Obituary for
Stephen Louis Kuttner Kay
Stephen Louis Kuttner Kay, peacefully after a brief struggle on Thursday, June 21, 2018 at the tender age of 100 years. Dear husband of Margaret Kay, beloved father of Kelly and Colin (Kim) , grandfather to Dane, cherished Popi to Sarah, Manfred, Daniela and Martin and Mary Ellen, Elie and Alexander and uncle to Margie (Schiff). Pre-deceased by sister Enid.
Stephen was born in New York City, studied engineering at Cornell (an ROTC college) and immediately upon graduation was summoned to serve his country in WW2. He travelled to the African theatre aboard a converted troop ship, the Aquitania, a vessel he had travelled on to Europe with his family as a young boy. His familiarity with the ship endeared him immediately to the superior officers and he became Aide-de-Camp to a travelling diplomat and his wife on their way to his ambassadorship in Greece. Once in theatre he rapidly rose through the ranks, invited to British Royal Staff College in Haifa and eventually becoming a senior member of the Inspector General’s office of the US forces in the region. Earning multiple commendations, the pinnacle of which is the Legion of Merit, Major Kay was offered senior positions within the US military at the end of the war and despite tremendous respect and affection for the forces, he elected to return to the civilian world and begin his engineering career.
After a brief tenure in New York, Steve met Joseph Hirshhorn, a NY-based investor and prospector with whom he discovered uranium in north eastern Ontario and subsequently founded the town of Elliot Lake ON, which now has streets named after them (Kay Rd and Hirshorn Av) . Stephen became Hershorn’s man in Canada which kept him in Toronto for most of his adult life. From his first automobile, a Model T, to the halls of big business such as working with the pillars of the ‘the Canadian Establishment’, working in England with Prince Charles’ Duchy of Cornwall to becoming a close friend to Eddie de Rothschild, Stephen would regale friends and family with stories of his past. Despite a full life of witnessing the advent of everything created during the 20th century, he always remained true to his roots of humility, grace, modesty and dignity, never boasting or seeking self aggrandizement but rather often disclosing a moral or humorous ending which kept all who had the blessing of his company totally enchanted.
His legacy will live on in the many phrases he coined such as the importance of ‘picking the right parents’. We all certainly picked a great man to know and love. In keeping with his personality, he chose no celebration at this time. He will be interred in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, USA in the near future.
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Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Stephen Louis Kuttner Kay 1918 2018.source
Death notice for the town of: Ottawa, Province: Ontario