Katherine "Kay" G. Beckwith

Katherine (Kay) Grace Beckwith, 96, Carmel, Indiana, passed away April 19, 2023. She was born November 26, 1926, in Cavite, Manilla, in the Philippines, the daughter of William Taylor. She married Bill Beckwith on February 22, 1946. He preceded her in passing on November 24, 2016, after 70 years of marriage.

Kay was born and raised in the Philippine Islands. During World War II, she was a Prisoner of War in the Japanese Internment camp of Santo Tomas in Manilla for three years. She was a strong and tough woman who would only say that she was just thankful that her family all lived through that time. Then entered her knight in shining armor, Bill. He was active in the liberation of Santo Tomas, and when they met it was love at first sight; within days they were engaged.

While Kay and the rest of her family went to California when the war was over, Bill served out the rest of his duty in Asia. Once discharged, he traveled to California, they married and moved to East St. Louis, Illinois.

There, they welcomed their children, Bill and Kathy. They lived in East St Louis; Decatur, Illinois; Oak Forest, Illinois; and Carmel, Indiana, before finally retiring in Phoenix, Arizona. They came back to Carmel every summer before returning as permanent residents of Majestic Care of Carmel in October 2014.

In every city she lived, Kay was quite an accomplished seamstress. She sewed everything from suits to wedding dresses. She even made uniform dresses for the employees of a bank in Midlothian, Illinois, and habits for the nuns at St. Damian in Oak Forest, Illinois.

Kay also loved to craft and painted many wooden figurines. Kay was an avid Bingo player and loved participating in Memory hour at Majestic.

Kay is survived by her two children, William Beckwith and Kathy Cook; two grandsons, Jeffrey A. (Destiny) Cook and Christopher W. (Kathy) Cook; and two great grandsons, Jeffrey A. Cook Jr. and William T. Cook.

A memorial gathering will take place at Flanner and Buchanan, 325 East Carmel Drive, on Monday May 1^st, between 3 and 6. Online condolences may be shared by visiting www.Flannerbuchanan.com.