Katie Ruth Gay’s disposition was as sweet as her famous fresh apple pie. She kept an extra pie in her freezer, her friends say, ready for anyone in her Newnan community who might need a little pastry encouragement.
A woman with a contagious smile and a style all her own, Gay loved to cook for her family, friends and even strangers, serving up something hot and delicious for anyone who might show up at her doorstep.
“Ms. Katie was a virtuous woman of God who had a lot of love for everybody,” said Ida Johnson, her friend over 40 years. “To know Ms. Katie was to love Ms. Katie.”
Gay served her Newnan community for more than eight decades. She was as a Coweta County poll officer, a school crossing guard, a favorite at the Tommy Thompson Senior Activity Center and an active member of both the Red Hat Society and Zion Hill Baptist Church. But her most important role was that of “Momma,” not only to her own family, but to her many friends and admirers.
Katie Ruth “Kitty” Gay died at home Tuesday of a stroke. She was 87.
A funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Newnan on Saturday, followed by burial at Forest Lawn Memorial Gardens in Forest Park. The family held visitation Friday night at the Sellers-Smith Funeral Home in Newnan, which was in charge of arrangements.
Born Katie Ruth Dawson on January 10, 1926, Gay moved with her family to Newnan as an infant. She graduated from Howard Warner High School in 1942 and three years later, she wed her high school sweetheart, James Gay, who affectionately called her “Kitty.” They were married for 66 years until James’s death in 2012.
Gay often seemed a woman on a mission.
"Ms. Katie loved a challenge. She would try anything," said Johnson. Friends said they could see her coming, dressed to the nines with a little strut in her step.
“Ms. Katie was very classy lady,” Johnson said.
She loved to travel, especially to California to visit family. In her later years, Gay became an expert quilter and began a project to restore the old Howard Warner school building, her alma mater, on Savannah Street. She knew it could be put to good use.
“She wanted a place for people who didn’t have anywhere else to go,” said her daughter, Kathy Gay of Newnan. Gay may not have seen the project completed, but she found other places to care for the people she loved.
Over her lifetime, Gay built a network of friends and family who were moved by her willingness to give. She dedicated most of her time to her church, singing in the choir, raising funds and serving on numerous committees.
For years, she could be seen smiling every school day at the corner of Savannah and Pinson, helping children cross the street as Newnan’s first African-American crossing guard.
“She loved all the kids and they loved her,” said her daughter. “They started waving before they would get to her.”
When she turned 55, Gay learned to drive and took every opportunity to get behind the wheel. She offered to drive friends to the grocery store or accompanied them on clothes shopping trips.
“We called it ‘Mom’s Taxi,’” her daughter said, laughing.
Gay lived her life in the service of others, said her daughter, “expressing to people you can love the Lord and be happy in everything you do.”
Gay is also survived by her sons Reginald of Los Angeles, Cal., James Michael of Newnan, and Wayne of Newnan; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
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