Kay Adele Buri, 76, Drake, passed away Monday, September 11, 2017 at CHI-St. Alexius Health in Bismarck. Her funeral will be held Monday, September 18 at 10:30 a.m. at the United Methodist Church in Drake with burial at the Balfour Cemetery in Balfour. Visitation will be held one hour before the service at the church on Monday. Arrangements with Bethke-Nelson Funeral Home of Drake.

Kay Adele Buri, daughter of Chester and Frederica (Goodman) Buri, was born August 23, 1941 at Stanley, ND. She grew up in Balfour and attended Balfour Public School, graduating in 1959. She then enrolled at Minot State College where she majored in three areas, Speech & Language, Deaf Education, and Elementary Education.

Following her graduation, Kay accepted a position as Director of the Language Development Center at the Crippled Children's School in Jamestown where she established one of the first classrooms for the hearing impaired, physically handicapped students. After 4 years at the Crippled Children's School, she moved to Denver, CO where she was employed with Mapleton Public Schools as a speech and language specialist, a research assistant and an educational resource teacher.

In1995, Kay returned to North Dakota and made her home in Devils Lake for several years before moving to Drake where she had lived since.

Kay enjoyed life, especially the outdoors where she spent much of her time, always with her camera in hand. She had a way with words as evidenced by her poetry, the books she wrote and her conversations with family and friends. She also enjoyed music and was an accomplishes pianist.

She truly loved and took great pride in her Icelandic heritage. This passion inspired Kay to compile the Swearson Reunion Book and take great interest in the Towner Historical Society.

Kay was preceded in death by her parents.

She is survived by a number of cousins and a host of friends.