Charles Eugene Seay -- Philanthropist

Charles Eugene Seay was born in Dallas, Texas on November 28, 1914 to Dr. Dero Seay and Pauline Bolanz Seay and died peacefully in his sleep on February 7, 2009 at the age of 94.

He grew up in Dallas and attended Highland Park schools. In his senior year in high school he attended Kemper Military Academy where he graduated in 1932. He enrolled in the University of Texas at Austin in 1932 and graduated in 1936 with a B.B.A. degree. While at UT he was a member of The Texas Cowboys, Friars, Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Delta Theta which he served as president. In addition, he was active in intramural sports winning the intramural wrestling and handball championships.

In 1936 he entered the life insurance business in Dallas as an agent for Southland Life Insurance Co. He was successful in sales earning numerous memberships in the Million Dollar Roundtable.

In 1937 Charles married Sarah (Sadie) Meadows of San Angelo, Texas who was a classmate at UT and they began their family life together in Dallas.

In 1943 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served two years at Sheppard's Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas.

At the close of WWII they moved back to Dallas and he reentered the life insurance business as an agent working for Southland Life Insurance Co. and Southwestern Life Insurance Co. Later in his career in addition to selling life insurance he began to invest in life insurance stocks having become astute at reading financial statements. In the early 1960s he formed Seay Sharpe and Co., a successful brokerage firm in the Dallas area specializing in family owned life insurance companies. He became one of the country's experts in life insurance company investments.

As his business began to grow he became interested in giving to his community and his first major gifts were to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital specifically for dyslexic children and to the Park Cities YMCA for the Seay Natatorium. He later began giving to his alma mater, UT Austin, with major gifts to the business school for chairs and professorships, to the UT school of Psychology for a new building on campus and for professorships and numerous gifts to UT Southwestern Medical School. He contributed to the UT Alumni Center and helped establish The George E. Seay Presidential Scholarship in Law at the UT Law School in honor of his brother. One of his last gifts to UT Austin was the major gift by him and his wife to UT Southwestern Medical School for the Seay Molecular Building on the medical school's North Campus. In all, Charles and Sarah Seay gave over $31,000,000 to UT Southwestern Medical School. In all, Charles and Sarah Seay gave over $31,000,000 to UT Southwestern Medical School.

The Seays were supportive of the Seay Behavioral Center at Presbyterian Hospital of Plano, The Charles Seay Jr. Hand Center at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, Timberlawn Psychiatric Research Foundation and Operation Kindness, an animal care shelter in Dallas. The Seays gifts to the arts included major gifts to The Dallas Symphony Orchestra, The Dallas Museum of Art and The Dallas Center for the Performing Arts. Mr. Seay was interested in mental and physical fitness and made major gifts to the Highland Park Independent School District for The Seay Tennis Center and to the Park Cities YMCA for a teaching pool for swimmers. He was a swimmer and an avid golfer for all of his life and was Runner-up for the Dallas Country Club Golf Championship two straight years. He also played tennis regularly with gusto. In the early 1990s The Park Cities YMCA created an award named The Charles E. Seay Outstanding Leadership Award that is given annually to a YMCA supporter. He has been given service awards by Children's Medical Center, Texas Scottish Rite Hospital, Timberlawn Psychiatric Research Foundation and by UT Southwestern Medical School. He was named A Distinguished Alumnus of Highland Park High School in 1990_ and A Distinguished Alumnus of UT Austin in 1994. Charles Seay was a member of The Dallas Country Club, Brook Hollow Golf Club, Coon Creek Hunting and Fishing Club, The Idlewild Club and The Crescent Club. Charles Seay was a man of great energy and personality.

He loved people and was blessed with leadership skills. He worked hard his entire life and used his various gifts to build a business and an estate and then gave his time, talent and treasure to make our community a better place for everyone. He has left a significant legacy for future generations to emulate.

