Kaye Edwards of Paola, Kansas passed away at Colonial Oaks Community on January 13th with her family by her side.

Kaye Louise Burlingame was born on May 4, 1943, in Spokane, Washington to Clyde Pratt and Dorothea Louisa (Hansen) Burlingame. Her father was in WW II, and she did not meet him until she was 2 years old. Being an Air Force family, they moved frequently. Some of the places they lived included Panama Canal Zone; Kodiak, Alaska; Washington, Texas, California and Missouri. She was in junior high when she lived in Panama and loved to share stories of her time living there. While living in Panama, her only sibling Dan Allan was born. They subsequently moved to Grandview, Missouri where she graduated high school May 25, 1961. She was a drum majorette and enjoyed ballet dancing as did her mother.

Shortly after high school she met the love of her life, Forest Edwards through family and mutual friends. Forest had recently returned from the Army and they hit it off and shortly after, eloped in Miami, Oklahoma and were married at Lavern's Wedding Chapel. They lived in Ruskin Heights for a short time and then bought a farm in Paola where they resided the rest of their life. Through their marriage came 3 children: Louise, Gail, and Douglas. Kaye was very family oriented; there was nothing more important to her than her family. She was a stay-at-home mom until her youngest was in 6th grade. Most of her jobs had her working primarily with children. She worked at Lakemary Center as a para and at The Katherine Carpenter School in Shawnee Mission school district. She was also a lunch lady  for the Paola School District. Her last job was doing some housekeeping at Country Club Estates where her daughter Gail worked.

She enjoyed going to Kohls, going on trips, being a 4-H mom,; but mostly she enjoyed cooking for and being with her family. Kaye was crazy about animals. Some of the special animals in her life  were from her childhood; a dog Rusty, Sol her Bush Pony in Panama, Suzy Wong her Siamese cat and Frosty her American Eskimo. She liked bottle feeding baby calves and attending to their small herd of Limousin cattle. Kaye could buck hay bales with the best of them!

Dementia reared its ugly head rapidly after her husband Forest passed away in November of 2020.  Although, it was not able to rob her of her smile, her spunk, her sense of humor or her beauty.

She was preceded in death by her parents, brother and husband of 59 years. She is survived by her children; daughter Louise Edwards & her husband Jack Johnson, of Paola, Kansas; Gail Gilliland of Paola, Kansas; & her son Douglas Edwards & his wife Valerie Edwards of Kansas City, Missouri. Grandchildren & Great-Grandchildren; Caleb Taylor, his wife Cathy & their three children; Carlee, Carsen, and Caysen of Paola, Kansas; Logan Taylor, his wife Patty & their children Palmer & Drue of Olathe, Kansas; Mackenzie McNutt, her husband Cody & their four daughters Tatum, Presley, Bristol, and Wrigley of Paola, Kansas; Savannah Jones & her husband Conner, of Spring Hill, Kansas; Mitchell Gilliland & his wife Lexi and their children Finn and Eden, of Polusbo, Washington; Mallory Rhynerson, her husband Dalton and their children Avery & Waylon of LaCygne, Kansas; Miles Gilliland and Alyssa Coleman of LaCygne, Kansas; Rylie Edwards and daughter Stella McFarland of Osawatomie, Kansas; Adyson Stover and her husband Drew of Gardner, Kansas; and Mateo Edwards of Kansas City, Missouri.

She was also survived by a few other very important people in her and Forest's life that the family wanted to mention; "adopted child', neighbor, & close family friend; Wayne Whiting, his wife Shelly & daughters Shelby, Shay, & Shylar, of Paola, Kansas; and close family friend "Arkie" Darrell Layton & his wife Jackie of Spring Hill, Kansas.

The family would like to give special thanks to the staff at Colonial Oaks Community & Monarch Hospice who took such great care of Kaye during her time with them.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to a nonprofit close to Kaye's heart and started in honor of her grandson, Mateo Edwards who was born in Guatemala and adopted by her son & daughter-in-law. When donating, please note in memory of Kaye Edwards to be used towards either a home to be built for a family living in Guatemala in her memory or towards the Alzheimer's day program in Guatemala City.' https://www.fortheloveofmateo.com/donate

A Celebration of Life for both Kaye & Forest Edwards will be held on Saturday February 3rd from 3:00PM-5:00PM at Fireflies Farm -26095 Ridgeview Rd, Paola, Kansas 66071. Following the Celebration of Life some of Kaye's favorite dishes prepared by her children and grandchildren will be available along with a variety of drink options.