Kay Clay

Kay Clay loved dogs.She loved other things, of course, like singing at church, doing cross stitch, square dancing, genealogy, canoeing and Christmas. But, most of all, she loved her dogs. Her last was Buddy. She had a wild tale of how he came to be her pet. She "rescued" the Lab, she said, from a neighbor who kept him chained to a tree. She hid him out for a time at a shelter then brought him home. She died peacefully Sunday in The Village from complications from dementia. She was 81. She was born in Oklahoma City on Feb. 12, 1939, to Frank and Dorothy Ford. She graduated from Capitol Hill High School in Oklahoma City and later attended Oklahoma State University. A favorite memory was a trip to Malta in 1964. She married Leonard Maurice Clay in 1969. They lived for more than 20 years in Ponca City. There, they sang together in the choir at First Christian Church. They later lived in Broken Arrow. Leonard preceded her in death in 2002. For a career, she found success in banking and, as a supervisor, helped others to succeed, too. "You taught me not to be afraid to stand up for myself," one co-worker wrote when she retired in 2004 from Bank of Oklahoma in Tulsa. Survivors include sister Beverly Fearnow, niece Jana Thomason, stepdaughter Susan Vitkavage, stepson Nolan Clay and grandchildren Hannah Clay, Kalyn McMahon, Taylor Brown and Luke Clay. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, July 16, 202 at Smith and Kernke N. May Ave. Chapel.