 

THE LINEAGE:

(Charles Eugene Seay was the husband of Sarah "Sadie" Lee Meadows.  Sarah was the daughter of Claude William and Susan Martin Moore Meadows and granddaughter of Thomas Oscar and Sarah Adelie Thomas Moore.  Sarah was the third child of Stanley Thomas.  Stanley was the seventh child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Fred Holmsley Moore -- Geologist, Oil Company Executive and Patron of Education

Fred Holmsley Moore, geologist, oil company executive, and patron of education, the youngest of four sons of Robert Hartwell and Fanny Teresa (Holmsley) Moore, was born in Comanche, Texas, on November 2, 1909. He earned a B.A. degree at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) in 1930. He received a master of arts degree in geology from the University of Virginia in 1931 and did graduate work in geology at Yale University from 1931 to 1933. He completed an advanced management course at the Harvard Business School in 1951. In 1935 Moore published a book entitled Marbles and Limestones of Connecticut. He was first employed as a geologist with the U.S. Gypsum Company in 1933 and in 1935 began a thirty-two-year career with Magnolia Petroleum Company and its parent, Mobil Oil Company. He began as a field geologist and rose to become assistant to Magnolia's president from 1950 to 1956 and executive vice president in 1959. After the Magnolia-Mobil merger he directed Mobil's North American oil exploration and production division based in New York City. He was executive vice president of Mobil Oil of Canada, Limited, in 1956–57 and manager of worldwide production at Socony Mobil Oil from 1957 to 1958. He became director and executive vice president of Mobil in 1961 and was special assistant to the president from 1967 to 1969. He served as a member of the petroleum consortium thereafter, but retired for reasons of health in 1967 and moved to Austin, Texas.

Moore devoted most of the rest of his life to higher education. He was a trustee of Our Lady of the Lake University and of Austin College, a regent of Texas Tech University, a trustee of the Independent College Fund of America, and a member of the National Council of the United Negro College Fund of America; he served two six-year terms as a member of the Texas College and University System Coordinating Board. Moore contributed both time and money to the University of Texas at Austin. In 1978 he arranged the transfer of a Mobil seismographic research ship, the Fred H. Moore, to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. He was a member and chairman of the UT College of Business Administration Foundation Advisory Council. Moore received an LL.D. degree from Middlebury College in 1963, an honorary D.Sc. from Hartwick College in 1966, an L.H.D. from Marlboro College in 1967, and a D.B.A. from Our Lady of the Lake in 1977. An endowed professorship in international management was named for him in 1978, and he was inducted into the University of Texas Business Hall of Fame in 1984. In April 1984 university president Peter Flawn presented Moore the Presidential Citation in recognition of his role in initiating the Centennial Endowed Teachers and Scholars program, which significantly increased the number of faculty endowments at the university by matching private gifts with public funds.

Moore was a member of the Texas State Historical Association and served on the executive council and as vice president. He was named honorary life president on June 25, 1983. He was a fellow of the Geological Society of America, a director of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association and the American Petroleum Institute, and a member of the Philosophical Society of Texas, the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, and the National Industrial Conference Board. He also belonged to the Sons of the Republic of Texas, the Sons of Confederate Veterans,qqv the Society of Mayflower Descendants, and the Sons of the American Revolution. Moore was a lifelong Presbyterian. He married Grace Hunter in July 1929; they were the parents of one daughter. After the death of his first wife, he married Ella Mae Rudd Handley in 1941. Moore died of heart failure on July 20, 1985, and was buried in Comanche.
MOORE, FRED HOLMSLEY (1909–1985). Fred H. Moore, geologist, oil company executive, and patron of education, the youngest of four sons of Robert Hartwell and Fanny Teresa (Holmsley) Moore, was born in Comanche, Texas, on November 2, 1909. He earned a B.A. degree at Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) in 1930. He received a master of arts degree in geology from the University of Virginia in 1931 and did graduate work in geology at Yale University from 1931 to 1933. He completed an advanced management course at the Harvard Business School in 1951. In 1935 Moore published a book entitled Marbles and Limestones of Connecticut. He was first employed as a geologist with the U.S. Gypsum Company in 1933 and in 1935 began a thirty-two-year career with Magnolia Petroleum Company and its parent, Mobil Oil Company. He began as a field geologist and rose to become assistant to Magnolia's president from 1950 to 1956 and executive vice president in 1959. After the Magnolia-Mobil merger he directed Mobil's North American oil exploration and production division based in New York City. He was executive vice president of Mobil Oil of Canada, Limited, in 1956–57 and manager of worldwide production at Socony Mobil Oil from 1957 to 1958. He became director and executive vice president of Mobil in 1961 and was special assistant to the president from 1967 to 1969. He served as a member of the petroleum consortium thereafter, but retired for reasons of health in 1967 and moved to Austin, Texas.

