SAND SPRINGS, Okla. — Noretta Kay Summers, 78, of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, passed away peacefully in her sleep Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
Kay was born on March 18, 1946, in Alva, Oklahoma, the daughter of Sherman and Valera Snow. She grew up and went to school in Alva.
She married Carl Rommel in July 1962, and they resided in Garden City. They relocated to Chanute in 1967.
While Kay lived in Chanute, she belonged to Grace Episcopal Church. She was a den mother with both the Brownies and Cub Scouts. She greatly enjoyed camping with family and friends at the many state lakes in Southeast Kansas. Some of her favorite pastimes included cooking, bowling and arts and crafts, which she continued doing her entire life. This included painting and, in the good ole days, macrame and decoupage along with other forms of creativity. Kay was a proficient seamstress and made many of the clothes that she forced her kids to wear.
Kay married Darrell Summers in 2001 while still in Chanute, but they soon moved to Mesa, Arizona, where they lived the later years of their lives together. She was an active member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church while in Mesa. Here they both enjoyed Darrell’s children and family until Darrell’s death in December 2022. Kay then moved back to Sand Springs, Oklahoma.
Kay is survived by two sisters, Carolyn Hillis of Poway, California, and Nelda Sue Painton (Steve) of Edmond, Oklahoma; her son and daughter, Bryan Rommel (Shelly) of Bucyrus and Margo Powell (Wade) of Kellyville, Oklahoma; stepsons, Brent Summers (Jen) Chandler, Arizona, and Dana Summers (Heather) of Mesa, Arizona; three grandchildren, Colton Rommel, Lyndsy Rommel and Ragan Auxter; six stepgrandchildren, Jackson Summers, Kaitlyn Summers, Jake Summers, Paige Summers, Brady Summers, Parker Summers; and several nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; Darrell; and five brothers.
Kay will be laid to rest at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Mesa, Arizona, beside Darrell at a later date.
