Willie Kate

The mother of my Dad (Pa) was Willie Kate Wells and was married to WT McConnell.

She was short (4'-11”), energetic, quiet, and a strong Christian. Pa was her darling baby boy but she graciously shared him with Lady. She was loved by all and Lady considered her the Mom she never had. Lady said that the only thing she learned in getting a degree in Home Economics was “to serve the hot things hot and the cold things cold”. She really learned to cook at the side of Willie Kate (Granny).

Willie Kate was unique in that she had one blue eye and one brown eye. Granny loved her wood burning stove, and could work wonders on it. Our Aunt Mildred Stemler bought her an electric stove but, Granny liked her wood burning stove better. Even though the cake she baked was heavy and the icing went to sugar, Lady loved it. Most people didn't like her coffee, but Lady enjoyed it.

Willie Kate also had a good sense of humor. Once Pa and his brother Theodore let a possum into the kitchen and it chased their cat round and round the table, and finally out the window. After a few days the cat came back, but the possum never did. Willie Kate enjoyed the boys' adventuresome spirit.

Another time Pa was up in the hayloft and Willie Kate asked him to give her some eggs so she would have something for the huckster who was coming. Pa threw them down, one by one, breaking each of them. After the huckster was gone Willie Kate said, “Will Junior” (the name on Pa's birth certificate) come down, I have something for you. Pa came down thinking that she had bought him something from the huckster. What he got was the switching of his life.

Life was never boring around Willie Kate and she never complained. Even though WT was an imposing figure, she was never intimidated by him. She lived a long and full life and died in 1950 and was buried in Mt. Olivet, KY.

The best words to describe Willie Kate are “Little, but tough”.