Kathy Ivey Long

On a cool crisp fall morning, October 11, 1948, in Sappa Valley located in Decator county in the community of Oberlin, Kansas to the parents Marvin and Mickey Foster was born a feisty and inquisitive daughter; Kathy Ann. Her life was quite a journey- waitress at a young age, earning a license in cosmetology, jobs with accounting and bookkeeping, owner/operator of a diesel truck parts business and driving an eighteen wheeler cross country which led to owning Southfork Cafe. Upon retiring she decided to learn and love farming. Kathy had a impeccable work ethic and was known for her love of John Deere tractors and equipment. A good day for Kathy was a day on her tractor no matter how many hours she had to spend working. She worked side by side with Tuffy and never complained about how hot it got or how dirty the work was or how long it took to finish their project. She always had a smile on her face. She was steadfast in her love for him, the cattle and the farm. Cancer was to invade her life and she fought the cancer just like she worked at her jobs….. never did it get too hard or the medicine make her too sick. She fought and never gave up. The medicine quit working and her life came to an end on October 13, 2017.                                     .   Kathy now joins her waiting family; her grandparents, mother, her son Ricky Long, whose death at age 7 forever changed life as Kathy knew it, her brother Mike Foster whose death left an ache in her heart since 1997, dead at age 47 and in 2015 a new heart ache with the early death of her son Jeff Long age 37. Kathy leaves behind three grandchildren Alexis, Justice and Tyler all of Kansas; two special aunts, many cousins and other family. Three special nieces Debbi Hall of Alabama, Kim and Gary Carlisle of Alabama and Angela and John Burt of Missouri. Also left are the family of her heart, C.O. “Tuffy” Smith, his sons Sonny and wife Amy and Zane and wife Sharon; twins Pami Parks and husband Tom and Tami Isom and husband Randy and a very special daughter and son in law, Denise and Jesse Pierce and all the extended Smith families.   Private graveside services will be held at Harmony Cemetery in Wheeling, Arkansas. Memorials may be left to Shaw Cancer Center in West Plains, Missouri, Fulton County Hospital Foundation, P.O. Box 7, Salem, Arkansas 72576 or Local Relay for Life. Arrangements are entrusted to Barker Funeral Home of Salem, Arkansas.