Audrey Joyce Kitchens

Audrey Joyce “Nana” Kitchens passed away on Saturday, October 1 at her home in Hideaway, Texas. She was born November 22, 1927, in La Porte, Indiana, to the late Florence Elizabeth Oberlin and Benjamin William Oberlin. Audrey shared her life with her devoted husband of 71 years, Grady Eugene Kitchens, who waited 41 long days for her to join him in heaven. Audrey was truly one of God’s angels; she lived her life loving and helping others without ever asking anything in return. As a child, she regularly brought home stray animals to take care of. Her favorite pet was Peepers, a chicken that followed her everywhere. She loved to explore her hometown of Culver, Indiana and go on family vacations where she would often go up to strangers and strike up conversations. Her love for traveling and meeting new people remained with her throughout her life. After graduating from Stephens College with an Associate Degree in Arts, Audrey returned to Culver to manage her father’s record shop. Then, in 1949, she and her sister Dorothy hopped into an old Dodge and ventured to San Antonio where they rented a small apartment together. Audrey found a job working in a doctor’s office downtown. In 1951, the sisters decided to go to a Valentine’s Day dance at Randolph Air Force Base that was held by the Working Girls Society to benefit underprivileged children. There, Audrey met a handsome young pilot who turned out to be the love of her life. It didn’t take long for them to decide they were meant to be together, and they were married at the Randolph Air Force Base Chapel on July 16, 1951 – such a happy day that neither of them minded the ants that got in the wedding cake as it traveled to the reception in the trunk of a car. The life of a military wife certainly satisfied Audrey’s love of travel and meeting new people. During Grady’s years of service, they were stationed in ten different places on the continent plus tours in Japan and Hawaii. While stationed in the Pacific, they managed to take sightseeing trips to Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and Thailand. After Grady’s retirement, they toured Europe and the United States, and took 24 cruises to various places around the world. Audrey kept in touch with many of the people she met during these trips. Audrey was always active in the Methodist Church – she worked in their Thrift Shop while Grady was stationed in Waco, Texas and was the Assistant Manager of the Gift Shop at the Harris Methodist Hospital in Bedford, Texas. She was also active in the Officers Wives Club, serving as their Social Chairman in Columbus, Ohio and Vice-President in Bryan, Texas. She also wrote a news column and a cooking column called “Kitchen’s Korner” for the base newspaper in Columbus, Ohio. Though she admitted she didn’t know how to cook a hot dog when she married Grady, once she began cooking, it became her favorite expression of love. Her special almond cookies will be greatly missed by her many friends in the Open Door Class of the First United Methodist Church in Lindale, Texas. Audrey was a wonderful mother to her two sons. She made sure they had a well-rounded education, from Cub Scouts, Vacation Bible School and Church Camps to judo, tennis, guitar, golf, origami, and oil painting lessons. She never missed any of her sons’ many Little League or basketball games. She happily took her oldest son, Brad, to various beaches around Oahu so he could try out different surfing spots and applauded for Greg’s attempts at acting even when he forgot his lines. After Grady retired, Audrey loved to entertain her kids and grandkids with food and fishing at their house on Cedar Creek Lake. After moving to Hideaway, she enjoyed participating in clubs and social activities like the Garden Club, Red Hat Ladies, park parties, bridge, bingo, and bunko. She was especially fond of her bridge parties because they involved pie or cake and lots and lots of chit-chat. She cherished her dear friends in the Open Door Sunday School Class and in the Philanthropic Educational Organization, but most of all, she loved having her kids, grand-kids and great-grandkids come to visit. Audrey was preceded by her older siblings William (Bill) and Dorothy (Dot). Her loving memory is carried on by her sons Brad and Greg, seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren (all of whom lovingly knew her as Nana), plus a large and loving extended family. Those who knew Audrey, knew her as someone who cared deeply about other people – the kind of person who hand-wrote personalized Christmas and sympathy cards to all the friends she had made over the years. If the love of friends and family are the true treasures of heaven, then Audrey was the richest woman on earth. Please know that Audrey’s family appreciates donations to any charitable organization made in her name. She regularly donated to the First United Methodist Church, cancer research, and numerous veterans’ organizations. A Celebration of Lives Lived for Audrey and Grady is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Saturday. October 15, 2022 at the First United Methodist Church in Lindale. A reception will follow in the Open Door Classroom. Entombment with military honors is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. Monday, October 17, 2022 at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Audrey Joyce Kitchens

November 22, 1927 - October 1, 2022