Dick and Kathy Ayers
Richard “Dick” Ayers – 1927-2017 Katherine “Kathy” Ayers – 1931-2017
After 63 years of marriage, Dick and Kathy Ayers passed away early this summer. Both spent their early years in Nebraska, Dick in Winnebago and Kathy on a farm near Plattsmouth. After four years in the US Navy, Dick returned to the University of Nebraska where he earned his BSEE with honors. While there, he met Katherine Ann Parkening, who worked as a secretary at an Omaha power company, and they were married on June 6, 1954. Dick then joined Hughes Aircraft as an electrical engineer and they moved to Westchester, CA, where they joined Morningside United Church of Christ and raised their three sons.
Following two years in Massachusetts, where Dick was a Hughes liaison with Draper Labs, Ratheon, and MIT, the family returned to California in 1969 and settled in Calabasas, and joined Woodland Hills Community Church.
WHCC was the center of their lives. Together they led the junior high and, later, the high school youth groups and were leaders on many work camps to Indian Reservations. Both sang in the choir and Kathy held many leadership roles in the church while Dick oversaw facilities.
Kathy was also active with the Fortune Hunters supporting the Pacific Boys Lodge; West Valley Newcomers; Amigos Grads; the Calabasas Historical Society, and, the Las Virgenes School District where she also worked in the attendance office at Calabasas High School from 1979 to 1990.
Dick retired after 35 years with Hughes Aircraft in 1989 and they hit the road traveling much of the US over the next two decades.
While Dick’s kidneys failed years ago, he ultimately passed due to a heart attack on June 29, 2017. Kathy suffered from Alzheimer’s which took her life on August 5, 2017. They are survived by their three sons, Kevin, Dana, and Doug, Dick’s sister, Betty Jane Kearney, their grandsons, Sean and Brad Ayers, Sean’s wife Kim, several nieces and nephews, and many, many “kids” who called Kathy and Dick “Mom and Dad.”
A memorial service for both Dick and Kathy will be held on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at 2:00 pm at Woodland Hills Community Church. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate your donation towards Alzheimer’s research.