Patricia Kaye Luiken

April 27, 1939 – Aug. 12, 2021

We are saddened to announce that our sister, Patricia Kaye Luiken, died at St. Vincent Hospital, Santa Fe, N.M. on Aug. 12, 2021. She was the daughter of Harry and Harriet Luiken of Steamboat Rock, Iowa. She graduated from Steamboat Rock High School where was involved in a variety of music activities and sports throughout her school years. She was baptized at First Baptist Church and played piano for musical groups at church and High School. She graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Home Economics and then taught High School and Middle School in Buffalo Center, Iowa, Walden, Colo., and Fort Collins, Colo. She then moved to Santa Fe and for the past 30 plus years worked as a Certified Financial Planner with Waddell and Reed.

Santa Fe was where she felt most at home and it was there that her love of birds, wildlife, and the beauty and grandeur of the state blossomed into her passion for photography. She never tired of taking photos of things in God’s creation, which fascinated her. She had many wonderful friends in Santa Fe and had the privilege of being involved in First Presbyterian Church, Morning Prayer Group, and with a number of charities, including a prison ministry, and an organization providing clean water resources for developing countries. She was a voracious reader, keenly interested in affairs of the world, and had strong convictions about being a responsible person in the world. She was steadfast in her faith and her love for the Lord, and had no fear of death. She died peacefully in the hospital with her family at her side.

She never met a stranger and would stop and talk to most anyone on the street and willingly gave to those in need. She loved her friends and family intensely, and is survived by her sister, Beverly Luiken, (Brian Shevkenek) of Kelowna, B.C.; brother, George Luiken (Sheila), Coronado, Calif.; and nephews Nathan (Edna) Hiller, Emmaline and Hugo, Miami, Fla.; Drew (Erin) Hiller, Sam, Cole and Eliza, Kenmore, Wash.; Daniel (Brooke) Luiken, San Francisco, Calif.; and Jacob Luiken (Coronado, Calif.), and numerous cousins.

A private celebration of Pat’s life will be held at a later date in Santa Fe, depending on current COVID guidelines.