This amazing lady was born in Freeport, NY on December 13, 1931. She graduated from Freeport High School and lettered in Field Hockey. She had a large group of friends that frequented the Freeport Casino Beach & Pool, their favorite hangout. After graduation, she worked at a food fair cashiering and stocking the frozen food section. She married in 1950 and over the next 7 years had 5 children: Sharon Mulvey (Joe), Jackie Vino (Frank), Jeff Combs (Marie), Cathy Hasenberg, and Jayne Cakir (Cary Tarshis). She was an active, creative mother. She used her talents extensively by sewing clothes for her children for special events. She taught herself to knit and was known for her beautiful baby sweaters that incorporated pictures of Minnie & Mickey Mouse, bears, kittens, and many other characters into them. Kay, or Katie as she was also known, baked and decorated beautiful cakes for birthdays, baby showers, class parties, and holidays, which she gave as gifts to so many. Her special cake recipes are still being made by family members today. Kay also helped out by waitressing and cooking at her parent’s bar and grill in Freeport and then in Massapequa for large parties. She spent a lot of time with her siblings and their families; Gloria Wild (Hammy), Corky Andrews, Dotty Genovese (Bob), Delores Kerrick (Tom), & Arthur Andrews (Janet and Ann).

Kay was a Camp Fire Girl leader and helped with their annual fundraising efforts, selling peanut brittle and boxed candies. She was very involved with her children's activities and packed up the car every weekend in the summer when the family traveled to Hampton Bays to camp in rustic cabins, allowing the paternal cousins to grow up together. After her children were in school, she volunteered in the John H. West Elementary School Nurse’s Office assisting with students. Eventually she went back to work part-time at E.J Korvette, a discount department store in Hicksville, and then full-time at Kinemotive, where she processed cylindrical pivots for aircraft gyroscopes, which required extreme precision using microscopes. Eventually, she went back to school to change careers and become a Certified Nurses Aide. She worked at Birchwood Nursing Home in Huntington Station until she retired. Kay was always a very social person and thrived when around people. She shared her heart and her talents with all she met. When she could no longer care for and fuss over the elderly in the nursing home, she helped with raising her grandchildren: Krista Peterson (Dennis), Tracey Hennessy (Scott), and Samantha (Klicpera) and kept in contact with the others: Jason (Combs), & Robert Jagels (Jessica). Kay remembered birthdays and anniversaries of many, many friends and family members throughout the year, sending cards and gifts, and calling to ensure that nobody was forgotten. When she lost most of her mobility, she sat on her front porch daily and waved and talked to everyone who walked by. She knew most of the neighbors by name and loved watching the kids waiting for the school bus every weekday. Even during Covid, she talked to them from a distance. She was the unofficial ‘mayor’ of Gilling Road. She is also survived by 3 great-grandchildren: Edward, Elizabeth, & Evelyn Peterson.