Kay Angel Packard

Kay was born in Winston-Salem, NC, to Douglas Ernest Angel and Kathleen Johnson on November 9, 1940. She attended R J Reynolds High School and Salem College. She married her high school sweetheart, Randall (Randy) C. Packard, on her little sister’s tenth birthday when she “ran away to get married” at 17. Kay and Randy were back in time for the birthday party and kept their marriage a secret until that summer, after Kay graduated from high school. In the early years of their marriage, Kay and Randy lived in Germany and Greece before settling in Huntley Hills in Chamblee. Upon arrival in Georgia, Kay and Randy were charter members of First Moravian Church of Georgia, where Kay taught Sunday School and played the organ for many years. Kay worked as an accountant with Pope Insurance until she left her job to care full-time for her husband, who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Appropriately, Kay and Randy became active volunteers with Muscular Dystrophy Association, a relationship that continued for Kay long after Randy’s death. When Randy was ill, Kay discovered a love of birds and nature to “bring the outside in” for Randy. This hobby ignited a passion for gardening that propelled Kay into her “old age.” Among her many gardening accomplishments, Kay was a Georgia Master Gardener, her yard was a Certified Wildlife Habitat, and she spearheaded the city of Chamblee becoming a Certified Wildlife Habitat Community. Oh! And we can’t forget that time Kay was named National Wildlife Federation’s Volunteer of the Year!

Kay was preceded in death by her parents and her husband. Kay is survived by her sister and husband, Ellen and William Hitz; nephew and wife, David and Holly Jones and their daughter, Victoria; niece and partner, Rebecca (Becky) Jones and Alex Kambar; and a pond filled with goldfish in her garden.

A visitation will be held Tuesday, August 9, 2022, from 6-8pm at H.M. Patterson & Son- Oglethorpe Hill Chapel at 4550 Peachtree Rd NE in Atlanta. In honor of Kay’s love of gardening, the family welcomes guests to wear floral/nature prints or bright colors. Kay will be interred the following day at Arlington Memorial Park at a small, family service, where she will rejoin the love of her life.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to National Wildlife Federation or First Moravian Church of Georgia. Kay’s family wishes to extend sincere thanks to the staff at The Phoenix at Dunwoody, Emory University Hospital Neuroscience ICU, and Bridgeway Hospice.