Kay Frances Ferrone (née Hooper), 90, of River Forest, died on Nov. 4, 2026. Born in 1936 in Alice, Texas, to W.A. and Zenobia Hooper, her father was a district manager for the United Gas Company, and his work took the family to a new city in Texas almost every year. She spent her high school years in New Braunfels, after which her family settled in Smithville when she started college. Soon after, she met Peggy (Irvin) Row, who became her best friend and the sister she never had. Having skipped two grades, Kay graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1957 at the age of 20. Her father kept a promise to her during college and sent her to spend a semester at the University of Hawaii, which remained one of her happy places where she continued to return throughout her life.
After graduation, she worked in Austin at Scarbrough’s doing window displays. Afraid she would “never get out of Texas,” she joined Braniff International Airways, based in Dallas, as a flight attendant. Her routes took her to New York and Chicago. Airline crews were offered a complimentary sightseeing tour of Chicago and on one of those tours, Kay met Donald Ferrone, who was running his family’s business, American Sightseeing. Later, she and her friend Libby, a fellow flight attendant, transferred to Braniff’s Minneapolis base. Her schedule included Chicago flights three days a week, which allowed her to keep seeing Donald, who became her husband for 66 years.
In June 1960, Kay and Donald married in Oak Park. The following year they bought a home in River Forest, where they raised their two children, Chris and Felicia, both of whom attended school in River Forest and graduated from Oak Park and River Forest High School.
To Kay, Oak Park and River Forest were the nicest places to live and raise a family. She loved the change of seasons, always recalling the hot weather of her Texas childhood in contrast.
With her many creative talents and exacting eye for detail, she poured herself into projects, from being a “Den Mother” when Chris was a Cub Scout and “Picture Lady” for Felicia’s kindergarten class to making Halloween costumes for her kids. One year, a costume included her beloved Volkswagen Bug, which she decorated as a captured creature “pulled” by a team of children, with Don at the wheel in the parade. Many years later, she got the chance to create window displays for a family friend’s jewelry store on Jewelers Row in downtown Chicago. They were always clever and humorous and quickly became the talk of the street. These passions, and countless others, consumed her attention, allowing her to channel her limitless creativity.
Always outgoing, she said she would “talk to a tree if it stood still long enough.” With a larger-than-life personality, she made friends easily, be it mail carrier, young single mother working at Panera, or neighbors. She always found ways to help, like cold Cokes for the garbage men on a hot day or new tires for the single mother she befriended. This remained true even at Sunrise of River Forest, where she lived her last few months, keeping different residents company, sitting with them, patting their arms to comfort them.
Her family was by her side throughout her last week, and she acknowledged her joy at hearing about the great election results on the morning of her passing. She loved butter and anything fried, and often said, “There are worse things than dying.”
Kay is survived by her husband, Donald; her children, Felicia (Chris) and Chris (Janet); her grandchildren, Harrison (Kelsey), Alex, and Haley; her stepson, Robert (Vicki) and Kay’s “adopted daughter” Maricar, her loving caregiver to whom the family will be eternally grateful.
A celebration of life will be held on Nov. 15 from 1 to 4 p.m. with the program beginning at 2 p.m. at Peterson-Bassi Chapels, 6938 W. North Ave., Chicago, IL (773-637-4441).
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in her name to Border Tails Rescue in honor of her love for animals and any dog that would visit her house or Sunrise (www.bordertailsrescue.org).