Kay Simonson Waterbury’s “Catholic faith was her guiding light throughout her life,” her family said. Mrs. Waterbury, who was 94, died at home in East Hampton on Feb. 2.
“Everywhere she went, service to others was the foundation of her life.” Alzheimer’s disease, homelessness, alcohol addiction, and adoption were among the causes she was involved in. While living in Manhattan, Mrs. Waterbury “ran a men’s homeless shelter, spending many nights on site, and later mentoring many of the men from the shelter,” according to her family. In her retirement years in Vermont, she and her husband took in troubled teens who needed temporary housing.
Born Jean Kay Simonson on April 7, 1928, in New York City, she was the daughter of Henry J. Simonson and the former Helen Meyers. She grew up in New York and Southampton, attending the Convent of the Sacred Heart school in the city and Manhattanville College, where she graduated with a master’s degree in social work.
She and James M. Waterbury, known as Monty, were married on June 8, 1956, and had five children. In addition to living in Manhattan and East Hampton, she had also lived for a time in Old Westbury, Manchester, Vt., and Stamford, Conn.
Mrs. Waterbury “balanced service with a joy of life, family, and friends. She loved dancing and music, enjoyed hosting evenings at home, had a passion for international travel, and had a lifelong interest in gardening, which led to a longtime membership in the East Hampton Garden Club,” her family wrote. She was also “an enthusiastic golfer and an avid reader” and “could converse on any topic with great authority.”
Above all, they said, she was “a devoted wife and mother.” Mrs. Waterbury is survived by her five children and their spouses, James Waterbury of Greenwich, Conn., Hope Waterbury of East Hampton, Christine Waterbury of New York City, Carol Quinlan of Annapolis, Md., and Susan Waterbury Rose of East Hampton. She also leaves five grandchildren, Lindsay, Emily, Katie, Ciera, and Kelly, a sister, Joan Sheridan of Windham, N.Y., and “her oldest and dearest friends,” Dickie Cummins of East Hampton and Joan Markey of Greenwich.
Her husband died before her. A private Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated with extended family.
Donations in her memory have been suggested to the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation at alzdiscovery.org, or the Tunnel to Towers Foundation at t2t.org.
