Kay B. Grandstaff

Lena Kay Branch Grandstaff, 70, passed peacefully and gently away in the Shenandoah Valley, VA, on November 16, 2024. She is survived by her husband of 25 years, Joseph Dwight Grandstaff of Harrisonburg, VA; her son Jason Mark McLawhorn of Raleigh, NC; her son Philip Jared McLawhorn and his wife, Kathleen Elayne McLawhorn of Chesapeake, VA; her stepson Kyle Edgar Grandstaff and his wife, Caroline Williams Grandstaff of Atlanta, GA, and their children, William, Douglas and Virginia; her stepson Austin Pence Grandstaff and his wife, Lexi Miller Grandstaff, of Charlotte, NC, and their two children, Miller and Grey. She was our best friend, loving mother and teacher.

Kay was born on the Winter Solstice of 1953 in Winterville, NC, to Thomas Harvey Branch (1909–1987) and Lillian Mae Stokes (1912–1998). The youngest of three sisters, Kay spent her days going to school, attending church and working on her family’s tobacco farm. She developed an affinity for animals, science and music — the start of a lifelong journey in the joys of discovery and learning.

This passion for learning continued into her higher education. Kay received a Bachelor of Science in 1975 from East Carolina University. Pursuing a career in teaching, she completed her Master of Arts in Education in 1980, also from ECU.

Moving from North Carolina to the Shenandoah Valley in the early 1980s, Kay began her teaching journey at Keister Elementary. Right away, she became one of the most active and engaged teachers at the school. Her class was always out and about — from field trips to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., to showing students how to take citizen-science soil and water samples in a creek right outside their classroom window. She spent long hours working with the elementary school’s theater program, helping students design and build sets, and then sewing costumes and applying stage makeup as needed on the day of performance. She worked with gifted and talented students, pushing their creativity and imagination during summer camps. She found much gratification in teaching classes made almost wholly of students who were learning English as a second language and trying to navigate a new place — not only for them, but for their families as well. And she wanted all of these students to know that they were loved and that the things they did mattered.

A Spotswood Elementary teacher when she retired from Harrisonburg City Public Schools in 2013, Kay garnered many accolades over the years. She served on innumerable educational committees as both a participant and more often as a leader. She was admitted into the Alpha Delta Kappa International Honorary Society in 2007. In 2010, she was awarded the Lucy F. Simms Educator of the Year for excellence in local education.

In her free time, Kay enjoyed the outdoors and loved to visit the Appalachian region with her husband, Joe. A longtime lover of lighthouses, she adored the Outer Banks and the romance of piracy. She loved to sing and play music on the autoharp or piano. Puppet shows were never out of the question. In the summertime, she could often be found out in the gardens digging and planting. Her favorite books were mysteries, quite often involving cats helping detectives to solve cases. She liked to spend time with friends and was always up for a little bit of travel — especially if there was an element of history to it.

Kay was an active member of the community. From volunteering with the Pilot Club to working at the local hospital to even taking on leadership duties as a den mother for a Cub Scout troop, she always found ways to give her time and energy to so many people beyond her family, classroom or neighborhood. Kay truly loved the world and the people around her. It showed in the way she taught and the way she listened. It showed through her laughter and her tears. And it shows in the love that we feel for her now that she has returned to stardust. And it is this love that we would like to share back into the world.

A Celebration of Life Service to honor her memory will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024, at Muhlenberg Lutheran Church in Harrisonburg, VA. Pastor Lauren Eanes will officiate. The family will receive friends immediately following the service in the Muhlenberg Activity Center.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.lindseyfuneralhomes.com.

In lieu of flowers for Kay, please consider giving to Second Home, a program that is staffed by caring educators and volunteers who provide daily snacks, academic enrichment, and assistance with homework for children in grades K-5 before and after school. Second Home, 281 East Market Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22801; 540-432-7989; secondhomelc.org/donate.