Moore devoted most of the rest of his life to higher education. He was a trustee of Our Lady of the Lake University and of Austin College, a regent of Texas Tech University, a trustee of the Independent College Fund of America, and a member of the National Council of the United Negro College Fund of America; he served two six-year terms as a member of the Texas College and University System Coordinating Board. Moore contributed both time and money to the University of Texas at Austin. In 1978 he arranged the transfer of a Mobil seismographic research ship, the Fred H. Moore, to the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. He was a member and chairman of the UT College of Business Administration Foundation Advisory Council. Moore received an LL.D. degree from Middlebury College in 1963, an honorary D.Sc. from Hartwick College in 1966, an L.H.D. from Marlboro College in 1967, and a D.B.A. from Our Lady of the Lake in 1977. An endowed professorship in international management was named for him in 1978, and he was inducted into the University of Texas Business Hall of Fame in 1984. In April 1984 university president Peter Flawn presented Moore the Presidential Citation in recognition of his role in initiating the Centennial Endowed Teachers and Scholars program, which significantly increased the number of faculty endowments at the university by matching private gifts with public funds.

Moore was a member of the Texas State Historical Association and served on the executive council and as vice president. He was named honorary life president on June 25, 1983. He was a fellow of the Geological Society of America, a director of the Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association and the American Petroleum Institute, and a member of the Philosophical Society of Texas, the Dallas Chamber of Commerce, and the National Industrial Conference Board. He also belonged to the Sons of the Republic of Texas, the Sons of Confederate Veterans,qqv the Society of Mayflower Descendants, and the Sons of the American Revolution. Moore was a lifelong Presbyterian. He married Grace Hunter in July 1929; they were the parents of one daughter. After the death of his first wife, he married Ella Mae Rudd Handley in 1941. Moore died of heart failure on July 20, 1985, and was buried in Comanche.



BIBLIOGRAPHY: Austin American-Statesman, July 21, 1985. Southwestern Historical Quarterly, July 1985. Vertical Files, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin.

 THE LINEAGE:

(Fred Holmsley Moore was the son of Robert Hartwell and Fannie Theresa Holmsley Moore and the grandson of Thomas Oscar and Sarah Adelie Thomas Moore.  Sarah was the third child of Stanley and Sarah Thompson Rothrock Thomas.  Stanley was the seventh child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)

Alfred Cullen "Alf" Thomas - Civil War Veteran

Alfred Cullen Thomas was born November 11, 1842, Donaldson Creek community, Trigg County, Kentucky. He was the oldest of ten children of Peyton and Sarah (Ethridge) Thomas, grandson of Cullen and Elizabeth (Futrell) Thomas, great grandson of Revolutionary War veteran James Thomas, Sr., and his wife Mary (Standley) Thomas, who came to Kentucky from North Carolina in 1806.

 He enlisted July 1, 1861, age 18, at Canton, Ky., one of 74 men from Trigg County, Ky., who the next day, marched to Camp Burnett, near Clarksville, Tenn. The Company was organized by Dr. John L. Trice, Captain, Dr. John Cunningham, 1st Lieutenant, John F. Baker, 2nd Lieutenant, and Francis M. Baker, 3rd Lieutenant. He was officially inducted into the Confederate Army Sept. 14, 1861 and Co. G became a part of the Fourth Regiment, Kentucky Brigade at Bowling Green, Ky., in November 1861.

