Kay Lyman Dea

Kay, and his twin brother Jay, arrived on February 26th 1936 to the home of Robert and LaVon (Singleton) Dea. The twins were met with great excitement by their older brother, “Bobby”, the firstborn child of ‘Bob’ and Lavon. Sadly, his twin brother passed away at the age of 18 months. What a joyous reunion they must be having now!

Kay grew up in Magna, Utah -- attending Webster Elementary, Brockbank Jr. High, and graduating from Cyprus High School in 1954. He had a very happy childhood playing “World War II games” in the fields with his brothers and cousins. Kay adored his parents and claimed that he was blessed with the best parents on earth.

While in High School, Kay participated in drama, debate, and the “Drum and Bugle Corp” – playing the clarinet. He was an excellent student – earning himself a scholarship to the University of Utah.

While in High School, he began to court Donna (Jill) Swensen. She had been a childhood acquaintance – attending the same schools. Donna was also the best friend of one of Kay’s closest cousins. Kay proposed to Donna just 7 months after he graduated from Cyprus – the Christmas of Donna’s senior year. They were married in the Salt Lake City Temple on June 8th, 1955.

Kay attended the University of Utah where he continued to excel academically. He earned both his Bachelors and his Masters in Social Work from the U of U.

During this time, Kay and Donna welcomed their first child – Brenda.

In 1959 Kay was offered a full scholarship to Columbia University in New York. He was honored and excited for the adventure. They moved their little family of three to Brooklyn for Kay to continue his education – earning his P.H.D. While living in Brooklyn, Kay and Donna welcomed their second child Pam.

After Columbia, Kay began his career working as a professor in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Utah.

Upon returning to Utah, they settled for a short time in Magna, before designing and building their dream home in East Millcreek. East Millcreek became their “home” – where they raised their family and where they would reside for the next 50 years.

During this time, Kay and Donna added three more children to their family – Brian, Jeanette and Jayson.

Kay’s work became not only his career – but a passion. Joining the faculty of the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Utah in 1963, he became a well-loved professor. Later he became the Dean of the Graduate School of Social Work. He served as the Dean for over 14 years – until his retirement in 1999. He was also a visiting professor at BYU-Hawaii (1972/1973 –formerly the ‘Church College’), the University of Haifa, Israel (1984), the Shue Yan College of Hong Kong (1993), and the University of Colorado Pueblo (2000). During his professional career, Kay served on numerous committees and Boards of Directors. He was very involved with the Christmas Box Foundation, the Utah Foster Care Foundation, the National Board of Social Work, and many more.

Kay was a world traveler both professionally and in his personal life. He loved to travel and enjoyed meeting new people and learning about other cultures. One of his favorite stories was telling about being the ‘Guest of Honor,’ and being served the “head of the fish,” while at a dinner in China.

Some of his favorite things were live theater, playing cards, nice restaurants, fishing, spending time in the canyons, Christmas, and being a Grandpa. He was a fantastic storyteller and enjoyed teasing and playing a good trick on you.

Kay adored and cared for Donna with love and tenderness for nearly 70 years. They shared a kind of love that is rare to find. After Donna made her journey to heaven last November, we knew it would not be long until he joined her.

Kay was preceded in death by his loving wife - Donna, his twin brother - Jay, his parents, and his older brother and sister- in-law – Bob and Ida Dea.

He is survived by all five of his children, 13 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren, and his beloved dog – Saphire. He is also survived by his younger brother Dennis, and sister- in-law, Kathy Dea.

As a family, we are forever grateful to the Hospice employees and private caretakers who have loved and served him over the last several months. Thank you for bringing joy to him during his last few months here on earth. He loved you all. We will miss hearing his flirtatious stories about all of his caretakers -- particularly his “Miss America.”

Services will be held on Thursday, July 10th at Wasatch Lawn Mortuary. (3401 S. Highland Drive, Millcreek) A viewing will be held from 9 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. with funeral services to begin at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Christmas Box Foundation in his name.