Kathleen “Kathy” Ann Morton (nèe Hayes)

Kathy was grounded in a quiet confidence in who she was and in what she believed from a very early age. Those who knew her were aware that while her foundational values never wavered, her unending curiosity and creativity always led her to explore and learn new skills, meet new people, and consider alternative ideas.

Kathy was born January 3, 1954, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and died at home in Homer, Alaska, on August 3, 2025, of pancreatic cancer, after spending her final days with her children.

Before coming to Alaska in her early 20s, she spent most of her life in Manchester, New Hampshire. She was the eldest of five children of Jack and Margery (“Midge”) Hayes. In the early 1970s, Kathy often pushed the boundaries society set forth. She even talked the high school welding instructor into allowing her to learn to weld, becoming the only female in her high school to do so at the time. After graduating from the University of New Hampshire with her BFA in Art, she traveled to Mexico by bus for an extended trip alone. Even after leaving New England, the history, culture, and love of her parents remained part of her life until the end. This showed up in the aesthetic of her home, her thriftiness, and her appreciation for quality in the arts, food, craftsmanship, and a job well done.

After she and her husband at the time drove a converted Dodge power wagon to Alaska in the mid-1970s, they lived in a cabin at the head of Kachemak Bay, where their first child, Daisy, was born in 1978. It was also during this time, a year before having her daughter, that Kathy successfully delivered the daughter of a neighboring couple within hours of being given a book on childbirth and told to“follow the instructions.”

Three years later, while living in a log cabin she helped build in Western Alaska, Kathy had her son George, delivered by his father – as his sister before him. Kathy and her family resided in Western Alaska for approximately seven years, living a mainly subsistence lifestyle with periods of this time spent in Bethel, where she worked for the Head Start program.

After returning to Homer in 1985, Kathy worked a variety of jobs, including at Fritz Creek Studio, Land’s End, Smokey Bay Natural Foods, NOMAR, and Kachemak Bay Family Planning, among others. Many of her jobs involved supporting other artists. In the mid-1990s, Kathy began Colors of the Sea, which was her unique, one-of-a-kind hat business. Her hats were a popular item at the Homer Farmer’s Market and elsewhere for years until she retired around 2016.

Kathy was an early member of Ptarmigan Art Gallery and remained so for 25 years. She was a multimedia artist working in fiber arts and other three-D mediums in particular. She was a master seamstress and could make incredible functional objects with only a brief analysis of what kind of product or modification was needed.

Kathy donated her time for years as a Hospice visiting volunteer. In the end, she became a recipient of Hospice’s equipment loan program. She believed that during these challenging times for non-profits, Hospice of Homer has proven itself to be a valuable and needed resource in our community, and she said with her characteristic directness, “They need to exist.” Please consider a donation to Hospice of Homer to continue their critical mission.

Kathy is survived by her daughter, Daisy Morton, and her son, George Morton, both of Vinalhaven, Maine, and her siblings, Bill, Josephine, Jim, and Susan. Her parents, Jack and Midge Hayes, and her beloved dog, Kipper, predeceased her.

As Kathy requested, there will be no service. She did, however, have these final words: “Here’s hoping the beauty of this place fills you with joy and makes you feel worthy of living here.”