"My maternal grandmother was a schoolteacher, suffragette, lecturer, and one of the founders of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst," Kay wrote in a later account. "My maternal grandfather, Clifton Johnson, was a fairly well known illustrator, photographer, and writer (100+ books). He was also a musician, and played piano and pipe organ. He died the year I was born [1940], and the family myth is that I am the descendant most like him, both in interests and in temperament."
