William "Bill" Morgan Kay

Robert A. Waters Funeral Home

Obituaries | The Tube City Almanac | June 24, 2016

William Morgan Kay peacefully departed this life at 8:20 a.m. on June 23, 2016 in The Loch Raven Veterans Administration Living Center, Baltimore, MD.  “Bill” was born in Richmond, VA on July 3, 1948, to the Late Rev. Rosamond C. Kay, Jr. and Anita Helen Meadows Kay. He was baptized by his father when he was eight years old at the Second Baptist Church in New Castle, PA.

William received his early education at North Street Elementary and West Side Elementary Schools and George Washington Junior High School, all in New Castle, PA; then at Clairton High School where he graduated in June of 1967. He graduated from the then California State College of Pennsylvania in May of 1976 with a B.A Degree, where he was inducted into Pi Gamma Mu (National Social Science Honor Society), awarded the Distinguished Service Award and was selected for membership in Who’s Who Among Students In American Colleges and Universities.

Mr. Kay volunteered for service in the United States Air Force on June 19, 1967 and was honorably discharged on August 11, 1971 as a Sergeant in the 6th Aerial Port Squadron, Pacific Air Forces. He was a Vietnam Veteran (of which he was very proud) and served around the world, including (1) Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon, South Vietnam; (2) Can Tho Air Field, South Vietnam; (3) Vung Tau Air Base, South Vietnam; (4) Utapao Royal Thai Naval Air Base, Sattahip, Thailand; and (5) three Air Bases in Texas and Loring AFB in Presque Isle, Maine. William always gave God the credit for returning him home from the viciousness of the Vietnam War. He wrote in one of his memoirs: I got a flight to the Greater Pittsburgh International Airport. Eventually, I rode in a bus to Clairton, PA. Momentarily I thought “How fortunate that God blessed me to return home alive. HE protected me in war and surrounded me with angels”.

William had a very distinguished and successful business career with McNeil Laboratories in Buffalo, NY where he was its first African American Pharmaceutical Sales Representative; National City Corporation where he was the first professional African American male in their Human Resources Office; The Cleveland Clinic where he was a Human Resources Manager; and finally with The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission - WSSC (the 7th largest U.S. Water Utility Conglomerate), where he retired on July 31, 2011, after 20 years as The Policy & Legislation Associate Director. He was also a Maryland Licensed Agent for 10 years, authorized to market and sell Life, Health, Property and Casualty Insurance. William was an active member of St. John Baptist, 9055 Tamar Drive, Columbia, MD, Rev. Dr. Robert A. Turner, Senior Pastor. He cherished the fellowship and friendships made while there.

On Thursday, June 23, 2016, God transitioned William to an eternity of peace and comfort, leaving to cherish is memory: his step mother, Mattie S. Rudd Kay; his brothers Rosamond Clark Kay III and Theodore O. Kay; his sisters Anita Elizabeth Kay, Sheila Rosalyn Kay Bussey and Frances D. Smith Lewis; his brothers-in-law Timothy Edward Bussey and Tony Lewis; his nephews Marcus Ajani Ecks, Matthew Evan Kay, Anthony Scott Kay and Derek Clark Bussey; his niece Karen Elizabeth Bussey; and numerous other relatives and friends. In addition to Rev. Rosamond C. and Anita Helen Kay, his father and mother, Bill was preceded in death by his dear sister-in-law, Sherrill Jones Kay. William Morgan Kay always strived to live his life according to Psalm 37:23 – “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.”

Friends will be recieved Wednesday, June 29, 2016 from 5-7 p.m. at Moning Start Baptist Church, 370 Shaw Avenue, Clairton, PA 15025 where service will be held Thursday, June 30, 2016 at 10 a.m. with Rev. Dr William C. Callaway, Officiating.

In lieu of flowers, the Family requests that you send donations in memory of William, to: The. Rev. Rosamond C. Kay, Jr. Scholarship Fund, 30031 Marigold Drive, Southfield, MI 48076.

Interment will follow in Round Hill Cemetery, Elizabeth, PA. Local arrangements by the Robert A. Waters Funeral Home, Inc., 449 Mitchell Avenue, Clairton, PA 15025 • Phone  412-233-6745 • Fax 412-233-4614

Originally published June 24, 2016.

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