Katharine 'Kaye' Shields-Moe

Katharine "Kaye" Shields-Moe, artist and retired nurse, passed away on Tuesday, March 28, 2006, of natural causes. She was 89.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Monday, April 10, 2006, at Christ Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, 1900 W. Pine, with Pastor Steve Nickodemus officiating. Interment will be in Pinecrest Memorial Park.

Kaye was born Dec. 27, 1916, in Clarksburg, Ohio, the daughter of Arthur and Arlene Mossbarger. She grew up in the Texas Panhandle. In 1933, she graduated from Sandpoint High School in Sandpoint, Idaho, and later became a registered nurse after training at Deaconess Hospital.

In 1940, Kaye married Royal Shields Sr., who died in 1992 after battling cancer for 15 years. She also cared for her second husband, Lloyd Moe, who preceded her in death from World War II-related injuries.

Kaye volunteered for the United States Organization (USO) and was a member of a horse drill team, the Cowbelles, which performed in parades and at the Omak Stampede.

Her son, Royal Jr., remembers her as a woman who persevered through difficult circumstances. During her childhood, her family moved from Ohio to Texahoma, Texas, where they farmed.

The Dust Bowl, also known as the "dirties thirties" wiped out the family farm so they packed all their belongings into the car and traveled north for two years as laborers en route to Idaho. When arriving in Sandpoint, the family had 50 cents and only a half of a sack of oatmeal. Years later, they found out that oil had been discovered on the farm they'd given up for back taxes.

Through the struggles she encountered in life, she remained an optimist. Her daughter, Elsena Horton, remembers her looking out the window for a patch of blue in the sky. When she found it, she would say, "There's enough blue to make a Dutchman a pair of britches. It's going to be a beautiful day." She instilled in her children a love for the outdoors and was an avid gardener, and was especially fond of roses.

Her grandchildren remember her as a lady with a lot of hats and colorful scarves, always worn with pizzazz.

She is survived by a daughter, Elsena Horton of Anchorage, Alaska; two sons, Royal Shields Jr. of Sandpoint and Don Shields of Kenai, Alaska; a brother, Owen Mossbarger; a sister, Ona Mae Worthington; and 10 grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the care of Coffelt Funeral Service of Sandpoint.