Kay Hamilton Estey, a long-term resident of Glen Park and an organizer and supporter of many Glen Park community initiatives, passed away September 9, 2025.
Kay was Australian born and did graduate work at Harvard where she met her future husband. Kay and her husband Jay bought a house off Poppy Lane in Glen Park in 1985.
In 1987, Kay and Jay cleared the property around their house. It had been completely paved over by the original owners. Kay worked with a landscape designer whom she found at the SF Garden Show when it was being staged at Fort Mason. They came up with a simple garden design with very little hardscape and with a lovely Japanese cherry tree at its heart. Kay and Jay also worked to clean up Poppy Lane and to plant escallonia to enhance the lane-like appearance. Kay was the Producer and Director of the SF Flower and Garden Show for ten years (2002-2012).
Kay was active in the Glen Park Garden Club for many years including stints on the governing board and as President. She wrote a garden column for the Glen Park News when it was published and distributed on paper. Kay designed the “Village Garden” which was established on an empty weedy lot located near the intersection of Diamond and Chenery streets. The “Village Garden” was subsequently maintained by garden club members. This small garden oasis was a welcoming spot of greenery and flowering plants enjoyed by many in Glen Park for years until the land was bought and used to build a house. Kay also pitched in on the planting and clean-up of Penny Lane.
Kay and Jay both worked to support and advance the Glen Park Greenway project with Project Director and Glen Park resident Nicholas Dewar. Kay was also involved in the walking tour of Glen Park trees, and accompanied Mike Sullivan, Jason DeWees and Dick Turner on their first tree walk in Glen Park during covid times a few years ago (see sftrees.com, Glen Park).
Once Kay retired from her job with the SF Flower and Garden Show she developed an interest in art and started taking Botanical Art classes with some of her Glen Park Garden Club friends. She participated in a botanical art exhibit at the Glen Park library in 2013. Also in 2013, she traveled to France with a small group of her artist friends.
In subsequent years, she continued to develop her artistic abilities by branching off into life drawing and architecture. Kay and Jay traveled frequently, although still maintaining their home base in Glen Park.
Kay was a force of nature—dynamic and generous about sharing her time and knowledge. She realized her long-term dream of a little stone house in France and she died there unexpectedly in her sleep on September 9, 2025. She is sorely missed by her devoted husband and many local friends.