Kay L. Ikola

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Kay L. Ikola

October 28, 1940--November 5, 2025.

Kay was born in Long Beach, California on October 28, 1940. Her parents were Jack Orion Brandt and June Brandt. Her father was of Irish ancestry, and her mother’s parents were early 20th Century immigrants from Norway. Kay was close to her maternal grandmother, Karen Berge, who passed in 1986, after both of her parents had died in the 1970s.

Most of Kay’s childhood was spent in Santa Monica, California, adjacent to Los Angeles, on the coast. For a short time, she lived in Oakland, California, while her father Jack was stationed at the Naval Base, in Alameda during WW2. During this time, her late younger brother, Jack Orion Brandt Jr., was born. She later recalled this as a stressful period in her childhood. She told stories about it in 2016, when she visited the Bay Area, for her son Karl’s 50th birthday. The Brandt family residence in Oakland was on Seminary Drive. Over 70 years after she lived there, we visited it. She found the exact spot, and this triggered several intense memories for her, which she shared.

Kay graduated from Santa Monica high school (Samohi) in 1958. She clerked at medical offices in Los Angeles and recalled young celebrities such as Michael Landon (Bonanza) and Liberace, coming in for treatment.

Kay’s family attended St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Santa Monica. It was here that she met Theodore E. Ikola, two years her senior. Though they did not form a relationship at that time, they married September 30, 1962. Ted Ikola, a graduate of Stanford University in 1960, was in the U.S. Air Force until 1964.

Kay and Ted took in the cultural zeitgeist of the late ‘50s and early ‘60s, going to jazz gigs at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, and seeing legendary comedian, Lenny Bruce perform. In late 1964, Ted enrolled in graduate school, at Carnegie Mellon University. The young couple headed east to Pittsburgh, Penna, where the university was located. This city also happened to be the birthplace of Ted.

Their first child, Karl, was born in Pittsburgh, February 1966. Ted then found employment at Uniroyal Tire, and the Ikolas moved to Naugatuck, Connecticut in 1966, and then to Lincoln Park, Michigan, in January 1968.

Kay’s second child, Karen, was born in Detroit, August 1968. Karl was jealous of this new arrival at first, but they resolved their sibling rivalry and are very close to this day.

In the 1970s, Kay campaigned for public school millages in Allen Park, marched with the National Organization for Women (N.O.W.) in Washington, D.C., and campaigned for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, to the United States Constitution.

Kay and Ted separated for a short time in 1976, when she went to work for the young non-profit agency, The Information Center, founded a year earlier. The first office was in Wyandotte, on Biddle, as part of the office of state representative, Jeffrey D. Padden. Kay continued at The Information Center, rising to Executive Director. She secured grants and steered the agency into rapid growth. The Information Center was a lifeline for seniors and the vulnerable and helped with “connecting the dots” for services in the area. This was pre-internet, of course.

The Ikolas then moved from Allen Park, to Trenton, Michigan, in August 1977, shortly after their cats, Snicklefritz (“Boo”) and Misty, gave birth to a litter of kittens. One of those kittens, Minky, became a permanent family member.

Upon arrival in Trenton, the family began attending St. Philip Lutheran Church. Pastor Dennis Waltereit was the church leader, followed by Pastor Jack Eggleston in 1982. Kay was active in the church, and up until recently, was president of the St. Philip Church Council. She helped to coordinate the Food Pantry, Yarn Ministry and the Alcoholics’ Anonymous group meetings. Kay organized the first women’s meeting in the Downriver area in 1985 so women had an earlier meeting they could attend and get home in time to put their children to bed.

Mom continued guiding The Information Center (later based in Taylor) through increasing growth and service to the community. A turning point in her life was finding sobriety in March 1981. Kay was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer in 1983 and nearly died. She survived another 42 years after this, a testament to her fighting spirit and faith. She retired from The Information Center in late 1998, though remained “in the loop” due to her long-time connection (1976 on). After Ted retired, in late 2000, my parents had an opportunity to travel widely.

The arrival of grandchild Raven in 2003 was the start of a wonderful period in her life. She relished being a grandmother and spent several days per week supplying childcare with Ted.

Her husband of over forty-four years, Ted, passed in July 2017. Mom had another big health scare in 2018, when she was hospitalized for almost 6 weeks. Despite all this, she survived and pushed forward, finding love and companionship, with Jeffrey Schmidt, to reach the end of her life.

Though predeceased by her parents, brother and grandmother, as well as husband Ted, she is survived by son Karl, daughter Karen (and her husband, Jonathan Marin), and beloved grandchild, Raven Marin.

We will miss her, to the end of our days.

Karl E. Ikola

Memorial contributions to honor Kay's life may be made to St. Philip Lutheran Church in Trenton, 1790 Fort Street, Trenton, MI 48183