Kathryn Mary Cole Quinones, 75, died in Brookings on Friday, March 31, 2017. 

Funeral services are at  10:30 a.m. Tuesday at St. Thomas More Catholic Church. Visitation is one hour prior to the services at the church. Rude’s Funeral Home is assisting the family with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers the family suggest memorials be directed to the Brookings Community Theatre, Brookings.

Kathryn Mary Cole Quinones was born in Yankton County, on March 13, 1942, to Vitalis Cole and Rachel Barber.     Kay had that rare ability to touch and motivate people with her generosity of spirit, kindness and intellect.  The difference she made in people's lives was as subtle as her wit and as strong as her intellect. She hated inequality and sought to remedy it beginning with her days in Uganda in the nascent Peace Corps to her tenure of 25 years as Vice Principal for English as a Second Language (ESL) with the New York City Board of Education.

     She appreciated all cultures and celebrated their uniqueness. In the field of ESL adult education she immediately bonded with her students, putting them at ease and instilling confidence in their abilities to become part of the American mosaic. Always interested in the capability and potential impact of the students, Kay was confident that they would transform lives and communities. She coauthored a popularly acclaimed textbook for the instruction of English as a second language for adults.

Kay was a redoubtable woman devoted to poetry. Her poems were not confessional in nature choosing instead to provide an insight to her love of people, their hopes and their foibles. Her poems were introspective and vivacious; melodious and pleasing to read. Her poems treated the reader to a clear-eyed vision of the world, relationships, mortality and the inner lives of women.

 Upon retirement, Kay returned to Brookings in 2012 with her husband, Louis Quinones, where she was an active member in the Medary Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Brookings Community Theatre, the Brookings Chapter of the General Federation of Women's Clubs and St. Thomas More parish.

Among her many joys in life was the appreciation of fine dining. She was a gourmet cuisinier who amazed those fortunate enough to dine at her gourmet suppers. Her repertoire of culinary delights from the seven continents was sustained by her love of travel and adventure. Her most recent travels included visits to Barcelona, Ireland, the Black Hills and the southeast United States.  

Kay was a feminist long before the word entered into our consciousness. She was a role model by her intellect, determination, graciousness, wit and perspicacity.

  Kathryn is survived by her siblings, Carroll Cole (Richard Sens–Castet), Brookings, and their son, Nicholas, Christopher (Jane Ann) Cole of Ashburn, and their children Virginia and Holly (Dan) Tronano and Patrick Cole and Ela (Randy) Roth of Spicer, Minn., and their children, Jessica Roth, Mahle Roth and Hank Roth; her stepsons, Jon (Cornelia) Quinones of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Garrick Quinones of Staten Island, N.Y. 

 She is predeceased by her husband, Louis and survived by her sisters, Carroll and Eleanor, her brother Christopher and stepsons Jon and Garrick Quinones.

 Condolences may be sent to the family through www.rudesfuneralhome.com.