 Alfred saw his first action April 6-7, 1862 during the Battle of Shiloh at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River near Corinth, Miss. After that, according to Brigade records, he participated in the following action: Vicksburg, Miss., June 1862; Baton Rouge, La., Aug. 1862; Stone's River, Murfreesboro, Tn., Dec. 1862; Chickamauga, Sept. 1863, Missionary Ridge, Nov. 1863; Rocky Face, May 1864; Kennesaw Mountain, June 1864; Atlanta, Ga., July 1864; Peachtree and Utoy creeks, July 1864; and at Jonesboro, Ga., Aug. 1864. In November 1864, Alfred was promoted to sergeant.

 Following the battle at Jonesboro, the Brigade became a mounted outfit complete with horses and riding gear. When General Sherman began his infamous "March from Atlanta to the Sea," the Kentucky Brigade harassed the rear units most of the way to Savannah. They also saw action in South Carolina  prior to Gen. Lee's surrender to Gen. Grant at Appomattox, Va.

  The Brigade was near Georgetown, South Carolina at the time of surrender, and on May 7, 1865, at Washington, Ga., 24 men, all that remained of Co. G., 4th Regt., along with the rest of the Orphan Brigade, were paroled by order of Brevet Major Gen. Wilson and signed by Capt. L. A. Abraham of the Iowa Federal troops.

  After parole, Alfred and the other Trigg County men remaining in Co. G., set out, each with his horse, saddle and bridle, toward home in Kentucky almost 500 miles away. After many tiring days of travel through war-torn Georgia and Tennessee, over some of the same areas in which only the year before, they had fought bloody battles with the Yankees, Alfred and the other Trigg men reached Nashville, Tenn. There Federal authorities required them to take the oath of allegiance to the United States before they could continue their journey to Kentucky.
  Family tradition has it that when Alfred reached home in Trigg County, a seasoned war veteran at age 21, he had a full beard and was so thin that his family did not recognize him.

 Martha George, a great granddaughter, who lives in Paris, Tenn., said her father told her that Alfred played the fife in the Company's Drum and Bugle Corps. Another source indicates that he was a member of the regimental band which in December 1862 at Murfreesboro, Tenn., played for a party following the wedding of Gen. John Hunt Morgan. President Jefferson Davis is said to have been present for that affair. In addition to playing the fife, Mrs. Mabel (Cunningham) Blalock, a granddaughter at Murray, Ky., said that after the war, he played the violin and she often accompanied him on their parlor organ. His violin is still in the family.

  One of the details to which Alfred was assigned while at Bowling Green in 1861 was to accompany the sick by train to a Confederate hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Later, after the Battle of Shiloh, Alfred was able to visit his cousin, William Bridges  in a hospital in Castillian Springs, Miss., prior to William's death April 22, 1862. A letter Alfred wrote May 6, 1862 to his cousin Cullen T. Bridges, telling of the death of his brother, is still in existence.

  Mrs. Blalock also recalls Alfred telling of at least one occasion during the war when the Brigade ran out of food and everyone became so hungry that they actually captured rats and cooked them. Rudy Cunningham, a grandson, of Benton, Ky., said Alfred told him they tried all sorts of substitutes for coffee including brewing cubes of dried sweet potatoes, and boiling ground acorns from oak trees.

  During the almost four years he served with the Confederate Army, Alfred's travels with the Kentucky Brigade covered almost 5,000 miles in all kinds of weather, by foot, train and steamboat in eight states. Despite having participated in every major battle in the western sector, he did not receive a major injury.

