Mary Margaret Kay

Surrounded by her 6 children, Mary Margaret (Marge) Kay (age 95) passed at sunset on February 27, 2022. For 61 years, Marge was married to the love of her life, Edward W. Kay (d. 2011). Marge and Ed shared a tremendous love for each other as well as for their large family: two sons Edward W. Kay, Jr. (Kim), David B. Kay (Lisa), four daughters Mary Marleen Kay Davis (Tom), Mary Patricia Kay Santos (Scott), Mary Bev Kay Lane (John), Mary Beth Kay Duncan (Ron), thirteen grandsons, three granddaughters, seven great-grandchildren and another one on the way.

Born to Irish parents in Pittsburgh, PA, Marge was the youngest of 7 children all of whom survived well into their 90’s. She was particularly close to her sister Mildred. Through the years they spent laughing together, they equally shared a love of their many children, nieces, and nephews. Family reunions were routinely held and invariably fun.

As a high school student in the 1940’s, Marge knew she wanted to pursue higher education. She attended the University of Pittsburgh where in 1948 she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. In fact, it was in her accounting class that she met fellow classmate Ed. As their romance was blossoming, they enjoyed wonderful dates, dancing, and attending lively social events with Marge’s sorority sisters, all of whom became lifelong friends.

Ed and Marge married in 1950 and soon after purchased their first home together. After a year of walking and riding the bus to and from shopping, church, and their accounting jobs, they were finally able to afford a used car. A year after that, their first child arrived soon to be followed by a second, a third, and so forth. Times were tight during those early days, but love was large and life was busy.

Over the years and as more children arrived, so did the moves to many different homes. Perhaps it was in those initial boisterous households that Marge developed a keen eye for home improvement plans. She loved looking at interior spaces and consistently thought of ways to enhance their look and flow. When Ed heard Marge say “I have an idea” he knew walls and windows might be changing. And it just wasn’t Ed who heard those same words, many people in Marge’s life were given hand drawn floor plans (requested or not) that were actually quite clever and brilliant.

With 6 kids under 14 years of age, driving duties to schools, sports and activities exponentially increased as did the cooking, shopping and cleaning chores. Since Ed was dedicated to his career providing for his family and traveling long distances most weeks, Marge was the essence of a matriarch holding down the fort. And in her words, she “loved every minute of it.” Despite the long working days for each of them, they were a great pair ensuring that time spent together as a large family was meaningful, memorable, and, most importantly, filled with laughter. Dining and golf were forefront of a Kay experience and Kay Family reunions were epic. As the number of grandchildren grew, there was always room for an extra chair at the table and all were met with kindness and welcoming arms.

After a move to Potomac, MD, in 1977 for Ed’s job with Ernst & Young (his lifetime employer) and with several of her children grown or away at school, Marge had more time to pursue her own interests. She became involved in many notable activities, clubs, and organizations: Our Lady of Mercy Sodality, Congressional Nine Hole Golfers, Little Farms Garden Club of Potomac, Capital Speakers Club of Washington DC, and the Women’s Board of the American Heart Association. She held leadership positions in several of these organizations, as well as serving on committees and organizing and coordinating numerous special events.

Marge was well known for her straight golf drives, her Irish spaghetti, uncanny good luck at playing bingo, and the love she had for football and especially her devotion to Tom Brady whom she believed was related to her mother, Julia Brady.

But perhaps Marge’s strongest legacy will be her incredibly witty sense of humor and twinkled eyed one-line zingers. She was absolutely hilarious. There was nothing she enjoyed more than sitting at a large round table, with dimmed lights, and skoch of wine sharing stories and laughing surrounded by her cherished family and friends….and often into the wee “sing song” hours of the night. Marge was always funny, always surprising, endlessly stylish, graciously generous, fervent in her Catholic faith and especially ardent in her fierce love for her family. Mary Margaret, you will be forever missed!

The family invites all those who wish to celebrate Marge’s life to join them at a Catholic Funeral Mass on Saturday, March 5, 2022 at 12 noon at Our Lady of Mercy Church 9200 Kentsdale Drive Potomac MD.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Marge Kay may be made to Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church 9200 Kentsdale Drive Potomac MD 20854 https://membership.faithdirect.net/MD37