Mark Cline Kay

Mark Cline Kay, of Amarillo, Texas was born January 19, 1948 and lived all but one year in Amarillo. His parents were Dallas and Mary Louise Kay. On January 5, 2026 he left this earth for his heavenly home.

Mark grew up loving and being loved by his parents, older siblings, their spouses and children. He spent many hours in his parent’s upholstery shop and learned the old style methods from his dad. Mark enjoyed learning the craft and also playing baseball with friends. When he was 11 or 12 his brother, Charles, put a guitar in his hands. He loved it and soon after began taking guitar lessons from Jeannie Foster. Mark, who played lead guitar, and friends from school started a “garage” band and soon they were playing for high school dances and began traveling all over the area. He toured with one band, The Page Boys, in the Dick Clark Caravans all over west Texas and New Mexico. They opened for bands such as the Turtles, The Everly Brothers (the band played as their band), Them, The Yardbirds and the Mind Benders to name a few. He played with several other bands during the 60’s and early 70’s such as The Hysterical Society and Euphoria. In 1969, he and his bandmates moved to California where they lived for about a year and played on the Sunset Strip. While there, he also played with a “new” Christian band called The Love Song. They invited him to travel with them to Hawaii but he and his bandmates moved back to Amarillo.

Mark played for a couple more years. In 1972 he hung up the electric guitar and went to work for his dad at Kay and Son's Furniture Builders and Upholstery Shop. He was an amazing craftsman and continued this work into the 1990’s.

Mark met Marian Roller in March of 1982, and sharing a love of music, they could often be found at various live music venues around Amarillo. During that summer they began singing and playing guitars together and they soon found a love for each other. It didn’t take Mark long to propose and they married on October 23, 1982.

He and Marian discovered their love for the Lord Jesus Christ and were baptized together in 1984. They later played in praise teams together and worked in several productions at several churches around Amarillo.

In 1992, Mark and Marian were hired to play music and entertain at the Creekwood Ranch Old West Show and Chuck Wagon Supper. This experience was one of the highlights of their life. Mark learned to ride a horse out there, he wrote the story and played the role of a half White, half Native American man. He found a real love of our history in the panhandle and the music of the 1880s and the new Western music that was being written then, as well. It challenged him in a new way. This musical era culminated in an amazing 19 day tour with Marian through Germany, in 1999, with a band called The Prairie Heirs of the Palo Duro. The band recorded a western music CD at Woody Key Studio before the tour and sold CDs and tapes on the tour. They met friends during this trip that Mark referred to as family. He loved Mike, Jens, Heike, Jimmy, Doris, Stephan, and others, too. He loved when any of them called or came to visit!

After leaving the upholstery business,Mark tried out several jobs before discovering that he enjoyed remodeling and went to work for Park Central, remodeling apartments. He retired from there in 2022.

Throughout Mark's life he would be known as a guitarist and craftsman but anyone who knew him knows he loved deeply and cared about and helped the people in his life. He loved them all but he loved Marian more. She is thankful and blessed that he chose her to be his wife and his best friend.

He is survived by his wife Marian Kay, sister Laura But, his nieces and nephews Cindy, DeeDee, Becky, Dana, Linda F., Chocky, Anne, Steve, Suzanne, Linda W., Dianne, Don, Jim, Judy, and Marian's family; Tom and Teri; Gary, Andy, Tim, Danny, Sierra and Dakota Roller and a multitude of greats and great greats! He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers Dallas (Barry) Kay, Charles Kay and Rene Lamonde Kay; sisters Virginia Weirick Polumbo and Mary Kathleen and nephews Mike, Phillip, David and Charlie Joe.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the WRCA (Working Ranch Cowboys Association) Cowboy Crisis Fund.

A Celebration of Mark's Life will be held in June. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors.