Norma Renard Kay
June 18, 1925 - October 22, 2018

Norma Renard Kay, 93, beloved and exceptionally kindhearted wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, crossed into Heaven within the loving embrace of Jesus Christ. She passed peacefully at 6:15 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, 2018, in Galesburg, Ill., with family present. She was the last of her generation within the Renard and Kay families, and was no doubt greeted by her late husband, Robert Kay, and a host of family members and friends.
She was born June 18, 1925, in Keokuk, Iowa, where she was also raised. The beautiful May Queen of Keokuk High School began dating the star, all-state middle linebacker for the school's football team. Her beau, Bob Kay, enlisted with the Navy after graduating three years ahead of Norma.
Norma skipped her graduation so that she could move to Chicago and live with her mother and sister Helen in a very small apartment. She received a letter from Bob asking her to meet him at Grand Central Station in Chicago. When they met after Bob got off the train he said to Norma, "You wouldn't marry me if I was the last man on earth would you?" She replied, "Yes I would."
So, they got on a later train to Keokuk where they met Bob's parents, Mary and Carl Kay, who then drove them to Missouri to get married because the engaged couple would not be required to have a license in that state, given that Norma was 12 days short of her 18th birthday and Bob was 21. The married couple picked out two wedding bands that cost a total of $7.00. Norma insisted on being married in a church, so a Methodist minister in Canton Missouri opened his church very late at night to perform the marriage.
The newlyweds returned to live in Richmond, Virginia, over an hour's drive from where Bob was stationed at Camp Peary. They chose Richmond so that Norma could get a job in the city. Bob came home on weekends as the couple toured the area, beginning a lifelong habit of sightseeing that would characterize their remaining life together.
Bob transferred to Camp Shoemaker in the San Francisco Bay area and from there embarked on the USS Zeilin, while Norma returned to Keokuk where she lived with her mother and eldest sister Dorothy along with her sister's two children. Nine months later, Beverly Elizabeth Kay was born in Keokuk. Bob learned of his new daughter aboard the transporter on approach to the Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines.
After the war, the couple and daughter moved to Denver in search of employment. Beth got very sick such that Norma's mother warned her that Beth would "die" unless they returned. Heeding the alarm, the couple moved to a housing project in Chicago, where son, Douglas Charles Kay was born two years after his sister. Eventually the family settled in the village of Skokie north of Chicago, along with infant son, Randolph (Randy) William Kay, born 12 years after his sister. Their first house would be in Arlington, Ill., where they lived for four years before Bob's promotion as a sales manager brought the family to Cherry Hill, N.J., outside of Philadelphia, to a house on Covered Bridge Road. While raising a family, Norma went door to door as an Avon sales lady and as a census taker, often taking her grade school son, Randy, with her.
Seven years later Norma and the family would relocate back to the Chicago area, in Darien, following another of Bob's promotions. Bob and Norma continued playing bridge with other couples as they had done in New Jersey. Norma's intellect shined as the couple frequently won their matches. She volunteered at the local hospital before battling and overcoming life-threatening cancer in 1972. The former violin player and devoted wife and mother loved reading, movies with deep messages, and classical music. She loved spending time with her siblings and family members, especially if conversations turned to loftier topics illuminating the complexity of life.
In 1984, Bob's final promotion would bring Norma and Bob to Walnut Creek in the San Francisco Bay Area, where they would live for 26 years. While there, Norma prepared taxes for numerous people while volunteering for a senior assistance firm. By now their three children had grown and married.
Norma loved the eclectic beauty of San Francisco and the Bay Area. Her favorite eatery was the iconic restaurant Greens overlooking the Golden Gate bridge, and her most common hangout was Barnes & Noble as she read the most recent non-fiction books. Countless times were spent entertaining family and friends around Northern California's scenic sites.
In time, youngest son Randy also moved to the Bay Area and, with his marriage, Norma and Bob were able to enjoy the birth and childhood of their two newest grandchildren, Ryan and Annie. They would move to Carlsbad, Calif., near San Diego to be closer to this family after Randy's job transfer. There, Bob tragically died from an accidental fall. For four years after the loss of Bob, Norma lived in a seaside condominium in Carlsbad named after one of her favorite ocean getaways, Asilomar. Many Frappuccinos were consumed, along with ocean-view strolls and social gatherings with her son's family.
Norma's final move was to Galesburg, Ill., to live with eldest daughter Beth. While there Norma enjoyed get-togethers with her family, including several Oldham Reunions, a tradition started by Norma and Bob in 1973. With the onset of Alzheimer's, Norma needed more skilled care and moved to Marigold Health Care for three years before passing into Heaven to rejoin her loved ones.
Norma is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Beth and Dick White of Galesburg; son Douglas Kay of Boca Raton, Fla.; son and daughter-in-law Randy and Renee Kay of San Diego; five grandchildren, Laura, Julie, Jill, Ryan and Annie; and seven great-grandchildren, Brandon, Christopher, Caleb, Sam, Ben, Eli and Luca.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Robert Kay; mother and father Edward C. Renard and Harriet Oldham; sisters Dorothy Keating, Helen Fowler, Margaret Shively, Mildred Deutschmann, George Renard and their spouses; and, niece, Sue Ellen Renard, nephew, Robert Keating, and great-grandson, Alec.
We will remember our mother, grandmother, aunt and friend as extraordinarily kind, generous, loving, accepting, gracious, intelligent, encouraging, inquisitive and wise. Her smile lit the hearts and souls of everyone she met, and when her bright blue eyes dimmed as she departed to be with her beloved Lord, this world was left a little darker than before. She left knowing that she was loved, as all were greatly loved by her.
A visitation is 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1 at De Jong-Greaves Celebration of Life Center, 917 Blondeau St, Keokuk, IA 52632.
A memorial service for friends and family is 10 a.m. Friday at the same location. Burial will follow at 11 a.m. in Keokuk National Cemetery, followed by a reception at Trinity United Methodist Church, 2330 Plank Rd., Keokuk.
Memorials can be made to Covenant House, 461 Eighth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10001.

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