"Kay's Fudge" was well-known in Martha Kathryn Kirkham Andrews' circles, and now it's beloved all across the internet, as the image of the matriarch's recipe engraved on her headstone has been shared widely.
A Utah woman's notable legacy has gained attention after many noticed the headstone she has gone on to share with her husband had been adorned with the recipe for her signature fudge, a decadent dessert her longtime partner loved so much.
Martha Kathryn Kirkham Andrews was 97 when she died on Dec. 17, 2019. Known affectionately as "Kay," the matriarch passed away surrounded by her family who she loved with everything she had, according to her obituary. Her passing came 19 years after the death of her husband, Dr. Wade Huff Andrews, who "stood by her until he died on May 22, 2000," her memorial read.
Kay was born Aug. 30, 1922 to Oscar Ammon Kirkham and Ida Murdock Kirkham. She grew up in Salt Lake City and after graduating from Utah State Agricultural College, she moved to New York City to work and study millinery.
She was also searching for love, and it was there she found it.
She met Wade Huff Andrews at a church event. He asked her to dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where they hit it off immediately. But a second date with Wade would have to wait, as he was off to serve in World War II. The pair exchanged letters for nine months while he was overseas, and he honored her by naming his B-24 bomber the "Salt Lake Katy," her obituary read.
They were married in the Salt Lake Temple on Dec. 18, 1944 and made a life together wherever it took them, including time spent in Washington, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio and Colorado. They ultimately settled in Logan, Utah, with their five children.
"Service defined her life," her memorial read. "Kay held many callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Primary, Young Women's organization and in the Relief Society. With Wade, she served in the Leeds, England mission from 1989 to 1990. She was proud of her Church pioneer heritage and served as the President of the Cache County Chapter of the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, volunteering at the museums in Salt Lake City and Logan. She was an actor and costume creator for many years at the Martin Harris Pageant in Clarkston, Utah."
Kay's Sunday dinners were known to bring her growing family together and she could often be found with a tray of her famous fudge at the ready.
“She really loved people,” her daughter, Janice Johnson, told KSTU. “She would write poetry, and she would take fudge whenever people got together.”
After her husband passed on May 22, 2000, Kay helped select the images on what would eventually become their shared headstone at Logan Cemetery. Her children suggested she should be equally represented, and Kay decided her recipe should be displayed on the stone, KSTU reported.
"The inscription has attracted attention from around the world," her obituary read.
Kay's family said she was aware that her headstone had gained a following and was pleased it made so many people happy.
"We may miss her physical smile, but the smiles she creates with her memory will continue forever," her memorial read.
The recipe on the stone reads, "Kay's Fudge" and calls for two squares of chocolate and two of tablespoons butter to be melted on low heat. Stir in one cup of milk and bring to a boil. Add three cups of sugar, one teaspoon of vanilla and a pinch of salt. Cook until it's at the "softball stage," pour on a marble slab and then "cool and beat and eat."
The stone finishes with, "Wherever she goes, there's laughter."
Related Stories
