A second-generation San Diego native, Kay pursued an active volunteer career for more than 50 years, helping to lead the San Diego History Center. San Diego Symphony Orchestra, Friends of the Villa Montezuma, Balboa Theatre Organ Society, SD Crew Classic Foundation, and other civic and arts groups including the Performing Arts League, COMBO, Sharp Healthcare Foundation, and others.
She supported the Girl Scouts of San Diego and Imperial Counties, YWCA, the Jackie Robinson YMCA, and was an active participant in the Wednesday Club, Thursday Club, SD Yacht Club, SD High School Foundation, Mills College Alumni, ZLAC, Patrons of the Prado, and received numerous awards recognizing her zeal, vision, and team-building success.
Kay graduated with the Class of 1945 from San Diego High School and earned a BA In World History from Mills College in 1949.
In July 1949, she married David Ewing Porter in the first civilian marriage to take place in Balboa Park's Casa del Rey Moro Garden in the post-World War II era.
She remained married to David until his death in 2003. They raised four children, primarily in San Diego's Mission Hills neighborhood.
She is survived by her brother, James MacDonald Hall, of San Diego; daughters Anne Porter of San Diego and Leslie Porter Whalen of Seattle; sons Stephen and Ross Porter of San Diego; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild, Michael Ouadah, born May 29, 2020.
Her parents were Edward C. Hall of San Diego and Mae MacDonald Hall of Brooklyn. Kay's father was the operating partner of his father's real estate development firm, the M. Hall Company, active in San Diego from the 1890s through 1960.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be directed to:
Friends of the Villa Montezuma - www.VillaMontezumaMuseum.org
Sharp Hospice Memorial and Tribute Gifts - https://give.sharp.com/memorial-and-tribute-gifts
or to the charity of your choice.
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