Kay McBride

Kay McBride was born Kaliope Papanteles, in King City, California on September 5, 1932 to John Papanteles and Katherine (Mathesis) Papanteles. Papou John was a restaurateur who never had a lock on his door, and was proud to be able to feed the trainloads of young service men who stopped at King City, before moving on to their destinations. Yiayia was the sister of Nikos Mathesis (Nikos o Trelos) a composer of rebetiko music popular in the Greek underground circa 1920. Nikos stayed in Piraeus, Greece while Katherine moved with Papou John to the United States, settling in King City, California. Living in the small town of King City, Kay grew up longing to see the world, so she joined the Red Cross after college to follow that dream. Kyriakos, her brother, also loved travel, and spent time in Hydra, Greece. Where he was inspired to create Kyriakos of Hydra, and began imported fashion clothing, jewelry, and sculpture, with locations in Hydra, San Francisco, (Ghirardelli Square, Grant Avenue, and downtown Sonoma.) Kay was known to sneak out with her cousin Elena and have fun in Carmel, California from time to time. If you ever wanted to see Kay giggle, you just had to remind her of her date with Martin Milner, the actor who starred in the TV series Adam-12.

Her love of travel and adventure via the Red Cross, led her to Japan, and then Korea, where she met and subsequently married then Lieutenant Thomas E. McBride Jr. The couple were married in San Jose, California where John and Katherine Papanteles had retired. After the wedding the couple moved to Keyser, West Virginia, the first of many future moves. They had their first child, Thomas E. McBride III, born in Cumberland, Maryland, the closest hospital to Keyser. A subsequent move took them to Manila, in the Philippines, where Katina Helen McBride was born. Kay discovered her love of art, and took up drawing with Babs Bowie, an artist that lived in her Alexandria, Virginia, neighborhood. She loved drawing with Conti, a type of colored chalk sticks. After many moves, a common thread for Army families, the family moved to Stone Mountain, Georgia, where Kay developed a love of tennis that would give her years of joy, and many friendships. Unfortunately, tragedy stuck, on March 21, 1983 when after a long valiant battle, and after a period of remission her beloved daughter Katina who shared her love of tennis, passed away from cancer. Kay's final move was to her new home in Tucker, Georgia where she passionately played tennis for decades, until she played her last match in October of 2023. Kay's life was full of passion for her children, family, always following politics, news, and current affairs. She was so proud of her grandchildren, Tommy and Callie, who have given her joy throughout her later life. She was especially happy to be able to attend both of their weddings, and absolutely loved both Veronica and Evan, who are beloved additions to the family.

Kay passed away peacefully on Christmas Eve 2025. She is survived by her son Thomas, his wife Carolyn, her grandson Thomas, his wife Veronica, her grand daughter Callie and her husband Evan.

(We are asking that, in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to the American Cancer Society.)