William Kay Read

Dr. William “Kay” Read of Mesa, AZ died on June 4, 2025, at the age of 87.  He was born on March 31, 1938, in Deport, Texas, to Ida Lou Lawler and Kenneth Weldon Read.

Kay Read graduated from Paris High School in 1956.  He played the saxophone in the High School and Paris, Texas Municipal Bands.  He was co-captain of the 1956 District Championship basketball team, earning all-district and all-state honors.  After high school graduation he attended North Texas State College in Denton, Texas, where he met his wife, Anita Joy Farnsworth, who was a music major. They were married at San Jacinto Methodist Church in Amarillo, Texas, on September 6, 1958, and they were married for 66-1/2 years. Kay and Joy later moved to Commerce, Texas, where he earned a B.S. Degree in Biology from East Texas State University.

In 1961, he moved his family to College Station, Texas, so that he could attend Texas A&M. It was there that he received his B.S. in Veterinary Medicine (With Honors), Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (With Honors, as well as being 1st in his Class with the highest overall GPA), and PhD in Experimental and Diagnostic Pathology.  He was awarded The Borden Scholarship Award in Veterinary Medicine, for achieving the highest GPA in a veterinary curriculum preceding his senior year.  He was also awarded a National Institute of Health Grant to pursue his PhD in the study of mechanisms of disease. He retired after 37 years of service with the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M University. During this time, he was a full professor, serving as Director of the Hospital Anatomical Pathology Laboratory as well as Head of the Department of Pathobiology.  At his retirement in 2002 he was awarded the title of “Professor Emeritus”.

In their spare time, Kay and Joy traveled and taught choreographed ballroom dancing throughout the United States and in three foreign countries for 25 years. During this time, they competed as ballroom dancers, received numerous awards for their choreographic contributions to the dancing community, including several being voted into the ICBDA Hall of Fame. Kay and Joy also received The Golden Torch Award, the highest award the International Choreographic Ballroom Dancing Association has to offer.  Kay was an exceptional marksman and outdoorsman. He loved to hunt, fish, dance, attend local musical plays and concerts, play bridge and read. He also officiated high school and college basketball.

Kay and Joy have been year-round residents of Leisure World in Mesa, Arizona, since 2011.  He is survived by his wife Anita “Joy” Read of Mesa, Arizona, daughter, Sherra Kay Read of Mesa, Arizona, son Kendall Lee Read (Kristi) of Elizabeth, Colorado, son Robert Kevin Read (Katie) of Estero, FL, grandsons Kenneth (Leah) and Kaylin Read, granddaughters Theresa Read Taylor (Brian) and Adeline Read, and great-grandson, Kayce Taylor.

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