Kathleen Adkins

Kathy Adkins was born in Garden City, Michigan to her parents William John and Ruth Violet (Manchester) Barlow on April 27th, 1955. She is survived by her brothers, Kevin (Linda) and Dennis, niece Stephanie (Tyler) Ventre and their daughter Hope and son Michael. Her new family, daughter Hannah, sons Bud and Bronco and their wives, Nicki (children: Zaylie, Wylie and Victor) and Katie (children: Odessa and Prescott); brother-in-law Max, wife Tammy (children: Ashley (Nate), Ryan (Addison), and Austin (Lexi); brother-in-law Kirk, wife Robyn (children: Ashley (Hank), Audrey (Tyler), Dallen (Riley), Russell (Keatyn), Andrew and Levi. Plus numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews. She loved them all as if they were hers.

She was preceded in death by her cowboy Jack Adkins; parents William and Ruth; sister-in-law, Karen; nephew, Steven; and mother-in-law and dear friend Darlene Adkins.

We knew Kathy would be different when she started scooting around the floor, bouncing on her bottom instead of crawling. She bypassed the crawling stage and went right into standing and walking. We didn’t know at the time, but Kathy was preparing herself for horseback riding lessons that would start as time went on.

Growing up in the “wilds” of her hometown of Livonia with her older brother, Dennis and younger brother, Kevin, she became a tomboy to survive. Climbing trees, digging holes to China, tying up the neighbor boys and collecting creatures were all things she enjoyed. However, with her double cousins (Dad’s sister married Mom’s brother) she fit right in by running, swimming, camping and collecting figurines, mostly horses.

Kathy was very musically inclined. In school, she played clarinet, took piano and guitar lessons, and sang in choirs. She learned to knit and sew from her mom and grandmother. Her love of singing continued in junior and senior high school where she found that her alto voice had a beautiful quality. After high school, singing continued in junior college and eventually as a semi-professional with the Max Davey Singers of the Detroit area.

But most of all she wanted to ride horses. Mom took her to riding lessons for English saddle, dragging her brothers along to watch. In school, she had some trouble with writing because she started with her left hand but could write with either.

As some of you may know, Kathy had a fun sense of humor and occasionally enjoyed pulling a joke on her friends and family. She came about this naturally since her father was known as a bit of a jokester. This would help her later in life when she met the man of her dreams.

Her love of horses and dogs led her to work as a Veterinarian Tech. Kathy would bring home wild creatures, puppies, (which usually became family pets), to satisfy her addiction. But most of all, she loved her horses and just happened to meet a family friend who owned a horse and was of the Mormon faith. That led her to join the Mormon Church in Livonia, which then turned to a scholarship at BYU where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Geography, with a major in Travel and Leisure.

After graduation, she took a job in Miami, Florida as a travel agent with Eastern Airlines. Then other agencies brought her back to Utah, leading to being a travel coordinator for the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Rosenbluth Travel, Hess Travel, Morris Murdock Business Travel, C.R. England Trucking were some of the firms she worked for through the years While at Hess Travel, Kathy arranged travel for Mountain West play-off games for men’s and woman’s basketball.

She dated over the years but never found the right guy, until discovering Jack Adkins on Date A Cowboy. When they met, Jack put her through a “Horse and Wagon test” that he created. It was somewhat as a joke, but Kathy took in seriously and passed without a stumble. It was like they were made for each other! In their short 9 years together there would be many more jokes, and leg pulling to follow, a true test of their love.

These years would be Kathy’s best because of their similarities. They each collected horse figures, were ambidextrous, loved horses and were very creative. Jack’s skills with leather and Kathy’s creations of clothes, blankets, and figures were done out of love. Both of them were generous, kind and enjoyed sharing their talents with others.

Kathy often said “This was the life she always dreamed of having, thanks to her cowboy, Jack.”

A visitation will be from 10:00 – 10:45 a.m. on Friday February 27 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in American Falls. The funeral will follow beginning at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be at the Neeley Cemetery. Family and friends are invited to visit DavisRoseMortuary.com to order flowers, or to share condolences, memories, and photos.