Kathleen (Young) Colum Obituary

Yes, she had a name — Kathleen (Young) Colum. Yes, there was a birth date — July 11, 1935. And a death date — August 28, 2026, at 2:15 a.m. She was raised by her parents, Alice (Wallace) and Goldie Young. Born in Mapleton, Kansas, but raised in Fort Scott, Kansas, she relocated to San Diego, California, in 1958. She returned in 1976 and left again, only to return in 2005, until moving to Arizona on September 15, 2025. She really missed San Diego, California, and her church family — but especially her kids and grandkids.

Siblings — yes: Verna Mae, Lena Bell, Edith, Goldie, Marion and his twin Ruben, and Mont…. And yes, they had husbands, wives and children who had children, who had children — some known, as well as unknown to her or her to them. Family!

Yes, she had children. Five. No, six-plus: Linda, Roy Jr. (Pat), Kimberly (Ezell), Bryon, April, and Larren (Nicole) — and a host of others she fostered and babysat.

And you're supposed to mention grandchildren — Linda Joyce gave her 2 (Shannon and Shawn), Roy Jr. gave her 4 (DeAndrea, Kareem, Shonta and Roy III), Kimberly Joyce gave her 2 (Keya and NaKeya), Bryon gave her 2 (Tanisha and a son), Lynn gave her 2 (Justin and Tyler), and Larren gave her 3 (Davinnia, Larren Jr. and Raymond) — 15 in all.

And great-grandchildren — Shannon gave her 2, Shawn gave her 3, DeAndrea Kimberly gave her 2, Kareem gave her 3, Shonta gave her 1, Roy III gave her 1, Keya Joyce gave her 4, NaKeya Joyce gave her 2, and Tanisha gave her 1 — 19 in all.

And great-great-grandchildren — Linda Joyce II gave her 2, JaKeya gave her 1, and Roy III gave her 1 — 4 in all.

And a great-great-great-grandchild: Kaleb, in 2026.

Of her many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, four were blessed to live with her and Roy in Kansas: NaKeya, Kaleb, Christion and Justin. She was also honored to have her name given to her oldest great-granddaughter, MaKayla Kathleen.

But what we really want you to know is she made a house a home and was — and will always be — the glue to her family. She was quiet, but loud, and got louder with age and Alzheimer's! Although she would tell you she did not like to cook, she kept us fed and would feed anyone who came to her house.

If she wasn't at church, she was sewing, singing, planning church cookouts at Rohr Park, putting together church fashion shows, teaching Bible class, working the Women's Church Seminars, cooking and serving at the Men's Seminars, preparing the communion table, planning church skating parties at Sweetwater Skating Rink, bowling in church leagues, playing cards with church members, giving Jheri curls to church members, playing tennis at El Toyon Park with a church member, sending out get-well and birthday cards, delivering meals to church members, or playing taxi driver for someone who needed a ride. Church was her life, and she had no problem letting it be known — it made her happy, filling her soul!

If she wasn't babysitting, cleaning her house, or taking care of her mother-in-law, she was going to—

Yes, her prayers were, and have been, and still are being answered! Thank you, Jesus!!!

She loved her God. To sum her up: she loved.

From the time of her cancer diagnosis, May 2021, to her death, she — and we — had good days and some bad. Although the Alzheimer's, colon cancer and Parkinson's were trying for us, especially Dad, the Alzheimer's made it easy for her. It kept her in her happy days and made for great stories of how she was raised and brought up, and untold secrets and stuff nobody would talk about… LOL! Yep, she talked about everybody and everything… but not to everybody! She also always made comments about how Obama looked like her dad, and how good-looking they both were. She always said she had a good life, loved her husband, children and grandchildren…. She loved! She always told us, and showed us, that she loved us!

Believing she never really knew just how ill she was, and because she was — and is — a child of God, she was never afraid of her final days. Although hard to accept, she is now in a much better and peaceful place, where she can rest well and be our guardian angel, back with her beloved husband of 74 years, who preceded her in death on September 10, 2025; her son Bryon, who also preceded her in death on January 18, 2026; her parents; and all her siblings.