Kay Elizabeth Adams, IM 67: Systems Engineer And Devoted Yellow Jacket Fan
By: Alumni Publications | Categories: In Memoriam
Kay Elizabeth Adams, of Marietta, Ga., died Oct. 4, 2019. Kay was born in Atlanta on Jan. 11, 1949, to Oscar Leo and Katherine McClain Adams. She grew up in the area and graduated from Walker High School in Dekalb County. An outstanding student, she attended the Georgia Governor's Honors Program in 1966.
She enrolled at Georgia Tech in 1967 and remembered that there were only 20 other women in her freshman class. At Tech, she was a varsity cheerleader, a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority—where she often sang and played her guitar at Institute and Greek events—and began her lifelong love of chili dogs and onion rings from The Varsity.
After graduation, Adams took some time off then began a 40-year career as a systems engineer with IBM, during which time she worked in nearly every division. She was happiest when helping customers solve a knotty computer problem and one of the positions she enjoyed most was her time teaching new hires about IBM’s culture.
She was an avid fan of the Tech Yellow Jackets, a regular at both Grant Field and McCamish Pavilion, and she followed teams to numerous bowl games, Sweet Sixteens and one Final Four.
Adams had a particular fondness for cats. In addition to her own animals, she was personally responsible for rescuing, nursing back to health and finding homes for over 200 cats and kittens during her time as a member of the Cobb County Humane Society’s Cat Foster Program.
Predeceased by both parents, Adams is survived by her husband of 42 years, Ralph Paulk; her older sister (and alternate mother) JoAnn Eidson; and her 3 beloved furkids, Java, Mollie and Munchkin.
