SCARBOROUGH – Joseph H. McKay passed away peacefully Sept. 29, 2007, at Piper Shores, Scarborough. He was born January 1920, in Houlton, the son of Murdoch B. McKay and Bertha (Hemphill) McKay. He graduated from Houlton High School in 1937 and attended Phillips Exeter Academy for a post-graduate year in 1937-1938. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1942, where he was a member of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was a member of the golf team and served as its captain in the 1942 season. He won the Maine Intercollegiate Golf Tournament in 1941. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army for three years before returning to Houlton to join his father at the George S. Gentle Insurance Co. His entire career was devoted to the property and casualty insurance business. After serving as the president of the George S. Gentle Co., he became a partner at the John C. Paige Co., Portland and retired as a vice president of the Fred S. James Co., of Maine. In retirement, he resided during the winter at Sawgrass Country Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., until moving to Piper Shores in 2001. He spent summers at Nickerson Lake, New Limerick, just outside of Houlton. His lifelong passion for playing golf led to his winning numerous club championships at Houlton Community Golf Club, St. John Valley Open and Portland Country Club Member Guest, playing with Arthur Benoit, a college classmate. He was a former trustee of Houlton Savings Bank, Ricker College and one of the founders of Houlton Regional Development Corporation. He was a former president of Houlton Community Golf Club, and a member of the Houlton Elks Club. He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Pauline (Grant) McKay; a son, the Rev. Dr. M. Bruce McKay and his wife, Phoebe Adams McKay, of Buffalo, N.Y.; daughters, Martha (McKay) Novis and her husband, Dr. David Novis, of Lee, N.H., and Jane (McKay) Morrell and her husband, William D. Morrell, of Brunswick; seven grandchildren, Joshua Novis and his wife, Annie Vallieres, of Montreal, Quebec, Emily Novis and her husband, Chip Graeper, of Portland Ore., Rebecca Novis of Portland, Ore., Luke and Micah McKay of Buffalo, N.Y., and Lucy and Peter Morrell of Brunswick; one great-granddaughter, Juliette Rose Vallieres Novis of Montreal, Quebec. There will be a graveside service 11 a.m. Oct. 9, at Evergreen Cemetery, Houlton, with a reception after at Houlton Community Golf Club. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Nickerson Lake Wilderness Preservation, Inc., Houlton, ME 04730 or Cary Memorial Library, Houlton, ME 04730. Arrangements and memorial gifts to be administered by Dunn Funeral Home, 11 Park St., Houlton.
JOSEPH HUME MCKAY
