Catherine Kay Smith

Catherine "Kay" Smith aspired to be a foreign news correspondent, but those careers weren't easily afforded to women in the 1940s.
After earning her journalism degree from New Jersey College for Women, now part of Rutgers University, Smith embarked on a public-relations career that would continue — at least in some capacity — decades later. Even after retiring to Winter Park with her husband in the early 1970s, Smith continued to lend her hand by offering her public-relations skills to the numerous associations with which she was affiliated. Until recently, Smith kept up with the news, reading the Orlando Sentinel and The Wall Street Journal front-to-back daily. Smith, who recently lived in Orlando Lutheran Towers, died Saturday. She was 91. She was outgoing and always interested in people, said her son Mark Smith of Winter Park.
"She just left an impression on people," he said. "She touched folks from all walks of life." Kay Smith was born in Irvington, N.J. After graduating from college, she worked as an editor of an employee magazine for New Jersey Bell. In 1945, she was the guest editor for Charm Magazine's "On the Job" issue. Smith also worked on the public-relations staff at Rutgers University. In 1947, she married G. Elliott Smith in New York. When they were first married, the couple lived in a chicken coop on a farm, Mark Smith said. "Dad and mom started out very austerely," he said.
Smith said his father fixed up their new living quarters, which became their first house. "Dad loved mom, and mom loved dad," he said. "They made the most of it." Kay Smith's first big Christmas present to her husband was a boxer puppy they named Kris Von Kringle — they had to add the "Von" in the name after learning a dog was already registered with the name they intended to use. The couple loved the breed and owned several other boxers, including Duc de Sevilla, Smith's "constant companion." In 1954, Kay Smith left her professional career to raise her family. In 1973, her husband took an early retirement, and the couple moved to Winter Park. Smith loved knitting, needlepoint and cross-stitch and was active with the Embroiderers' Guild of America, once serving as president and regional officer. The organization, which promoted the art of needlepoint, was once tapped to make ornaments for use on Christmas trees at the White House, Mark Smith said. "That was something she was very fond of doing," he said. Kay Smith also loved gardening and arranging flowers and was involved with the Winter Park Garden Club. Mark Smith said his mother offered her skills to the associations she joined by writing copy and providing other public-relations services. She also wrote pieces for publications, such as Reader's Digest. Kay Smith was preceded in death by her husband, parents Joseph and Mary Sexton; sister Mary Sexton Hashagan of New Jersey, brothers Thomas Sexton of New Jersey and Joseph Sexton of Houston. In addition to Mark Smith, she is also survived by son Craig Smith of Orlando.