Woman shares recipe of her signature fudge on her headstone: 'She really loved people'

Some recipes are so precious that you'd rather take them to the grave. Kathryn Andrews did, but that's also where she chose to share the recipe of her signature fudge with everyone. Andrews died at the age of 97 in December 2019, but that recipe is a part of her that'll live on forever. At Utah's Logan City Cemetery, on her headstone, is the recipe of her signature fudge. The recipe is engraved in the headstone she shares with her husband Wade, reported People. She was 'Kay', to those who knew her.

As per the recipe, you have to melt two squares of chocolate and two tablespoons of butter on low heat. You have to stir the same mixture in one cup of milk and bring it to a boil before adding three cups of sugar, one teaspoon vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Her final instructions are to "Cook to softball stage, pour on a marble slab, cool & beat & eat." The recipe is engraved against a black headstone. Funnily, the original engraving made a "typo" which would have resulted in a “runny fudge.” The typo was corrected. Beneath the recipe is one final tribute to Kathryn Andrews: "Wherever she goes, there's laughter." 

It summed up Kathryn Andrews as a person, said her close family and everyone she knew. "She really loved people," said her daughter Janice Johnson, reported KSTU. "She would write poetry, and she would take fudge whenever people got together." Johnson said her mother was always looking out for others and caring for them. Johnson added that her mother would keep Tootsie Rolls in her purse in the anticipation of running into children who were having a rough day.

Kathryn Andrews' husband died in 2000, and she chose special symbols to be engraved on the side of their shared headstone. She chose the ones that represented life. It was at the time that her children suggested she decide on something to be engraved to memorialize herself. After giving it much thought, she decided that it was a fudge recipe that she wanted to share. The headstone with the engraving of the recipe was erected when Wade died. The headstone had gone viral at the time but it has resurfaced now on the internet, sparking renewed interest in the kind soul that Kathryn Andrews is.

Kathryn Andrews and Wade had met at a church function in New York City. She had just moved there to study fashion and design. He was a US Air Force Captain. The pair had met for one date before Wade had to fly back to Europe during World War II. The pair had made a deep impression on each other and wrote hundreds of letters. After his pilot duties were over, he flew back with his mind set on marrying her. “Took her to the Capitol steps and gave her the Diamond and they were married 18 days later,” said Johnson. They were married on December 18, 1944, and had five children.

For her family, it was surprising to see the headstone make the news again but it just reminded everyone to celebrate Andrews again and there can be no bigger tribute than that. "I knew that the headstone had been circulating on Pinterest for like a long time now," said Kay's granddaughter Emily. "Since my grandpa passed away, when I was eight years old, I knew it was kind of internet famous. But yeah, I didn't expect it to be on the news this week." Kay's family said they are happy to see the headstone bring joy to others. "I think she would be thrilled that people can have a taste of her recipe," said Emily. "That's what she was all about, sharing with people, so I think she would love it."