  After returning home to Trigg County, On Nov. 7, 1870, Alfred married Nancy Ann Vinson, daughter of Edmund J. and Jacqueline (Wimberly) Vinson of Stewart County, Tenn. Later the couple moved to Arkansas were Alfred began a career as a blacksmith. It was said by the family that Nancy became homesick so they returned to Stewart County, Tenn.

  Nancy's father died in 1907 and willed his property to his children. Nancy inherited a 200-acre farm located on the west side of the Tennessee River opposite Pine Bluff, Tennessee, near Hamlin in Calloway County, Ky. They built a home on the property and settled there for life.

  In time Alfred built a blacksmith shop and a grocery store. Next, he opened a "tie yard," on the bank of the Tennessee River, purchased crossties and shipped them by steamboat to a company which sold them to railroads. He later added an extension to the end of his shop and opened a gristmill with which he ground cornmeal for the public.

 Alfred and his wife Nancy were members of a Baptist Church in their community, she having been baptized when just a young girl. Alfred was baptized in the Tennessee River following a revival meeting when he was 70 years old.

  Nancy, his wife, died in 1915, and, according to grandson Rudy E. Cunningham, a year or so later, Alfred "...boarded up his store without even selling the stock, closed his blacksmith shop and gristmill and never worked again."

"One day in 1923, he and I were sitting on the front porch when we got word that a neighbor had died. He said to me: 'Let's go and take him off the book.' He brought out the ledger in which he kept his charge accounts and wrote -- Paid In Full -- across the page bearing that man's name. Glancing through the book, I noticed that he had done that to all who owed him money at the time of their deaths."
"He was one of the most honest and honorable men I ever knew," Mr. Cunningham said. "He was one of the old school who was honest and truthful, and his word was his bond. He was quick-tempered and would fight at the drop of a hat if honor was at stake." He said that in the 1920s his Grandpa Alfred let his beard grow. It was real white and reached all the way to his waist. "His favorite food was roast 'possum and sweet potatoes," he said.

   Alfred and his wife Nancy had ten children: I. James C. Thomas; 2. Amanda (Mrs. John) George; 3. Peyton Thomas, 4. Sallie J. (Mrs. Marion) Futrell; 5. Lillie D. (Mrs. Robert W.) McCage;
6. Permelia (Mrs. John) Kelley; 7. Julia Maude (Mrs. George C.) Bell; 8. Edmond C. Thomas; 9. Albert Carnell Thomas; and 10. Beatrice (Mrs. Erie D.) Cunningham.
His application for a pension for Confederate service from the State of Kentucky, No. 4272, was dated Nov. 30, 1914. Witnesses were Robert W. Dew and M. M. Williams, of Trigg County, both of whom said they served with him in the Kentucky Brigade. That portion of his application was dated March 9, 1915. The completed application was filed at Frankfort Nov. 23, 1923.
His wife was 63 years old when she died in 1915, and he died in 1932 at the age of 90, while living with a daughter Julia Maude (Thomas) Bell, in Paducah, Ky. He was buried beside his wife Nancy in the Thomas-Lassiter family cemetery located on the Polie Lassiter Farm in Calloway County, KY. Their graves are marked with a large Confederate monument, but according to Louise Lovins, a granddaughter, the inscription is considerably weathered and now almost illegible.
Source References:

1. "History of the Orphan Brigade," by Porter Thompson, p-714
2. "The Orphan Brigade," by William C. Davis, 1980.
3. "The Thomas & Bridges Story," by Edison H. Thomas, p-94
4. Thomas & Bridges History," by Gilbert N. Bridges, p-18
5. Pension Application No. 4272, Department of Libraries & Archives, Frankfort, KY
6. Confederate records, Office of the Adjutant General, Frankfort, KY
7. Letter Feb. 12, 1991 from Martha C. George, Paris, TN
8. Letter Feb. 1991 from and telephone conversation with Rudy E. Cunningham, Benton, KY
9. Letter Feb. 1991 from and telephone conversation with Louise B. Lovins, Murray, KY
10. Note Feb. 1991 from Mabel C. Blalock, Murray, KY

