Barbara Dorothy (Gowen) Lay, 77, passed away on April 15, 2023 in Wichita, Kansas.
She was born on September 16, 1945 to Orval and Dorothy (Braucher) Gowen. She graduated from Madison High School in Madison, KS, and also attended the Wichita Business College. After graduating, she was a lifelong resident of Wichita, Kansas.
She married Clinton Lyle Lay in Madison, KS on February 6, 1966. From that union were born their children Michael Clinton, Alan Mitchell, and Heather Michelle.
Barbara was self-employed as a child care provider for over 25 years. She was a member of Countryside Christian Church since 1974, and Woodlawn Christian Church prior to that. She was an avid painter, and an active member of the Kansas Wheathearts and Society of Decorative Painters. She was passionate about supporting educational scholarships through the Gowen-Lay Memorial Scholarship Fund, as well as spreading the gospel to children throughout the world via Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Her many other interests included (but were certainly not limited to) collecting and creating dolls, genealogy, and spending time with her beloved family. She and Clinton loved to travel, and had visited all of the 50 states except one (Georgia), as well as Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, the Panama Canal, Egypt and the Holy Lands.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Clinton Lyle Lay; her son, Alan Mitchell Lay; her grandchildren, Laura Ellen Lay and Isaac Herndon; her brother, Richard Gowen; her parents, Orval and Dorothy Gowen; as well as her brothers- and sisters-in-law Cheryl Gowen (wife of Richard), Gilbert and Ruby Lay, Donald and Barbara Jean Lay, Virginia and Earl Wigle, Eleanor and Charles Rindt, Rolland and Juanita Lay, Laverna and Ron Leeson, and Phyllis and Ralph Anderson.
She is survived by her children, Michael Lay (spouse Kim) and Heather (Lay) Berkheimer (spouse Jim); grandchildren Brandon Lay, Travis Lay (spouse Kaitie), Joshua Lay, Rachel (Lay) Messner (spouse Regan), Kristina (Lay) Hilger (spouse Mitch), Anna Lay, Adam Herndon, Melissa Lay, Cate Berkheimer, and Grace Berkheimer; and great-grandchildren Alauria and Alec Messner, Ellie and Adelynn Lay, Everleigh and Everett Hilger; and her siblings Mary Meyer (spouse Lynn), Shirley Dreyer (spouse Ken), and Charlie Gowen (spouse Cathy); and her many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in her memory to the Gowen-Lay Scholarship Fund, c/o Madison Education Assistance Fund—Linda Wilson, PO Box 428, Madison KS 66860, [email protected].
Service will be held on Friday, April 21, 2023 at 10:00 am, at Countryside Christian Church, Wichita Kansas.
Condolences may be left for the family at www.bakerfhvc.com.