Kathay Ilene Koenig, 58, was born on November 3, 1955, to Walter Campbell and Doris Ilene (Nash) Koenig in Gilmore City, Iowa. She passed away peacefully after a brief illness on January 30, 2014. Kathay s family and friends often called her by her nickname, Kit . Her childhood was fairly mobile due to her father s many teaching and coaching positions. One of five children, she spent her childhood in Iowa, Wyoming, Oregon, Minnesota and North Dakota. She graduated from Grand Forks Central High in 1974. She worked for a veterinary clinic and the University of North Dakota research laboratory while living in North Dakota. She moved to southern Missouri in 1986 and provided care for both her father and mother, as well as assisting with raising her nephew, John. Kathay loved animals and always seemed to have a menagerie of rescued cats, dogs, horses and sometimes cattle. She also took great pleasure in making sure the wild birds (and squirrels and sometimes raccoons) always had plenty to eat and drink. Kathay adored her family and friends. While she kept them all on their toes, she also guarded and protected them from the world with all her being. She is preceded in death by her father in 1991 and her mother in 2011. She is survived by her brother, Walter Daniel Koenig, from St. George, Utah, and her sisters, Tracy Merle Koenig, from Florissant, Missouri, Vickie Bushyhead, from Claremore, Oklahoma and Kandace Frieze, from Chestnutridge, Missouri. She is also survived by her nephews, John Frieze, from Chestnutridge, Missouri, and Scott and Joel Bushyhead, both from Owasso, Oklahoma, and her niece, Jessie Bushyhead from Claremore, Oklahoma. Memorials may be made to any no-kill animal shelter or the Arbor Society. Arrangements have been entrusted to Midwest Cremation and Funeral Services, Springfield.