Kay was born October 25, 1935 in Rossville, Kansas. He moved to Topeka in 1945 and earned his BBA from Washburn University in Topeka. He started as a claims adjuster in 1958 in Topeka. Moved to Emporia, Kansas then Nevada, Missouri, then Back to Topeka, then to Dallas in 1970. He has been in claims adjusting for 43 years. He has one child, Melanie age 38, who now lives on a sailboat and travels with her French spouse. Kay has been married to Christel Ehrich since 1983. She is from Berlin and is self employed in the snack food business as a combustion/process equipment specialist.

Kay retired in January 2002 and says, "I am still looking for a job. We bike, skate, play tennis, hike and snorkel. At 60 we both did a free fall and the parachutes opened! We travel a lot, have been to Germany, France, Greece, Cyprus, Mexico, Costa Rica, most of the Caribbean Islands, Alaska, Canada, and if I win the lottery, we will go all of the time!"