Kay Phillips Williams

Kay Phillips Williams, New Bern community leader, champion of North Carolina history, and Director of Tryon Palace for 30 years, died in her home in New Bern, on October 14, 2012; she was 69 years of age.

Born November 6, 1942 to F. Murray Phillips, Sr, and Velma Mary Paul Phillips, Kay’s North Carolina roots were deeply felt and her love for Tryon Palace and for New Bern was unfailing. From a very early age, Kay’s mother made sure that her daughter would grow up to be an effective public speaker and, at the young age of three, Kay made her first public presentation at Amity Christian Church in Arapahoe, North Carolina. Kay used those skills learned early on to become an unflagging promoter and preserver of North Carolina’s history and heritage, a mission that was close to her heart and a commitment that would define the rest of her life.

Kay attended New Bern High School, graduating in 1961. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in English and in 1971, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a Master of Arts in English and 16th century English Drama.

Kay began her working career in 1965 at Greensboro News Company in Greensboro, NC, as a staff artist, preparing drawings and photographs for printing in the daily newspaper. She also produced line drawings to illustrate a weekly column. Kay was an Instructor of English at Davidson County Community College in Lexington, NC from 1967 – 1969. In 1970, she returned to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as Assistant Director of Career Planning, and in 1974 became the Director of Career Planning at UNC-Greensboro.

In 1976, Kay accepted a job in the private sector, working at Proctor & Gamble Products Co. in Greenville, NC as the department manager for Industrial Engineering for the Pampers Manufacturing Operation. In 1981, Kay became the Executive Director of Swiss Bear, Inc., in New Bern, providing professional leadership for the start-up and management of a downtown revitalization program that set the course for New Bern’s growth and development as a vibrant tourism destination.

In 1983, Kay began her tenure at Tryon Palace, where she took on the important mission of preserving the history of her beloved state and educating its young people about their rich heritage. For the next 30 years, it would be a true labor of love. Kay worked with great devotion to shepherd the organization through a period of growth as it became an accredited, world-class museum that garnered national attention and large numbers of visitors each year. Under her leadership, Tryon Palace became a true jewel in the crown of North Carolina cultural institutions.

At Tryon Palace, Kay provided leadership for the organization’s first Capital Campaign which raised just over $60 million to design and construct the North Carolina History Center, one of the state’s greenest museums and a leader in the use of interactive exhibits for history education. The opening of the North Carolina History Center in October 2010, would prove to be one of the happiest and most satisfying moments in her distinguished career.

In addition to her responsibilities at Tryon Palace, Kay served from 2002 - 2007 as Director of the North Carolina Division of State Historic Sites, supervising a system of 27 state historic sites across North Carolina.

Kay was at the helm during Tryon Palace’s most challenging period in its history, when in 2011, after five decades of a very successful public-private partnership, Tryon Palace suffered unprecedented and severe budget cuts. Throughout this period of crisis, Kay’s dedication to Tryon Palace and to its mission never wavered. She and her staff worked tenaciously on behalf of the Palace’s survival and she was successful in getting a portion of the institution’s state budget allocation restored; in a climate of lingering uncertainty, Kay continued to worry about and advocate for Tryon Palace’s future in the face of potential further cuts. Until the very end of her life, Kay remained a passionate advocate for Tryon Palace, for its important educational mission, and for its place in North Carolina’s history. She believed strongly that Tryon Palace and New Bern were the heart of North Carolina and recognized the imperative of preserving their legacy for all North Carolinians. In recognition of her efforts, Kay was recently awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Governor Beverly Perdue for her distinguished service to Tryon Palace and to the state of North Carolina.

Kay deeply loved and passionately called New Bern home. She was an active participant in many civic organizations, serving on New Bern’s 300th Anniversary Celebration Committee, on the boards of the Foscue Plantation House Historic Site in Jones County and the local board of First Citizens Bank in New Bern, and as Chair of the Colonial Branch of the English Speaking Union. Throughout her career she served on the boards of Swiss Bear, the New Bern Chamber of Commerce, the New Bern Civic Theater, the Tourism Development Authority, the New Bern Convention Center Feasibility Task Force, and the Strategic Planning Development Task Force for Craven County.

Kay was a proud Carolina alumnus and a former member of the UNC-Chapel Hill General Alumni Association; she was very happy to have been inducted into the Bell Tower Society of UNC-Chapel Hill.

Kay was active in the greater museum community, serving as a Peer Reviewer for the American Association of Museums (AAM). In 2009, she received the Peer Reviewer of the Year Award from the AAM.

Kay will be remembered by her colleagues and staff as a dedicated mentor and as a woman of immense charm, grace, and intellectual curiosity. She was a voracious reader and never met a story she didn’t like to share, or listen to. She was, without doubt, Tryon Palace’s Cheerleader-in-Chief and her determination to persevere against serious challenges to her beloved institution was an inspiration to all who worked alongside her. Kay retained, always, a great enthusiasm for life. She loved to laugh and she loved her life, her family and friends with the same passion she brought to her professional work. The care and devotion shown to her by her brother, Murray, during her final illness was a loving testament for which she was immensely grateful. She faced her illness with the same determination, strength and dignity that marked her life on a daily basis. Kay will be deeply missed by Tryon Palace, by New Bern and by all who worked with and loved her.

Kay Phillips Williams was preceded in death by her parents, Velma Mary Paul Phillips and F. Murray Phillips, Sr. She is survived by her brother, F. Murray Phillips, Jr. and his wife Cynthia, of Land O’Lakes, Florida and New Bern, North Carolina.

A graveside service will be held on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at New Bern Memorial Cemetery on Chelsea Road, officiated by Reverend Monsignor Gerald Lewis. A reception to visit with the family will be held from 5:30 -7:30 p.m. in Mattocks Hall at the North Carolina History Center.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Tryon Palace Commission for the Kay P. Williams Endowment.

Online condolences may be made to the family at www.cottenfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements by Cotten Funeral Home.