In Loving Memory
Kaye Louise Neuenfeldt
March 20, 1958 – May 18, 2006
Kaye was the drive, the motivation and the reason the Bayou Billy Company has become what we are today! I had to keep her proud of me and I always kept working toward our future.
She made a lot of suggestions over the years that made a difference. And she had the roughest job on earth; she had to take care of me. Believe me, that alone was a full-time job.
In 14 years together, we had only one major fuss. It ironically was about the Tin Mug. We were making ends meet in Lake Worth, FL. I came up with the mug idea. It was going to cost too much to make, she thought.
I sold an Ice Cream Machine and didn’t tell her and was able to order the equipment I needed with the profit I made from the sale. She got off work that day at 1pm just when the UPS man arrived. I hurried home just in time to find the UPS man standing there with his hand out waiting for his COD’s. That was NOT a good day. She didn’t speak for two days!
We really couldn’t afford the expense to manufacture the Tin Mugs at that time. I made the 360 Mugs and we had a show in Morehaven, FL that Saturday. She was still upset. The gates opened at 11am and we sold all 360 Tin Mugs by 1pm.
We were Out of Mugs! I looked over at Kaye and with a grin she said “Looks like I had a good idea, didn’t I?” I said “Yes, honey you sure did!” That was the end of the fuss. From that day onward Kaye proved to always be in my corner!
Kaye had such a good heart. Often Kaye would bring someone that she thought couldn’t afford our food, and have me feed them for free. I’d fix them up a Big Sampler and a Tin Mug with drink from our Mobile Restaurant. Her reasoning was that the person might be our guardian angel testing us, so we had so assume everyone was an angel.
Kaye came down with cancer in November of 2004. It was in her face under her eye. For the next 15 months she put forth a gallant effort to beat this horrible disease. In May 18, 2006, she was too tired to go on.
I know Kaye is with the angels she fed on earth.
One Day we shall all be together again.
Bayou Billy