Kazuko "Kay" Ballew, 93 of Plainview, passed away peacefully at her home on Tuesday, July 30, 2024. A visitation will be held on Sunday, August 4, 2024, at Lemons Memorial Chapel from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. A Graveside service will be held at 11:00 AM, Monday, August 5, 2024, in Plainview Memorial Park. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Lemons Funeral Home in Plainview.

Kazuko was born in Tokyo, Japan on July 3, 1931, to Taka Omatsuzawa. She was one of five children, her brothers Koichi Izumi, Shingi Omatsuzawa, Shinichi Omatsuzawa and sister, Ranko Tukiyma.

Kazuko married the love of her life Johnnie Dale Ballew on March 18, 1952, in Tokyo, Japan, and later that year they moved to Oregon. Mr. Ballew passed away on September 22, 2011. She was a member of the Cosmopolitan Club in Plainview, which met once a month.

Over the years Kazuko learned English by listening to the radio and watching various television shows. She dedicated her life to being a homemaker and loved to paint. Every Saturday morning, for 20 years, she would attend oil painting classes. She was known for her beautiful artwork in oil pastel and her family keeps various paintings around their homes. She enjoyed spending time folding origami and cutting apples into rabbits. She loved her garden, her rose bushes, and she loved to cook.

Those left to cherish her memory are her sons; Bobby D. Ballew and wife Erlinda Solinap Ballew and Dale Alton Ballew and wife Joan Moceno Ballew; two grandchildren, Barbara Kay Ballew, and Jay Dee Ballew; and one great grandchild; Micah Kay Martinez.

Kazuko is preceded in death by her mother; Taka Omatsuzawa, her Husband; Johnnie Ballew and her brother, Koichi Izumi.