Gay Miller Kahn Joel

Dr. Gay Miller Kahn Joel, the beloved only child of Samuel and Betty Miller, was born in Atlanta, Georgia on July 30, 1936. She grew up in Garden Hills and went to Garden Hills Elementary and North Fulton High School and graduated in 1954 from The Westminster Schools. She attended Sophie Newcomb College (Tulane) in New Orleans where she met A. David (Brother) Kahn, a fraternity boy with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. The naturally shy Gay was smitten. They married after their sophomore year and moved back to Atlanta so David could attend Emory Law School. For 45 years Gay was definitely the “sugar” to David’s “spice.” They had two children, Roger and Elizabeth. Gay spent her early twenties doing what many women of the era did: volunteering, playing tennis, and raising a family. But Gay was always a seeker, and after reading Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique she was inspired to go back to college, with young children still at home, to finish her undergraduate degree at Georgia State University. For her generation of women she was a pioneer, going on to earn her PhD in psychology from GSU in 1978. Gay was a psychotherapist for three decades and helped many people with her compassionate heart, her open mind and thoughtful insights. Outside of work, Gay had numerous interests. She was an avid gardener, raising prize-winning orchids, a photographer and art collector. At various times she was a painter, needle pointer, crossword puzzler and even took up trout fishing. She loved to be at her home in Highlands, NC hiking and enjoying nature. Other than her hobbies, she was most passionate about her grandchildren, Miller and Anna. Although shy, Gay was deeply interested in people and had the manners of a Southern lady. It may sound cliché, but there wasn’t a soul she met who didn’t like Gay. In 2005, after the death of her husband, David, she married Lyons B. Joel, whom she’d known since she was a teenager. She loved his easy manner and fun- loving ways. While her illness cut their time together short, they spent a number of years traveling and fully enjoying life. Gay, never a sports fan, cheerfully embraced Lyons’s fervor for UGA football and had great fun going to games across the south. The family would like to thank Mary Cox, Jessica Jackson and Cynthia Kelly, the “angels” who lovingly and devotedly took care of Gay for many years. Gay is survived by her husband Lyons B. Joel, daughter Elizabeth and son-in-law Bill Jump, grandchildren Miller and Anna Jump, son Roger and granddaughter Kayla Kahn. A memorial service will be held Wednesday, March 22 at 2 pm at The Temple. Interment will be private. Donations can be made to The Temple (Samuel A. Miller Memorial Fund) or The Atlanta Botanical Garden.