Angela Kay Key

Winnie Angela (Kay) Key passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 10, 2021, at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas, at the age of 76, after fighting a courageous eight-and-a-half-month battle against pancreatic cancer.

Angela was born September 17, 1944, in Knox City, Texas, to Charles Darrell Kay and Lillian Ora (Kaigler) Kay. Until she was in the fourth grade, she lived in Rochester, Texas, where she attended Rochester Elementary. In 1954 she moved to Lubbock, where she attended Carroll Thompson Junior High School and graduated from Monterey High School in 1962. Throughout her life, her friendships ran deep. She continued to be close with her Rochester and Lubbock classmates and even attended class reunions for both. After high school, she attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas, and worked at the 1964 World’s Fair in Flushing, New York. A couple of years later, while at a friend’s wedding, she met the love-of-her-life, Euell Dwayne Key. They married on June 18, 1966, in Lubbock, Texas. She worked for many years as a board-certified dental assistant in Lubbock, Texas, and Carbondale, Illinois.

Angela moved to Nacogdoches in 1970. She was a long-time member of Austin Heights Baptist Church, where she sang in the choir and was involved in many of its community outreach programs. She spent several years serving as the room mother at Raguet Elementary for both of her children. For almost 20 years, she proudly worked for Nacogdoches Independent School District, retiring from Mike Moses Intermediate School in 2003.

She served as a member and officer in the Texas PTA, Habitat for Humanity, Girl Scouts of the USA, Red Cross Volunteer, Election Judge, University Women’s Club of SFA, Nacogdoches chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (serving as Regent from 2017 to 2021), Colonial Dames, of the XVII Century, National Society of United States Daughters of 1812, National Society Daughters of the American Colonists, and Daughters of the Confederacy. She was dedicated to working with the Nacogdoches Federation of Women’s Club, whose responsibility is to maintain the Old Nacogdoches University Building.

Her love of sports fell closely behind her love of family, friends, church, and community support. From her early days in Nacogdoches, she became known as a die-hard Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks fan. Her love for “her girls” was strong. She rarely missed a home game and even attended games on the road, including traveling with the team to Mexico City in 1978. She attended her first Ladyjacks game in the mid-1970s and her last game in February of this year.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Charles and Lillian Kay, husband of 31 years, Dwayne Key, and sister Carmen Sue (Kay) Walker. She is survived by her sister Rosemary (Kay) Corley of San Antonio; son Alan Dwayne Key, daughter-in-law, Charlene Marie (Masse) Key, and granddaughter Teigan Amy Key of Locust, North Carolina; daughter Amy Lyn (Key) Camp, son-in-law George Kenneth Camp III, step-granddaughters Sydney Lauren Camp, and Scarlett Killington Camp, step-grandson George Kenneth Camp IV, of Bluffton, South Carolina, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Brandon Smaglo, Dr. Matthew Katz, Dr. Cameron Gaskill, Mara Wilson, Morgan Bruno, and the rest of the medical staff at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas.

On Tuesday, April 13, 2021, to allow friends and family to pay their respects, there will be an open visitation at Cason Monk-Metcalf Funeral Home from 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. A memorial service and celebration of life will be held on a yet-to-be-determined future date.

The Key family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Angela Key’s name to the charity of choice; The Old University Building c/o Federation of Women’s Clubs, P.O. Box 633113, Nacogdoches, Texas 75963; Regarding Cancer (RegardingCancer.org); or Austin Heights Baptist Church, 2806 Appleby Sand Road, Nacogdoches, Texas 75965.