Compiled by Edison H. Thomas

 

THE LINEAGE:

(Alfred Cullen Thomas was the first child of Peyton and Sarah Ethridge Thomas and the grandson of Cullen and Elizabeth Futrell Thomas.  Cullen was the first child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)
 

 

Louis Jesse Douthitt--Minister, Insurance Agent, and CPA

 Louis Jesse Douthitt and Reba Martin Douthitt

Louis Jesse Douthitt was a well known Church of Christ minister and nephew of the famous Douthitt Brothers. (Boone, Ira, and Cecil). He obtained fame himself through his ministry and kindness.
Louis Jesse Douthitt was born prematurely on May 11, 1921 in Wingo,Ky. He was the second of 4 children born to Noah and Ruth Douthitt. He was the oldest surviving child as an older brother had been born prematurely and died the day after being born. Douthitt grew up in Sedalia, Kentucky and graduated from Sedalia High School in 1939. He went on to graduate from Murray State University with a Degree in Business.
Douthitt enlisted into the Army Air Corps shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He was stationed at Eglin Field Army Air Base in Eglin Field, Florida where he obtained the rank of Tech Sargeant. On October 1, 1942, he married his childhood sweetheart, Reba Martin. Three children resulted from the marriage.
After retiring from the military, Douthitt took a job as an insurance agent with National Life. In 1963 he was hired at Herrin Church of Christ in Herrin, Ill. He would not accept payment and always put his check for the ministry back into the collection plate. During this time Herrin obtained a new building, and this became Douthitt's precedent. Every church he accepted ministry at always built a new building because of the growth that occured. He later moved to Paducah, Kentucky where he accepted a position as the minister at Milburn Church of Christ. Like before, Milburn built a new building during his ministry. He retired from the ministry in the 1980's but continued to preach when requested. He also continued to perform wedding ceremonies.
Douthitt also worked as a Certified Public Accountant. He was known to fill out income tax forms for the elderly and low income free of charge. During this time, he overcame many physical handicaps and tragedies. In 1966, he was walking beside a railroad track in Paducah to go see a client when a train came by. There was a loose board sticking out of one of the cars and Douthitt was hit by it. His right hand went under the train while trying to break his fall and two fingers were severed. The skinned was stripped from his middle finger. The hand was reconstructed and he learned to manuever it enough to where he could continue to use it to write and fill out forms.
During this time, Douthitt also began to suffer from back problems and went through back surgery not long after. He was still able to bounce back. Even when he began having hearing problems, he continued to work. He retired in the 1980's but continued to do volunteer work filling out tax returns for the elderly and low income at no charge. In 1984, his grandson, Jonathan Louis Douthitt, was killed when a train struck his school bus in Port St. Lucie Florida. Douthitt was still able to bounce back even from this tragedy.
In 1988, he moved to Murray, Kentucky and did volunteer tax work at 9th and Glendale Church of Christ until his death.
Douthitt went through open heart surgery in 1993. He made a full recovery. In his later life he also suffered a mini stroke in the 1990's, but recovered. On May 29, 2004, his wife awoke in ther middle of the night to find him sitting up in bed. He had suffered a massive stroke and was rushed to the hospital in Murray. There was nothing that could be done for him and he was rushed to Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, Kentucky. He died 8 hours after having the stroke, 18 days after celebrating his 83rd birthday. He was buried in Wingo Cemetery in Wingo, Ky.

 

THE LINEAGE:

(Louis Jesse Douthis was married to Reba Dean Martin.  Reba was the daughter of William Luther and Ollie Esther Pritchard Martin and granddaughter of John Wesley and Dora Mae Bridges Pritchard. Dora Mae was the third child of James C.  and Mary Calhoun Bridges.  James C. was the sixth child of William and Mary Thomas Bridges.  William was the fourth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.  Mary Thomas was the fifth child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.)
 

