Catherine Cameron

1926 - 2022

Catherine (Kay) Cameron
June 22, 1926 - July 1, 2022
Chapel Hill, North Carolina - Catherine Maynard Cameron, of Carol Woods Retirement Community, Chapel Hill, NC, died peacefully on July 1, 2022 at the age of 96.
Catherine, or "Kay" to her many friends and acquaintances, was born June 22, 1926 to William John Maynard and Ethel Gould Maynard of Smyrna, NY, the youngest of eight children. She graduated from Sherburne High School and from Keuka College, where she made many lifelong friends. While at Keuka, Kay was a summer camp counselor in Northfield, MA and participated in an American Friends Service Committee "Students in Industry" project in Philadelphia. After a year of teaching in Marathon, NY, she earned a master's degree in Christian Education from Union Seminary and Columbia University in New York City.
While at Union, Kay met Angus Cameron, a fellow student and native of Vass, NC. In 1950, they married and began a 60-year partnership in ministry and service until Angus' death in 2010.
Angus and Kay lived first in Brooklyn, NY, where Angus was pastor of two churches and Kay was Director of Religious Education at Second Spanish Church in Manhattan's Lower East Side. In 1954, they moved to North Carolina, where Angus served as a United Methodist minister for multiple churches in Hyde County, Northampton County, and Wilson County, and then single churches in Fayetteville, Candor, and Goldston. Kay worked as a librarian and kindergarten teacher at public schools in Fayetteville and Candor and was a church youth group leader. She was active in United Methodist Women and served as the NC Conference Coordinator for Christian Personhood.
Kay was a lifelong environmentalist and a thoughtful steward of the earth and its resources. In the early 1980s, she was a leader in successful campaigns to prevent the siting of hazardous waste and radioactive waste facilities in Chatham County, NC, where she and Angus lived. During this time, she served on the Chatham County Planning Board. Kay received a Community Service Award from Keuka College in 1994 in recognition of her volunteer work and was named a "Woman of Distinction" by the United Methodist Church.
Kay was a prolific poet and writer with a keen eye and appreciation for the beauty of nature. She self-published a poetry collection, One Last Taste of Summer, along with a memoir of her childhood in upstate New York, Apple Seed and Apple Thorn. She also completed a history of her great-grandmother, Mary Anthony Knowles, a Quaker minister, and many essays on various topics.
Kay was a strong advocate for social justice and spoke out for loving inclusion of LGBTQ people in the United Methodist Church. She was an active member of the Reconciling Congregations Network.
Kay's life centered around her Christian faith, and she embodied the words "love one another." She was remarkable in her ability to embrace unreservedly those of all backgrounds and beliefs, and her generosity of spirit enriched the lives of everyone she touched.
Kay is survived by her sons Stephen Cameron and Paul Cameron, daughter-in-law Barbara Cameron, granddaughters Catherine (Cate) and Anna Cameron, all of Durham, NC, adopted grandchildren Jessie Talbott of Greensboro, NC and Ben Talbott of Candor, NC, and many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank the staff and caregivers at Carol Woods Retirement Community for their exceptionally kind and compassionate care for Kay.
Memorial events at Carol Woods Retirement Community and in Smyrna, NY are being planned.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to the American Friends Service Committee, NC WARN, and the Triangle Land Conservancy.