Kay A. Heggestad

I was lucky enough to work with Dr. Kay at the hospice inpatient unit. I'm glad she pulled no punches in her obit . . . "letting her go" was one of the many mistakes made by the hospice "suits" from upstairs who completely missed the point of most of what happened downstairs in the unit. Dr. Kay was exactly the kind of doctor any hospice patient would want in charge of her care, and losing her was a blow to the entire unit staff. She was missed long after, as she will be now.

I didn't know Miss Kay but after reading her obituary...I sure wish I would have.! This was the most interesting obit ever. She was quite an exceptional lady. I sent my prayers and sympathy to all who loved her. Heaven got an angel for sure!

Paul, I am sorry that Carolyn and I will miss the memorial because we will be out of town. Please know we feel deeply the loss of a loved one. I have never laughed and cried so much at one time as when I read Kay's two obits. David Hahn

I was so sorry to learn of Kay's illness and death. She had been in touch via mail but hadn't divulged the extent of her illness. Her own obituary is so funny and poignant. We are very honored that she included the Freedom From Religion Foundation as a memorial suggestion — that our work meant so much to her. We'll do our best to honor that confidence. She was physician to my mother, Anne Nicol Gaylor, FFRF's principal founder, at one time. Anne loved visiting with Kay because they were "kindred spirits" (or should I say, "non-spirits") and Kay helped diagnose my mother's cancer in time to be cured. Thank you, Kay, for everything.

I have never read an obituary as true to a person as this one was. We will miss Kay. She was the first female MD I ever met at age 12 and she made a great impression on me. My mother Lenore a feminist before it was cool was determined to have her for our family physician stating "If it's a woman she had to work twice as hard and be twice as smart". I kept running into her when I was in nursing school and while I did not take her advice to go to medical school instead I often have thought of her in my own practice as an Adult NP. Thanks for being such a great role model.