George Alexander Kay III, died November 14th at age 75 after a long illness at his home in Severna Park, Maryland.

Mr. Kay was born on September 25, 1934 in Baltimore to Downing Jett and the late George Kay. He went to Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and graduated from City College in 1953. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in business and industrial management from Johns Hopkins University in 1957. During his years at Hopkins, he enjoyed playing lacrosse for a winning team and being an active member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.

Mr. Kay served in the Army Corps of Engineers from 1957-59 as a 1st Lieutenant and Company Commander and viewed that experience as shaping the rest of his life. After leaving the military, Mr. Kay began a thirty-year career at Armco Steel, Inc. of Middletown, Ohio. He started at Armco in the industrial engineering department at the Baltimore steel mill and was one of five awarded an opportunity for a sales training program. He rose to Director of Marketing Services, and finally Vice President--Commercial Affairs and Communications for the Eastern Steel Division. His career at Armco afforded the Kay family the opportunity to live in Middletown, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; and Baltimore, Maryland.

In 1991, after retiring from Armco, Mr. Kay returned to the East Coast to Severna Park where he started his own company, Bay State Steel. In 1995, he was joined in partnership with his son-in-law, Mark Grifo and together they created a specialty steel distributorship. As a member of SCORE, he was able to leverage his greatest asset as mentor to new business owners in the Annapolis area.

Whether you knew him as Skip, Brother, George, Grandad, Dad, or simply Mr. Kay, you knew a man with an acute sense of humor and a razor-sharp intelligence. He always was the go-to man in times of crisis and was great at solving problems. He loved parties and if you gave him a microphone, he knew how to handle it with flair. Birds and clean gutters brought him pleasure.

His interests included Civil War and World War II history, big-band jazz and traveling. His hobbies were fishing, tennis, and golf. He was a passionate supporter of Blue Jays lacrosse at Johns Hopkins University.

A memorial service is planned for 2:00 p.m., November 20th at Severna Park United Methodist Church, 731 Benfield Blvd., Severna Park, MD.

Mr. Kay is survived by his wife of 52 years, Joan Gaddy Kay, his mother, Downing Jett Kay of Baltimore and his sister, Anne Kay Joyner of Ft. Lauderdale. Also surviving him are his 5 daughters: Julia Kay McGrath and her husband Patrick of Newport, RI; Jennifer Kay Grifo and her husband Mark of Severna Park; Christine Kay Williams of Severna Park; Kathryn Kay of Washington, DC; and Susan Kay Lose and her husband Robert of Washington, DC. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Margaret and Peter Williams, Curt and Jillian Grifo, Dylan McGrath, Downing and Nicholas Lose.

He was preceded in death by his grandson, Tony Grifo.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 1041 Rt 3 N., Building A, Gambrills, MD or Hospice of the Chesapeake, 445 Defense Hwy, Annapolis, MD 21401.

Online condolences may be made at www.barrancofuneralhome.com