Kay Hill Weaver

May 7, 2011

Kay Weaver was very proud that the rumor around the Sheriff’s office was that Mrs. Weaver was a former FBI agent. She didn’t confirm or deny the rumor but always told young deputies at the Mississippi farm that she “has gun, will shoot and doesn’t miss.”
Although Mrs. Weaver did not have a taste for hunting, she was an excellent rifle woman. “When trapping beaver on the lake didn’t stop them for cutting down the trees, Mom would go out on the levy under the full moon; wait for the ‘V’ to come across the lake and blasted it out of the water,” said Donna Kay Montfort, the Weaver’s daughter from Starkville.
But what Kay Weaver was known for was her avocation as a fabric artist, her exquisite hand embroidery and her incredible antique collection. Mrs. Weaver would create hand embroidered table runners, tea cozies and other home wares. “A buyer for Neiman Marcus discovered Mom’s and her friend Joan Morrow’s fabric art and asked them if they would create a cottage industry support the Neiman Marcus Christmas Catalog,” said Ellen Weaver Hartman, a daughter from Atlanta, Ga.. “Mom’s art was one-of-a-kind and she certainly didn’t want to be managed by a time clock on making her creations. So she turned them down.”
Mrs. Weaver’s artistic nature as well as her eye for antiques and all things beautiful was evident in her home, which was filled with architectural pieces from antebellum homes, log cabins and volcanic rock that she picked up on her travels. Mrs. Weaver even nabbed the moldings and wooden mill work from a home that was being torn down where Sherman had his headquarters during the Civil War.
In addition to her career as an antique dealer and artist, Mrs. Weaver worked for the American Red Cross during World War II, was a probation officer in California’s San Quentin prison system and was a 7th grade teacher in Starkville. “She was a wonderful woman, as well as one of the truly legendary teachers in Starkville,” said one of her students Bill Boyd of Starkville.
“Her number one profession was being a wonderful wife to my Dad, Joe Weaver and as a mother to my sister and me,” said Hartman. “We would come home from elementary school to find tea parties ready for our dolls and us girls. Or she would have planned a picnic to go in the country to pick violets and find four-leaf clovers. Additionally, she was always a staunch supporter of my father; making sure he was healthy, safe and had what he needed to be a success.”
Kay Weaver lived by her principals every day and eagerly shared her love and care to everyone she met. Her favorite quote was, “Age is a matter of attitude; Life is a matter of action; keep the show on the road.”
Born in Marlin, Oklahoma in 1922, Mrs. Weaver died April 23, 2011, following a courageous battle with breast cancer. She earned a Master’s and undergraduate degrees from Mississippi State University and also graduated from French Camp Academy, where she was chosen Miss FCA. In addition, Mrs. Weaver attended Belhaven College in Jackson, and was a star performer of the choir. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Starkville.
She is survived by her daughters Donna Kay Weaver Montfort and her husband Clayton of Starkville and Ellen Weaver Hartman and her husband Mike Moran of Atlanta, Ga.; her dear friend Mike Hartman of Atlanta, Ga.; Brothers John R. Hill of Hendersonville, N.C. and Wilie Kendrick of Memphis, Tenn. and Sister Lou Ray of Brandon. Grandchildren Joseph Montfort and his wife Brandy Montfort, Monty Morrow and her husband Jamey Morrow, Wren Montfort all of Starkville. From Atlanta, Ga., surviving grandchildren are Sarah and Anna Hartman as well as Emily Rutherford and her husband Bill. Granddaughter Monica Hartman LaVold of Elk River, Minnesota; great grandchildren include: Noah, Elijah, Woodson and Isabella Morrow and Mackenzie, Brianna and Hayes Montfort of Starkville. Mrs. Weaver is the daughter of John H. Hill of Ellisville, and Sophrenia Mae Thornhill Hill of Columbia.
Two memorial services will be held including one in Atlanta, Ga. at Park Springs Community on May 15, 2011, where Mrs. Weaver lived during cancer treatment and another service will be held in Starkville sometime during the summer.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to French Camp Academy, One Fine Place, French Camp, 39745.
Make check payable to “French Camp Academy” and in memory of “Kathryn Hill Weaver.”