Carla Kay Small-Livingston 12/14/1942 - 01/09/2026
Carla Kay Small-Livingston (Murphy) gained her angel wings and went home to be with our Heavenly Father on January 9, 2026. She was 83 years young. She lived a full and blessed life.
Born on December 14, 1942, in Kokomo, Indiana to Leo and Esther (Tilley) Murphy. She was the 4th child of 7 children in her family.
Kay as she was known to most was raised in Kokomo, Indiana. She attended Kokomo High School.
She met the love of her life while working as a waitress at The Rainbow Bar in Peru, IN. On January 19, 1963, Roger Lyman Small and Carla Kay Murphy were married. They were blessed with 33 years of marriage before Roger passed in 1996. During their 33 years they shared, they had 2 daughters, Tracy Leigh and Sierra Kay. They loved traveling and did a lot of it, across the USA, many countries and tropical islands. During their marriage Roger and Kay lived in Indiana, California, and Maine. Favorite hobbies were garage sales, auctions and Sunday family drives to spend time with family or explore new areas of interest.
Kay was a stay-at-home Mom while her girls were young. Later, she became a bookkeeper for Golightlys in Kokomo. She followed with a career with Stop-N-Go convenience stores as an assistant manager and manager.
Kay was blessed in her life with a 2nd love of her life. She spent the next 19 years with William(Bill) Livingston. They finally decided to marry on October 23, 2012. During their time they shared they had fur children, Prisca, Sadie, Kiana and Kojack. They spent their time going to auctions, adding to their collections and being homebodies doing yardwork and planting flowers and plants around the property. Bill and Kay were members and attended church at the Antioch Baptist church in Rochester, IN. There Kay became involved with the youth group that affectionately adopted her and became Kay’s girls.
Kay’s final years were spent in Tennessee. After Bill passed in 2017 it was time to be close to her daughter Tracy and her son-in-law Jeff who could be there to care for her as she embarked on her senior years. Kojack and Kiana made the journey with her. She continued to love traveling and shared that love with her Tennessee family. Kay became part of a village to her 3 great grandchildren and blessed them with many 1st time experiences. They blessed her with lots of love and adventures.
Kay had a full and beautiful life. She became a Mom at 20, a Grandma at 40 and a Gigi at 67. She had 2 daughters, a step-daughter, a step-son, 8 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. She was adored and loved by many nieces and nephews. She was treasured by her brothers and sisters & her brother-in-laws and sister-in-laws.
Kay was preceded in death by both of her husbands’ Roger and Bill, both of her parents Leo and Esther. Her brother Robert(Bob) Murphy, her sister Sharon Craig, her step-daughter Crystal (Small) Billings and a granddaughter Macara LeAnn.
She is survived by her daughters, Tracy(Jeff)Bitner (Maryville, TN). Sierra(David) Modro (Portland, OR).
Her brothers, James Murphy (Columbia, South America), Roger(Kathy) Murphy (Kokomo, IN). Her sisters, Cindy Murphy (Etowah, TN), Brenda(Jim) Ramsey (Anderson, SC). Her stepson William(Stacey) Livingston (Anderson, IN). Her stepson-in-law Brad Billings (Cookson, OK). Her 8 grandchildren Joshua(Nikki), Adams, Nicky(Shawn) Trexler, Mariah Davis, Dustin(Michelle) Davis, Jamie Billings, Jessie(Casey) Billings, Jada Livingston, William Livingston. 16 Great-Grandchildren Tristan, Emily and Kaiden, Levi, Connor and Isabelle, Grace, Madelyn and Cadence, Luna, Aylin and Dej, Austin, Sean, Noah and Lena.
The family will plan celebration of life at a later date. Blount Funeral and Cremation will be handling all other arrangements.
