Karen Kay (Christenson) Kimbrell

Karen “Kay” Kimbrell, born on February 13, 1945, in Fenner, NY, passed away on March 28, 2025, at Forsyth Medical Center in Winston-Salem, NC. 

“Grandma Kay” was a whirlwind of humor, love, and authenticity, leaving everyone in her wake with a smile and a story. She was a devoted wife to her husband, James Kenneth Kimbrell (Ken), and a wonderful mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to many.

For over 40 years, Kay was a nurse who cared for others with a mix of compassion and a dash of her signature humor. As the matriarch of her family, she was a culinary wizard. She whipped up meals that were as delicious as they were uniquely her own, with ingredients measured in “a pinch of love” and “a dash of whatever feels right.”

Kay was unapologetically herself, a trait that made for some really great social media posts, and some seriously funny in-person moments! She had a knack for seeing the genuine version of everyone that she came in contact with, and didn’t mind sharing her opinion.

She was preceded in death by her parents Roy Christenson & Eula Loop, her brothers Bill & Dick, and her sisters Beverly & Eutina. She leaves behind her loving husband, Ken Kimbrell; a brother Roy, her children Brian (Michelle), Belinda, Joel (Mindi), & Michael; her grand children Brandon (Leahann), Jessica (Justin), Tiffany, Samantha, Christopher (Victoria), Jamie, Lindsay (Michael), Taylor (Andy) and Dominic (Kimberly); and her great -grandchildren Michael, Alexea, Landon, Savanna, Eli, Ryan, Evelyn, Asher, Leo, Jack, Tate, Reese, and Maya; all of the loving children, grand children, and great-grandchildren she inherited by marrying Ken, and numerous nieces and nephews. 

As we remember Grandma Kay, we celebrate a remarkable woman whose spirit will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her. 

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