Kay Teeley

Kay Teeley, a Pelham Manor resident for 50 years, entered eternal life on August 28, 2026 at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. She was 87 years old.

Kay was born in 1939, the first of Frank and Frances Kowalski’s six children. She was welcomed into the rough and tumble Italian enclave of East Harlem on a block sandwiched between the abandoned Second Avenue El and its surviving sibling on Third Ave. Crammed into a tenement railroad flat with extended family, Kay’s life was noisy and crowded and the toilet was down the hall. In hot weather the best bedroom was the fire escape. Family was everywhere.

Big Grandma would drag Kay into the kitchen to help with the pierogies, yelling in Polish all the while. Entertainment meant a trip downtown on the El to the movies. Little Grandma would drag Kay in and out of theater after theater after just 10 minutes complaining “I already see this one.” Upon each exit she’d demand a refund. In Italian.

Soon there was Catholic school. First St. Lucy’s and later Our Lady of Refuge and St. Barnabas. Here an unstoppable force met an immovable object. Kay already was the free thinker, the asker of uncomfortable questions, the opinionated one, the one likely to question authority. Or you. The nuns called her “a bold stump.”

By 1952, the family had moved to a house in the Bronx. In a home of die-hard Yankee fans, Kay loved the Brooklyn Dodgers (especially Duke Snider). After years of brotherly torment and to Kay’s great glee, October 1955 saw her beloved Dodgers finally beat her brothers’ hated Yanks.

Kay found Alan Freed on the radio that same year and discovered rock and roll, the outlet, the rebellious new sound that became a vent for so many young people. Music became part of Kay’s life. She was desperate to get Little Richards “Tutti Frutti,” but the 78 was impossible to find in the Bronx. Her dad searched high and low, finally finding a copy in a Harlem record shop. It became her priced possession. There’s a photo of the teenager cradling her new treasure in front of the Christmas tree. We still have both the picture and the record. And her Brooklyn Dodgers jacket.

Kay married and raised a family with Hank in the same Bronx neighborhood. A devoted mother, Kay’s kids were her life. School, activities, after school lessons. With the kids, friends of the kids, neighbors and friends, the house on Bainbridge Ave. became a neighborhood destination, a busy place with lots of activities, visitors and cats.

By the 1970’s lots of the neighborhood kids she knew wanted to be musicians and rock stars, but had no place to play drums, electric guitars or loud stuff. The house was a madhouse already so a couple more kids banging away on instruments wouldn’t make much of a difference. She encouraged the ones with talent and let the others just have some fun. Several have gone on to careers in music.

In 1976 the family pulled up stakes and moved to Pelham Manor. The address changed, but the house was still the same, a destination. Kids playing, musicians jamming, old friends dropping by who might need a place to stay for a while. Kay had a big heart for those who needed help or advice.

Kay and Hank later went their separate ways. She managed the kids, the house, a job and the stream of visitors. Meanwhile some of the young musicians asked for help. Kay’s native managerial skills, musical instinct and great “ears” got them on their way.

By ’78, one of those musicians started coming around more often. Kay met him years earlier. As a favor to a friend he had given her a lift to a party. Waiting on her stoop she watched a green GTO pull up.  

The guy shouted out: “Are you Kay?”

She shouted back: “If you’re Bill, I am.”

One day in late September 1979 Bill stopped by. He stayed.

In 2026 Kay celebrated wedding anniversary #46 with Bill, the love of her life.

Kay married Bill, a musician in a band with ambitions. She managed that band, got them signed and battled hard for them. At the same time she managed a full time job and a family.

The band eventually broke up and Kay switched gears, launching a successful career as an executive assistant in both the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. She retired in 2008. In the meantime Kay had become a grandmother to Joey and Gina, Dawn’s two kids. They spent lots of time playing at grandma’s house.

Kay loved the Burlington area and visiting Vermont became a regular family event. We gave homesteading there a shot but ended up returning to Pelham. Nancy remained at home after graduation, working and helping her mom in making our home. She met Michael and in 1993 they celebrated a memorable wedding. Kay couldn’t have been more proud. Before long there were two more grandchildren, Kristin and Jonathan and the household expanded to six.

Kay took great pride in home and family. She displayed exceptional flair in decorating and fashion always in the best taste and style. She was a kitchen wizard. Though specializing in Italian comfort food, she also boasted an enviable talent for creating something from nothing. Sadly, Big Grandma kept that pierogie recipe a secret.

She loved planting in her yard, the mountains of Vermont, the ocean, and our family’s summer treks to East Hampton.

Kay bravely battled illness through her last years but was blessed with the lasting love and support of family.

Kay is survived by her husband, Bill; their daughter Nancy and son-in-law Michael, and their children: Kristin and husband Alex, and Jonathan; her daughter Dawn, and her children: Joey and his son Anderson, and Gina and husband Mike and their sons Jayden and James; her daughters Kathryn and Barbara; her sister Terry and her brothers Bob, Jim, Frankie and Anthony.

…...and of course, a lifetime of friends.

She will forever lovingly live in our memory.

In Lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Kay Teeley to Calvary Hospital.

A celebration of Kay's life will be held at Pelham Funeral Home, located at , 64 Lincoln Ave Pelham NY 10803 on Saturday, September 12, 2026 between the hours of 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm.