DRAKESBORO – Kimberly Blake Meadows, ahead of her time and devoted to her faith and family, was called to her heavenly home on Monday, February 19th, 2024. Kim was born to Mike and Peggy Blake of Beech Creek on November 13th, 1965. We find great difficulty in finding the right words to describe our precious Kim, the life she lived, and the impact she made on her family, community, and friends.
After graduating Hughes-Kirk High School in 1983, Kim furthered her education at Western Kentucky University majoring in Public Relations with a double minor in business and religion. During her years at Hughes-Kirk, she proudly marched in the band for eight years receiving many honors for solos and ensembles and participated in the University of Tennessee honors band for four years. Kim worked at Leader News as a reporter from 1983 to 1987, then again after graduating WKU in May of 1987 to 1988. Kim moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 1988, where she worked for PIP printing, becoming their national salesperson of the year. During her time at PIP printing, Kim met George E. Meadows. Kim and George were married on April 17th, 1993.
After their time in Nashville, Kim and George moved back home to Kentucky. Fulfilling her dreams of becoming a mother, she found the two loves of her life, Clorissa and Jager. Kim worked as the Family Resource Coordinator at Lake Malone and Hughes Kirk from 2000 to 2005, and then at Muhlenberg South Elementary from 2005 to her retirement in 2023. The love for her career beautifully encapsulates her passion to help and serve others. Always with a kind heart, she took care of her students and their family whether it be providing shelter, food, clothes, or just a listening ear.
In her free time, she loved to read and write and volunteer to serve on the board of the Kentucky Hands and Voices as a “Guide by Your Side” where she supported families of deaf and hard of hearing children. After discovering her son Jager was deaf and hard of hearing in 2005, she devoted her life to learning sign language, advocating, and translating for her son. She had a love for learning and had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. She was a devoted fan of University of Kentucky basketball and the Kansas City Chiefs. She enjoyed spending time on Kentucky lake with her family, traveling, and planning activities for her kids, nieces, and nephew. Music was a part of her identity, and she served as the choir director at Hazel Creek Missionary Baptist Church. She loved to sing and could play any instrument she picked up.
Kim read the bible cover to cover five times and stayed dedicated to her faith in Jesus. She covered her family, friends, and community in prayers daily and would always have the appropriate scripture to reference at any time. Kim was never scared to take on new opportunities and did everything with honesty and integrity. Through her positive energy, she always took time to help others. Kim was a light in the dark and a warm feeling on a cold day. We will miss her for the rest of our lives and will look for her at heaven’s gates.
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Kim is preceded in death by her husband of twenty-two years, George E. Meadows, father Michael Ray Blake, grandparents Howard and Ruby Bowers and Harold Ray and Mary Francis Blake, and niece Serenity Grace O’Bannon. Survivors include her mother, Peggy Blake, of Beech Creek, children Clorissa (Charles Barbosa) Meadows, Jager, and foster son Levi, sisters Michelle (Jerry) O’Bannon, of Beech Creek, and Shannon (Aaron) Martin of Browder, nieces and nephews Ashley (Gavin) Hill of Greenville, Blake O’Bannon, Mollie Martin, and Madelyn Martin, great-nieces who referred her as their Gigi, Paislee, Piper, Dylan, and Josie.
Funeral Services will be Saturday, February 24, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Hazel Creek Missionary Baptist Church, with Bro. Terry Chaney officiating, assisted by Bro. Barry Davis. Burial will follow in Hazel Creek Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday from 5-8 p.m. at Hazel Creek Baptist Church and Saturday after 8:00 a.m. at the church. Tucker Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be made at www.tuckerfuneralhomes.com.
