Kay Harrison Pickard

Kay Harrison Pickard, beloved mother, sister, daughter, and aunt, passed away May 26, 2020 from natural causes. She was born November 19, 1947 to Ruth Annie Layton and Conrad Bullen Harrison. A faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she lived a full, wonderful life of service and accomplishment. She is survived by her son Kevin Pickard and his wife Casey, her grandchildren Rachel, Ben, and Eve, her sisters Susan and Linda, and her brother David.

Kay Harrison Pickard has gone. For those of us who knew her, life won’t quite be as rich as it was before. She died on May 26 from causes incident to age, and is doubtless grateful to be singing in a choir again, free from the constraints of a failing body.

Kay was born November 19, 1947 in Salt Lake City to Ruth Annie Layton and Conrad Bullen Harrison. She was a Highland Ram, a UNC-Charlotte 49-er graduate (cum laude) and got her Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego in 1992. She passed the bar in California, and used her lawyer skills on anyone within earshot. In the 90s, for instance, she used them to organize a non-profit to assist victims of the wildfire destruction in southern California.

She lived and loved all over the country, from South Carolina to Honolulu, but her heart was always where her family resided, in Salt Lake City and San Diego. Music was a huge part of her life. She wrote music for church productions, roadshows, anything people asked her for. She could sing--she was a lovely alto--and write music, but she could also act and direct. She was affiliated with the San Diego Children’s Choir, but did most of her musical work for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Christ was a centerpiece of her life. She taught about the Savior in gospel doctrine classes as well as the church’s institute program. She served in the San Diego temple for years. If you gave her a chance, she’d share her testimony of the Lord with you, because He was never far from her thoughts or her heart.

But more than anything, Kay loved her family. Her son Kevin was her greatest trial, but also her greatest blessing. His marriage to Casey was a source of great joy to Kay, as was his growing testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. No mother was ever prouder of a son than Kay was of Kevin.

In 2000, Kay moved back to Utah to help take care of her elderly parents. She was their primary caregiver in their declining years, and she more than repaid their care of her with her attention to them. Kay was a regular at Sunday dinners at her sister Susan’s, and at Pie Night, and at every family function of any significance. Her bright smile and ready laugh were as much a part of those things as the pie and carols. They will not be the same without her.

In her last years, she loved being “Grammy” to Rachel, Ben, and Eve, her grandchildren. No grandchildren have ever been more adored.

Kay’s flowers and vegetables will miss her. Her ward choirs will miss her. And most of all, we will miss her, her fiery spirit, her take-no-prisoners arguing, and her bottomless love and affection for every member of her family--whether of the blood or of the heart. She and her parents, and her sister Connie, will be on the other side mixing potato salad and talking about their grandchildren, and waiting for Susan, Linda, and David to get there so they can sing together again,

Rest awhile, Kay. We’ll be there to sing with you soon enough.

Interment, Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Services entrusted to Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Rd., Layton, Utah.

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