Elizabeth Anne (Liz), nee Grady McKay, of Greenwich, CT and Jupiter, FL. passed away on January 6, 2023.
Liz was born in Manhattan on July 18, 1940, to parents Dr. John F. and Helen Marie (Haubold) Grady. Ever tenacious, after contracting polio at age four, Liz worked hard at walking again and by age nine was finally able to run, ride a bike, and play sports. Her family moved to Greenwich, CT in 1949 where she graduated from the Convent of the Sacred Heart in 1957. She went on to earn her undergraduate degree from Manhattanville College in 1961 and a Master’s Degree in History from Fordham University in 1962. That same year she married Robert J. (Bob) McKay.
Liz focused solely on raising her three children until 1975, when she began to work part-time with the noted clinical social worker and Yale Professor, Sidney Gerhardt. Liz earned her second Fordham Master’s Degree, in Social Work, in 1979, and continued in a thirty-year career doing clinical work with individuals and groups. During this period, she worked for Catholic Relief Services, co-wrote a book with Mr. Gehrhardt, and donated considerable pro bono time and effort to Saint Catherine Church of Riverside, CT.
Liz was a member of the Stamford Mayor’s Task Force on Domestic Violence, and a charter Board Member of Stamford Domestic Violence Services. She also served for years on the Board of the Stamford Sexual Abuse Crisis Center, and helped to found the Greenwich United Way Suicide Prevention Task Force.
Liz was a member of the Milbrook Club in Greenwich, where she was active in both tennis and golf, and of the Jonathan’s Landing Club in Jupiter. Liz leaves behind her daughters Dr. Mary Pat McKay of Falls Church, VA and Elizabeth Field (Stephen) of Charlotte, NC. A son, John, predeceased her.
There will be a Memorial mass at St. Patrick Church in Palm Beach Gardens on Monday, January 23 at 10:30. Gifts in her memory may be sent by check to the National Alliance on Mental Illness at NAMI National, PO Box 49104, Baltimore, MD 21297 or online at NAMI.org.
