Geraldine "Gerry" Armon McKay

Geraldine "Gerry" Armon McKay, 83, of Amarillo, TX passed away October 22, 2024.

Services for Gerry McKay will be on Saturday, November 9, 2024 at 4:00 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1601 S. Georgia Street, Amarillo, Texas, 79102. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors. 

Gerry was born Geraldine Armon Goleman on January 27, 1941, to Colonel Ocie and Nettie Goleman in Fort Sumter, South Carolina. She left this world on October 22, 2024.

Gerry was their eldest daughter; followed by her two, beloved sisters, Kay and Linda. The United States Army moved the family all over the country, and even across seas to Japan for one year while Gerry was in junior high. After that, they settled to San Antonio, Texas, where Gerry graduated from Alamo Heights.

Gerry personified dynamite in small packages. She spent her freshman year at Louisiana State University, then transferred to Austin College her sophomore year. She arrived one week late because she was busy winning the Pillsbury Annual Bake-Off in Washington D.C. Her Checker Bars, a fudge-filled shortbread cookie, earned her a $1,000 scholarship, and Nestlé featured her award-winning recipe on back on its chocolate-chip bag. She arrived with celebrity status on campus then proceeded to run the school.

She served as student body secretary during her senior year, because they didn’t allow girls to be president back then. She began dating her future husband, Richard F. McKay, MD (Dick) there, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1963. The couple married a few months later at Alamo Heights Presbyterian Church in San Antonio on August 10.

Dick attended the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, and Gerry worked there full-time in the Immunology Laboratory to put him through med school. Their son, Mark, was born during that time; Steven arrived three years later at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Gerry’s sons were her absolute world. While Dick set up his practice as an orthopedic surgeon in Amarillo, Texas; Gerry set up their life.

The McKays spent countless hours of fun at the Palo Duro Club, outside of Amarillo, at the Goleman’s lake house on Lake LBJ in Central Texas, and on family ski trips to Colorado at Christmas. Gerry’s joy only blossomed when her sons gave her daughters-in-law, with Mark marrying Marcy Mason, and Steven marrying Sara Wilson. Becoming “Gerry Kay” to her four, perfect grandchildren made her life complete. Mason, Luke, Avery and Ainsley loved spending time with Gerry Kay and Granddaddy: sleepovers, jeep rides, cookouts and swimming at the Palo Duro Club. The annual “cousins’ trip” to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, Texas, was always a highlight.

Gerry was small, but her heart was huge. She served on countless nonprofit boards over the years: Amarillo Museum of Art, Children’s Rehabilitation Center, The Bridge-Children’s Advocacy Center, Camp Alphie, Amarillo Symphony, Junior League of Amarillo, Texas Association of Symphony Orchestras, United Way of Amarillo & Canyon, Children’s Miracle Network, Opportunity School, Healthy Steps for Young Children, Baptist/St. Anthony’s Hospital Foundation, Harrington Regional Medical Center, and St. Andrew’s Episcopal School.

She often served on both the executive committee for organizations, as well as president. In 1980, Gerry designed and co-chaired the first Christmas Roundup for the Symphony Guild and Art Alliance. She won Outstanding Sustainer of the Year for the Junior League of Amarillo in 1990. She was co-chairman for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in 1992 then helped with the fundraiser for the next 25 years. She was the 2000-2001 interim executive director for the Amarillo Symphony, and also received the 2001 Golden Nail Award for Outstanding Volunteer Contribution by an Individual. Beta Sigma Phi named her Outstanding Volunteer in 2002.

Gerry was preceded in death by her parents, Ocie and Nettie Goleman; her in-laws, Dr. Edward and Charlotte McKay; her sister, Linda Butler; her brother-in-law, Pete McKay. 

She is survived by her devoted husband, Dick McKay; her son, Mark McKay (wife Marcy); her son, Steven McKay (wife Sara); her grandchildren: Mason McKay, Luke McKay, Avery McKay, and Ainsley McKay; her sister, Kay McGaffey; her brother-in-law, Colonel Fred Butler; her brother-in-law, Joe McKay (wife Mary Ann); her sister-in-law, Kay McHorse (husband Dr. Tom McHorse). Plus, many wonderful cousins, nieces, nephews, as well as great-nieces and great-nephews.

The McKays wish to express their deepest gratitude for Gerry’s constant care over the past 7.5 years by The Ware and The Sycamore at Park Central.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to either St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, or the Amarillo Symphony. Please make checks payable to St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (Gerry McKay in the memo), 1601 S. Georgia Street, Amarillo, Texas, 79102. Or, please make checks payable to the Amarillo Symphony (Gerry McKay in the memo), 301 S. Polk Street #700, Amarillo, Texas 79101.

We are devastated that Gerry is gone, but grateful she is finally at peace.