 

Mary Katherine "Kay" Lawrence--A Master of Music

Mary Katherine "Kay" Lawrence was born September 12, 1921 in Brewers, Kentucky. Kay was one of two children born to Loyd Lawrence and Mamie Chester Lawrence. She had one brother, James Elmo Lawrence whom she adored. She passed away on Friday, May, 23, 2014 at the age of 92 at the Baptist Health in Louisville, KY.

Kay learned piano at an early age from her mother, and it became her life's passion. She studied classical music at Murray State University, where she began taking piano lessons in her sophomore year of high school. She attributes her luck in attending college to her mother, who pushed her to continue in school. After graduating from college, Kay taught chorus, rhythm ensemble and marching band to students in grades 1-12 at Dixon and Poole Schools in Webster County, Kentucky. Because time and space was not available during school hours Kay spent many evenings rehearsing with the band without the use of electricity. The high school band under Kay's direction performed at the railroad depot for the young soldiers heading off to World War II.

Saving $950 from teaching, Kay followed her dream of going to New York City to continue her musical studies and left Kentucky at the end of her first year of teaching. While in New York, Kay attained her master's degree from Columbia University. Although she was brought up studying classical music, Kay was bitten by the jazz bug early on in Brewers Kentucky where she and her brother first heard jazz being played while in high school. She was soon playing jazz piano at clubs in New York. She recalled going to Union Hall on 52nd street where callers would say, "We need a pianist at so and so club this Friday". Kay started getting employment this way, but soon she was established and had regular engagements. Once when she was playing in an after-hours club, Art Tatum, (who is considered one of the greatest pianists in any style of music) came in, sat next to her on the piano bench and asked her to play for him. She played "Sweet Lorraine" which she knew he had just recorded. On another occasion she and friends stopped at a bar where Charlie Parker was playing. At the intermission Charlie came over to her table. Someone started introductions and Charlie stopped them saying, "Oh I know Kay." The music critic Leonard Feather wrote an article on the music scene there and while he described various well-known pianists as scholarly or polite he said if you want to hear "hard swing jazz" go hear Mary Kay Lawrence play. In addition to playing with the greats of her time, Kay performed at Carnegie Hall, accompanying a dancer. In the mid-1950s, Kay formed an all-girl trio, The Kay Lawrence Trio, with a drummer and bassist, and performed throughout New York City.

Kay moved to Louisville in the 1960's, and taught in the public schools. She also taught piano privately at Mel Own Music as well as Bellarmine University for about thirty years.

She was one of the few musicians who traveled in both the classical music world as well as the jazz world. Kay knew the playing of the new young lions on the national jazz scene and yet her favorite classical composer was Charles Ives, whose quirky polytonal music with quotes from various folk music, seemed to perfectly fit her personality. She would laugh out loud as she listened to his music. Kay continued entertaining people into her nineties, as she would play for happy hour at the assisted living facility where she lived until her passing.

In addition to her love and mastery of music, Kay read the bible daily, exuberantly cheered on the University of Kentucky Wildcats every basketball season and when she visited Jim in Murray, would wile away the days fishing.

Her parents, her brother Jim, of Murray, Kentucky and Dia Sharpus, the light of her life, preceded her in death. Dia was the daughter of Soni Sharpus, a dear friend for many, many years, who also preceded Kay in death.

Kay never had children but she leaves behind students of all ages, who were touched by her talent and humor and who will miss her dearly. As one of her longtime students stated…"Heaven is lucky to have her now."

 

 THE LINEAGE:

(Mary Katherine Lawrence was the daughter of Loyd Johnson and Mamie Frances Chester Lawrence, granddaughter of James Calven and Orphee H. Thomas Chester, and great granddaughter of Starkie Duprey and Sarah Frances Pugh Thomas.  Starkie Duprey was the eleventh child of Perry and Elizabeth Josephine Bridges Thomas.  Perry was the third child of James and Mary Standley Thomas.  Elizabeth Josephine was the sixth child of Drury and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)