Catherine Farr Dinsmore

Catherine "Kay" Farr Dinsmore
August 10, 1921 – June 18, 2025
Catherine "Kay" Farr Dinsmore passed away peacefully at home on June 18, 2025, at the age of 103. A beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, teacher, and friend, Kay lived a remarkable life defined by resilience, curiosity, kindness, and humor.
Kay was born near Brooklyn, Michigan, on August 10, 1921, to William Francis Farr (born January 14, 1877 in Grand Rapids, MI) and Laura Belle Farr (Stokes, born January 18, 1889 in Salina, CO).
On March 29, 1926, her brother William (Bill) Herbert Farr joined her when he was born in Lansing, MI.
After struggling through the Great Depression, her dad got a job at Diamond REO in Lansing but passed away on May 18, 1939 just before Kay's HS graduation from Lansing Sexton High School. She got a job at Ralph Ellison photo studio that summer to save up for college tuition. One day an 18-year-old boy named Bob came in to see his Uncle Ralph and met Kay.
After saving up enough money ($40 /term), Kay went to Michigan State College in 1940 where she had a professor that made her fall in love with Paris and France. She graduated as a teacher in June 1944. To make money while at MSC, she ushered during symphony concerts at the auditorium. During the seating of guests, a big radio would be onstage with the Metropolitan Opera playing and the broadcast was interrupted to announce the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
After graduating in June 1944, Kay was hired by Remington-Rand (later Sperry-Univac) and moved to New York for 6 months of training on the first computers and tabulating machines. After returning to Detroit after the training, she spent a lot of time at Point Pelee in Canada at the beaches.
After 9 years which included Bob being deployed to Europe in the Army during WWII, they were married on October 23, 1948 in Lansing, MI.
Kay's mom Laura Belle passed away in Lansing on August 10, 1953, Kay's 32nd birthday.
After marrying Bob, they lived in Lansing working at Auto-Owner's Insurance until transferring to the Detroit office in 1956. They purchased a house in Plymouth, MI and on May 13, 1957 had their only child, Michael John Dinsmore. Kay stayed at home raising Mike.
Kay returned to teaching after Mike started school and taught in the Northville Public Schools from 1964 – 1978 and retired. Upon Bob's retirement in 1984, they moved to Florida for 22 years.
Kay and Bob returned to Michigan in June 2006 moving into American House Troy.
When I think of all that my mom saw in her life, it is crazy...
The beginning of broadcast RADIO as well as TV, Charles Lindbergh's solo flight across the Atlantic, Amelia Earhart's flight around the world until her disappearance, The Great Depression, WWII, the development and deployment of the atomic bomb, computers and PCs, the building of the Berlin Wall and its eventual teardown, the space race and the moon landing in 1969, the Civil Rights Act, Woodstock, Watergate, the rise of Women's Rights, the internet, cell phones and smartphones, and space flights past all 9 planets in our solar system! Also 14 of the 47 U.S. Presidents - from Warren G. Harding (#29) to Donald J. Trump (#47)... That is 29.79% amazing.
Mike married Mary Sue Comfort on September 9, 1983. They had 2 daughters, Molly Catherine in 1987 and Martha Ann in 1989.
Molly married Brandon Kilgore in November 2011 and Kay was blessed with 2 great granddaughters Ella Josephine in 2013 and Everleigh Michael in 2015.
Martha has been dating Saul Carrillo in Chicago since September 2022.
Kay's brother Bill also had one child, Barbara Ann Farr who married Lon Hager on September 9, 1972. They had 2 daughters, Andrea and Valerie (great nieces) and Valerie has 2 children, great-great niece Madison Hager and great-great nephew Atticus Martyr.
Barb wanted to include a couple of personal notes about her Aunt Kay as well. Aunt Kay was quite a "punster". I always received a birthday card with a letter with some sort of pun. I loved her sense of humor.
I loved hearing her tell stories about living in NYC with her friends. We went through her photo album. And oh, how she loved France!
She instilled a passion for genealogy and family history research, paving the way for current and future generations to connect with our ancestors and embrace our past.
She trusted me with family heirlooms and included little notes identifying each item.
She encouraged women to consider keeping their own name after marriage as a way to affirm their identity and independence. Kay's "Brother Bill" passed away on August 3, 2010 and nephew-in-law Lon passed away November 20, 2022.
Kay and Bob made multiple trips to Paris and other parts of Europe. On one of those trips, they were on a tour with Bob's 1110 Army Corps of Engineers. They retraced their path from England, across the English Channel to Omaha Beach in Normandy, onto Paris, Belgium, through West Germany and ending in Eisenach East Germany.
Kay's husband Bob of over 58 years passed away on March 29, 2007, but Kay stayed at American House until passing away at home on June 18, 2025. She had many friends at American House and was loved by all. She will be missed.