Graveside funeral services for Kay Wertz, 77, former Buffalo resident who passed away quietly Friday, in Cheyenne, will be held Friday, May 1st at 10:00 a.m. for immediate family, in Willow Grove Cemetery in Buffalo with Pastor Tom Saur officiating. Donations in Kay’s memory may be made to the Jim Gatchell Museum, the St. Francis Animal Shelter or the Buffalo City Pool in care of the Harness Funeral Home at 351 N. Adams in Buffalo. Online condolences may be made at www.harnessfuneralhome.com
Kay L. Wertz was born on July 10, 1942 in Casper, Wyoming to Corwin and Dorothy Havill. She grew up and went to school in Casper and graduated from Natrona County High School in 1960. After high school she married Frederick Wertz in August of1961 and became a homemaker and worked as a secretary for State Farm Insurance in Casper. She was very involved in 4-H and had her own 4-H club called the Sewing Sallies. In 1976, the family moved to Buffalo, Wyoming, so Fred could be closer to his job at the power plant in Gillette. She worked at Buffalo High School in the Guidance Office for a few years and then went to work for the City of Buffalo. She eventually became City Clerk and continued in that position until she retired in 2005. Kay moved to Cheyenne in 2012 where she lived until her death.
While in Buffalo, Kay continued working with 4-H groups while helping her daughters with all of their projects. She was an excellent seamstress, having made many types of dolls, stuffed animals and quilts for her girls and eventually her five grandsons. Sewing and working on her house (stripping wood, wallpapering and building a patio) and spoiling her grandsons were her favorite hobbies.
She is survived by her three daughters, Cindy Wertz, Cheyenne; Marcie Leis, husband Eric and sons Josh and Brandon, Buffalo, Anna Bechtel and her husband Mike, and sons Jack, Will and Tom, Cheyenne; one brother Dean Havill and his wife Carol of Sarcoxie, Missouri; and one sister Sue Nelson and her husband Bob of Wauna, Washington. She was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, John Havill.
