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Paul Kay Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for Paul Kay
Lisa Woodside
April 20, 2017
Richard Henderson or other. Please how can I read Paul Kay's works? I am most interested. I went to his old website and found it gone. I searched to find him. I ask in great respect and reverence for a great man.
Richard Henderson
December 17, 2009
I only met Paul somewhat more than a year ago, and only over the phone, by email, through his website and mine. But it feels like I've known him for years. I was working on a page for Datura when I ran into his work and realized we had both worked at Pottery Mound New Mexico a few years apart, and that we shared ideas about ritual symbolism (mine largely from working in West Africa). I gave him some criticisms of his website and .pdf work, but mainly I enjoyed the expansive and integrative qualities of his mind. It didn't surprise me to learn he had been active in the Denver music scene. I hoped he would live for some years though he was bedridden with diabetes all the time I knew him....... It's sad to lose a friend, but I'm surely glad that he lived as he did.
John Sturtz
December 5, 2009
As owners of Capitol Hill Books, Holly and I were fortunate to receive some of Paul's books from his daughter Cynthia...yesterday as Holly finished looking closely at some of Paul's "library", which was generously donated to our store, she said, "My God! I never realized what an intelligent man Paul Kay was!"
His books are part of his legacy. I've talked with numerous former co-workers at Tattered Cover in the past few weeks, and they all remember Paul. He was a true intellectual and an amazing man.
Kelley Hays-Gilpin
November 12, 2009
Paul used to buttonhole me at the SAA meetings, or just call up out of the blue to discuss Pottery Mound, or hawk moths, or datura, or the chemistry of red pottery pigments, or how to cure gastric acid reflux by drinking hydrochloric acid. Apart from the health advice, I'm really gonna miss that guy.
Kelley Hays-Gilpin
David Phillips
November 11, 2009
Paul Kay didn't make archaeology a full time job, but archaeology could have used more of his energy. He was an insightful thinker and an enthusiastic researcher. His upcoming article in the online journal "Pottery Southwest" will be a lasting contribution.
Joe Moran
November 7, 2009
No one needed to wait for an invitation to become Paul's friend.
He was one of the first people I met outside of my work contacts when I moved to Denver almost 25 years ago. It seemed I kept seeing this peculiar fellow everywhere I went--at the park, the supermarket, the bookstore, plays and concerts.
I finally stepped up an introduced myself. He greeted me by name every time we met after that.
Jud Hart
November 7, 2009
I think I last saw Paul 10-11[?] years ago. Two things I'll always remember about Paul: His BIG voice, and opera. Quite a character. Memorable guy. I can [sort of] hear his voice now.
Stanley Solheim
November 7, 2009
Paul & I were High School friends who lived near one another. I remember many days during the warm months rowing and swimming from a boat and discussing everything important to our young lives and what we thought the future would bring. We sang in a quartet that was very popular. Paul was always solicitated to return to class reunions so all could hear the Dischords perform with Paul's booming bass. He will be missed by all members of the class of '57.
John Sturtz
November 6, 2009
Paul was a friend. Unlike so many people, Paul had a passion and enthusiasm for his work and an interest and curiosity about everything. Paul would visit Tattered Cover some nights while I was working there on Saturdays, and at some point in the evening, when business was slow or there was an occasional idle moment, Paul would share some observation, an observation so focused and intense but barely noticed by anyone else that the two of us would laugh wholeheartedly for a moment or two. Paul always had plenty to say but he was also a natural observer of everything around him. He was a man who pondered.
Paul told me a story one night I will never forget...One early cold winter day, Paul found a squirrel half buried in frozen snow. The squirrel was obviously dead from the bitter cold temperatures. Paul thought the poor creature should be given a dignified farewell from earth. He described how he carefully wrapped the squirrel in an old flannel shirt and placed him in a box. Paul was an anthropologist and he wanted to treat the squirrel in the ritual of preparing the dead. He took the box home. Paul told me it was part of the ritual to cleanse the body before laying it to rest. He placed the body in his kitchen sink and slowly ran lukewarm water on the fur to unstiffen the body and clean it. Within a moment or two the squirrel had warmed-up and re-entered this world in Paul's hands.
I can't write the colorful language Paul used to describe the day he brought that squirrel back to life...but the story he told me will forever remain part of my love of Paul.
A truly great man is no longer with us.
Holly Brooks
November 6, 2009
Paul was inquisitive about every aspect of life. A quintessential free spirit, he will be much missed.
Darlene Hilburn
November 6, 2009
May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life well lived.
November 5, 2009
May your hearts soon be filled with wonderful memories of joyful times together as you celebrate a life well lived.
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