06/28/38 - 06/07/11
Karen Kay Hatchett was born June 28, 1938 to Martin and Oleta Hatchett, in Lenora, Dewey County, Oklahoma. She died peacefully in the presence of family on June 7, 2011 in Oklahoma City.
The family lived in Dewey County until 1947 when they moved to the Oklahoma Panhandle. The next move was to Oklahoma City in 1952. Kay was already an accomplished pianist at that time and studied privately with Nancy Apgar, pianist for the Oklahoma City Symphony. She was in the first graduating class of Northwest Classen High School in 1954. She attended Central State College in Edmond for 2 years as a music major.
She married Donald Lee Wells, communications specialist in the US Air Force, in 1955. She had three children, Donna Kay, Natalie Ann, and David Wayne Wells. The Wells family moved to Burns Flat, Oklahoma, where Don was stationed at Clinton-Sherman Air Force Base.
After her family was raised, she moved to Oklahoma City, where she worked 15 years as a medical transcriptionist in the Radiation Therapy Department at Baptist Medical Center. She then moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and worked as a medical transcriptionist for her brother, John, in his medical practice.
She married Dean Sturgeon, a member of the Cordell Police Department, and lived in Cordell until his death. She then returned to Oklahoma City to be closer to her parents. Her health gradually deteriorated. However, she continued to be active with her growing family. She is survived by her mother, Oleta, two brothers John and Tom, her children Donna, Natalie and David, eight grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.
She was an accomplished pianist, winning many awards, teaching and performing. She was an avid movie and sports fan. She had a keen interest in current affairs. She was a loving mother, daughter and sister, and touched many lives.
Services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, 2011 in the Chapel Hill Funeral Home chapel with interment following in Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens.
The family requests donations be made in Kay's memory to the American Cancer Society, 6525 N Meridian, Suite 110, Oklahoma City, OK 73116.