Kathryn Miles-Anderton, age 78 died peacefully on the morning of February 18, 2021 surrounded by family in her home outside Goodlettesville, TN. She was born Kathryn Lynn Pickens to parents, William E. Pickens and Loretta Higgins Pickens on April 2, 1942 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and went on to live in Texas, Illinois, Missouri, Arizona, Pennsylvania, California, Hawaii, and Georgia as she traveled with her husband, Gerald, during his career as a mechanical engineer.
Kathryn was a lifelong artist. From the time an elementary school art teacher told her she had talent, she strived to create visual art. As a young mother Kathryn attended classes at East Central College and Missouri University before graduating with a BFA from Arizona State University in 1987. After graduating, she changed her name to Kathryn Miles-Anderton, combining the maiden names of her two grandmothers. Over the next 20 years, she created hundreds of works of art developing her own abstract style that often focused on themes of religion and nature. She perfected a unique method using acrylic paint and mixed media, frequently incorporating found objects that reflected her travels and daily life.
Kathryn knew how to make experiences and environments around her beautiful and she was generous with her time and her resources. Birthday celebrations; holidays; graduations: Kathryn would plan and decorate to perfection. She created custom artwork for the homes and offices of her immediate and extended families, showing up to help paint and decorate in addition to delivering the art she had specifically created for the space. She was a patient and loving grandmother who was willing to spend endless hours on the floor building Lego towers, pretending to be a dinosaur, and finger painting regardless of the damage to her carpet.
Kathryn was preceded in death by her parents, Loretta and William Pickens, her husband of 50 years, Gerald Elroy McClendon and her brother, Andrew Jackson Pickens. She is survived by her sister, Anna Laura Pickens McClendon (Dale), her children Carol McClendon Casteel (Mel), Paul Gerald McClendon (Tracy), and Mary McClendon Mumford (David) and Seven grandchildren: Isaiah Casteel, Haley Casteel, Katie Casteel, Noah McClendon, Eli McClendon, Anna Mumford and Isaac Mumford. She is also survived by her niece, Laura Ann McClendon, and nephew, Mark Andrew Jackson Pickens McClendon.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Larry Pogue Scholarship Fund for aspiring artists at East Central College. Please send checks to the East Central College Foundation, 1964 Prairie Dell Road, PO Box 387, Union, MO 63084 and write “Kathryn Miles Anderton” on the Memo line, or make a gift online at https://www.eastcentral.edu/foundation/scholarship-donation-form/ and indicate in the comments that the gift is in memory of Kathryn Miles-Anderton.
