Kathleen Jones Chandler

Kathleen J. Chandler passed away on Tuesday, October 17, 2017.

Kathleen “Kay” Chandler was born on May 5, 1924 in Malad City, Idaho. Kay attended the University of Idaho from 1942 to 1944 where she was affiliated with the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Boise State University in 1971 and her Master of Arts degree from the University of Utah in 1977. While attending the University of Idaho, Kay met her future husband, Earl Chandler. Kay and Earl were married on February 26, 1944. In February 2017, they celebrated 73 years of marriage.

Following the end of World War II, Kay and Earl moved to San Francisco, California, for one year and then moved to Boise, Idaho, in 1946. They raised their three children, Ken, Scott, and Tom, in Boise. During this time the family supported Earl in developing the family’s lumber distribution business. Throughout her life Kay enjoyed family activities, including skiing at Bogus Basin, summers in McCall, backpacking in the Sawtooth Mountains, and family trips to visit New York, Washington D.C, and the Grand Coulee Dam. Kay was always curious, and after retirement, Kay and Earl travelled throughout the world, and constantly explored new cultures and places.

Kay volunteered for and donated to various civic causes, especially those benefitting literacy and children in the local community. She introduced Junior Great Books discussion groups in the Boise School District and the Boise Public Library. She also was an avid competitive bridge player, obtaining grand master status and taking great pleasure in the intellectual challenges bridge offered.

Kay had a voracious desire for knowledge and a quest to learn throughout her entire life that she passed onto her grandchildren during lengthy discussions about her grandchildrens’ studies and the many books she was reading. Kay read with a pen in hand and constantly notated the books as she argued with the authors. She also shared her books with her grandchildren, asking them to consider the questions and comments she wrote in the margins and the end papers of the books. Kay developed a strong bond with each of her eight grandchildren by spending hours every year with each grandchild separately. Her grandchildren fondly remember the kitchen discussions as Kay made them grilled cheese sandwiches and their annual back-to-school shopping dates followed by lunch at a restaurant of their choice that continued until each grandchild departed Boise for college.

Kay was proud of her Welsh heritage and the family ranch she grew up on in Malad. Memories of her childhood on the ranch and facts about Wales peppered Kay’s conversations with family and friends.

Kay is survived by sons Kenneth and Thomas (Eve), daughter-in-law Lynnette, grandchildren Claire, Michelle, Lisa, Carolyn, Stephanie, Eric, Jane, and Ben, and great-grandchildren Dylan, Cohen, Morgan, and Bailey. She is preceded in death by parents Dora and Frank Jones, husband Earl, son Scott, and sisters Ada (Allen) Janssen and Jayne (Warren) Brown.

In accordance with Kay’s wishes, the family is holding a private service followed by interment at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery.

Memorials may be made to Bogus Basin Recreational Association, the Allen S. Janssen Engineering Endowment fund at the University of Idaho, the Idaho Community Foundation, Warren H. Brown Memorial Fund, or a charity of choice.