Mary Colby McKey

1930 - 2018

Mary Colby McKey, age 88, died Sunday, November 11, 2018 in Missoula, Montana. Born on June 4, 1930, in San Francisco to Ruth Hunter Colby and Henry Vrooman Colby, she grew up in Berkeley, California, and at a family home in Inverness, California, as well as spending many summers in Henryville, Pennsylvania. Mary graduated from the Anna Head School in Berkeley and received her BA in 1951 from Smith College, majoring in theatre. In 1955 she married Miles Robert McKey, from whom she was subsequently divorced. They moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts and then to Lexington, Massachusetts. In 1967 the family moved to Winter Park, Florida, where Mary lived until moving to Montana in 2018. Her interests included the environment and outdoor activities. Growing up, she participated in many Sierra Club High Trips. In Florida she was active with the Friends of the Wekiva River and birding with the Florida Audubon Society. She was involved with local civic organizations, including the League of Women Voters and served on the City of Winter Park's Environmental Review Board. She developed a serious interest in photography, particularly of the outdoors. Mary traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, and India. She made repeated trips to Spain and acquired a love of the Spanish language and culture, which led to her earning a second BA, in Spanish, from the University of Central Florida in 1981. For many years Mary was employed as the toy librarian for Community Coordinated Care for Children (4C) of Florida. In addition, she taught Spanish to staff at daycare centers. Mary was a member of the University Unitarian Universalist Society in East Orlando. She had a long-time interest in spirituality and metaphysics, including involvement with the Association for Research and Enlightenment. Mary was preceded in death by her brother, David Colby, and her sister, Marjorie Wening. Her oldest son, Miles Thomas McKey, died in 2004. Survivors include her son, Andrew Colby McKey (Marcia Ely), of Brooklyn, New York, grandsons Jeremy Ely McKey and Miles Samuel McKey, and her daughter, Emily Rachel McKey (Scott Caldwell), of Missoula, Montana, and grandsons Jonathan Burrell Delight and Jacob McKey Delight. The family will conduct a private service in California in 2019. Contributions in memory of Mary can be made to Friends of the Wekiva River (friendsofwekiva.org, P.O. Box 916196, Longwood, Florida 32791), the Sierra Club (sierraclub.org, 2101 Webster Street, Oakland, California 94612) or University UU Society of East Orlando (universityuus.org, 11648 McCulloch Road, Orlando, Florida 32817).