Alice Kay, Wife of First Knox Mayor Glen Kay, Passes away at Age 101

Posted on Author WKVI
Alice Kay

The wife of the first mayor of the City of Knox, Alice Kay, passed away Tuesday at the age of 101. She had lived for many years at the Catherine Kasper Home in Donaldson. She would have been 102 on May 8th.

“She was just a wisp of a lady, but her personality was that of a person twice her size,” stated Ted Hayes. “Alice Kay was devoted to her husband Glen, daughter Judy, grandson Dirk, son-in-law Herb, St. Aquinas Catholic Church and her many friends. She was a partner with her husband in Glen Kay Clothing and Shoes which was located in the building that now houses Fingerhut Bakery in Knox.”

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From the WKVI Archives

Posted on Author WKVI
Glen Kay and Mike Gurrado

Knox’s first Mayor was Republican Glen Kay in 1955. Coming to Knox from Elgin, Ill., Kay worked first at the Ben Franklin store, eventually opening a Studebaker Dealership and then a clothing and shoe store named Glen Kay Clothing and Shoes. The store was in the building that now houses Fingerhut Bakery.

On this date 36 years ago, Glen Kay passed away of a heart attack. He was 62 years old.

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Glen Kay to be Featured on the ‘Ted Hayes Remembers’ Show Today

Posted on Author WKVI
Glen Kay

Ted Hayes Remembers Glen Kay

Back in 1976, residents in Knox got to see their first New Orleans style funeral procession. The Jerry Fuller Jazz Band provided music as they carried Glen Kay’s casket from the funeral coach to the burial site at Crown Hill Cemetery. They played a dirge going up the hill, but coming down, they broke into the old New Orleans song, “Eight Men Going To This Funeral, But Only Seven Of Us Coming Back.” The mourners then
reassembled at Glen Kay Clothing and Shoes for a rousing Dixieland concert and refreshments.

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