, and she an office manager for a car dealership. Kathy always strived to do her best academically and was valedictorian of her graduating high school class.

At the University of Central Missouri (Warrensburg), Kathy earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications and Public Relations and graduated Magna Cum Laude. She created lifelong friendships from the Delta Zeta Sorority. She met her husband, Rick Hughey, and they married in 1976. Since 1982, they have lived at Raintree Lake in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, where they enjoyed a strong sense of community and life near the water. Rick and Kathy just celebrated 47 years of marriage in the past few weeks.

After college, Kathy worked as the Public Relations Director for Children’s Mercy Hospital. She was responsible for creating the original iteration of the Children’s Mercy logo that still lives on today. She also led the team that organized the first Tom Watson Children’s Mercy Hospital Golf Classic in 1980. Kathy was an expert about volunteering, event planning, and public relations, and wove these sets of skills into her professional, volunteer and even personal lives. In addition to Children’s Mercy early in her career, she also worked as a manager with Longview Community College, UMKC’s Toy and Miniature Museum, Hope House, and Truman Medical Center Lakewood.

Kathy was also known for being a tireless volunteer with organizations such as Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce, Truman Heartland Community Foundation, Lee’s Summit Symphony, and Downtown Lee’s Summit Mainstreet Association. The Chamber recognized her as Volunteer of the Year in both 2009 and 2014, and in 2018, gave her the Lifetime Member Award. Lee’s Summit Oktoberfest and Truman Heartland’s Annual Gala were two of her favorite events.

For most of her life, Kathy was a full-time stay-at-home mother of three sons, Christopher, Matthew, and Eric. Kathy loved being a mother and was confident that her calling of raising three children far outweighed any dream job or career accolades she could have ever imagined. She adored her sons, and her sons adored her.

Kathy was a Christ-centered parent, leader, and cheerleader for all of her sons’ sports and extracurricular activities. Kathy always led the charge for the Greenwood and Lee’s Summit Schools, helping with many kinds of events supporting the administrators, teachers, and other parents. Several times she served as PTA President and on PTA Executive Boards.

Kathy remained close to her sons as they completed higher education, faced their own health issues, and found lovely women, Liza, Brittany and Cassie. Eric and Cassie now have two children, Hadley and Wade. Kathy was so excited about being “Mimi” – a grandmother! While she won’t be here to celebrate Hadley and Wade’s life events, we will celebrate Mimi every day and remind the grandchildren of what a strong and loving woman she was.

Kathy’s passion for serving others radiated into personal gatherings with family and friends. Every birthday, holiday or special occasion included intricate decorations, countless gifts, and feasts of homemade food. Kathy’s speciality was perfecting her mother’s delicious pies.

Kathy learned that she had breast cancer in 2017 and metastatic breast cancer in 2021. She found her way through the labyrinth of health care, even taking chemotherapy approved by the FDA as recent as 2022. Making action plans with her medical team, she fought incredibly hard every day to be with us, and didn’t hit roadblocks until early September this year.

There are millions of great stories to share about Kathy. She was charming, fiercely loyal, and at the core, hard-working and honest. Kathy liked the challenge of always moving and counting her daily steps, even during all her health challenges. She loved diving into long conversations with family and friends; shopping and giving gifts; and eating out at her favorite restaurants. We hope you knew her and got to experience what a wonderful person she was. We would enjoy sharing stories with you.

Kathy’s parents preceded her in death. She is survived by her husband Rick, son Christopher and his wife Liza, son Matthew and his fiance Brittany, son Eric and his wife Cassie, grandchildren Hadley and Wade, and sister Jeanne and her husband David Virtue, all in the Kansas City Metro. Kathy has a nationwide extended family, including seventeen Rooney first cousins and eight Schuele first cousins.

Kathy would encourage us to always focus on your Faith, Family, and Friends — to Live Well, Laugh Often and Love Much — and to remember that “God loves impossible Prayers.” We love you, Kathy!

Arrangements:

Visitation & Service/Mass
Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023
Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Lee’s Summit, 1800 Missouri Highway 150
9 to 11am: Visitation
11am: Mass
Noon: Finger Foods and Refreshments

Burial:
Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023
Saint Munchin Cemetery, Cameron, Missouri
3pm

Flowers may be delivered to:
Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Lee’s Summit, 1800 Missouri Highway 150
Please deliver to the offices on the North (right) side of the building
Please note Kathy Hughey somewhere on the delivery
Please deliver between 8am and 5pm on Monday, Nov. 6

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations to an organization of your choice that supports breast cancer awareness.