Kay Walkup, 87, died Sept. 26 in Indianapolis, Ind.

She was born Dorothy Olive Tyrrell at Ballinderry House, County Kildare, Ireland, in 1922. Her family emigrated to England and then to America when Kay was a child.

Her father, Garrett William Gifford Tyrrell, was an engineer at the limestone mines in West Winfield. Her mother, Olive Beatrice Lennox Tyrrell, a pianist and composer, taught many children in Saxonburg and published several books about teaching music to young people. Her beloved brother, Garrett, died in 1972 in Arlington, Wash.

Kay graduated from the Winchester-Thurston High School in Pittsburgh in 1939. While in nurses' training in Michigan, she met and later married the late Lowell Walkup of McHenry County, Ill.

After World War II, they settled in Saxonburg, where they had four children, Kathy of Menlo Park, Calif., Bud of Bradley, Maine, Sheila of Indianapolis and Margaret Collins of Springdale, Pa. Kay is survived by them and by five grandchildren, two great-children and her sister-in-law, Helen Tyrrell of Arlington, Wash.

Kay first worked as a reporter for the Valley Daily News, covering Saxonburg area news. She then moved to the Butler Eagle, where some of her proudest work involved her investigative reporting on the area's strip mines and their environmental impact. After her retirement from the Eagle, Kay started a news bureau out of federal court in Pittsburgh.

Kay established the first library in Saxonburg at the family house on State Street. She also wrote an article for the Pittsburgh Press in defense of Saxonburg after the paper published a small news item titled "Sleepy Saxonburg." The article appeared in the Sunday magazine.

She loved the symphony, the Pittsburgh Pirates and passionate discussion and is still remembered for her chocolate chip cookies.

The family wishes to offer our sincere gratitude to the staffs at Jane Holmes Residence in Pittsburgh and the Eagle Valley Nursing Home in Indianapolis for their outstanding care and caring during the past few years.

<B>WALKUP</B> — A memorial service for Kay Walkup, who died Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, is planned for Dec. 12 in Saxonburg.Please make any donations to the Saxonburg Library or to McConnells Mill State Park, a particularly beloved spot.