Kay was a teacher all her life

Kay thought of herself as a musician, as a producer of concerts, as a adoptive parent -- but rarely did she speak of herself as a teacher. She had a teaching certificate, earned in a two-year program which was considered a practical education for young women during the Depression years. And she did teach briefly in a public school, serving as Band Director and music teacher when the original male teacher died unexpectedly during the school year. 

But other than that, Kay taught many people over the years, but always in an unofficial  capacity. For example, she worked at Scott Field (now Scott Air Force Base) as a music librarian, organizing the sheet music for the military bands. Because she shared a quonset hut with the area where all airmen-to-be took Morse Code lessons, she ended up tutoring enlisted men who struggled with learning the Morse alphabet. Many said they would not have passed the course, and thus would not have been qualified to fly, without Kay's help. 

This video goes over the basics of the Morse Code alphabet, at a slow enough pace for someone just learning.