YARMOUTH — Kay Angelides Bournakel, of Yarmouth, joined her son and husband in the afterlife Wednesday, Jan. 31. Born in Berlin, N.H., to Helen and Charles Angelides, she attended Berlin High School and then the University of New Hampshire where she majored in art, a subject for which she had both passion and talent. This gift led to employment as a designer for Martex in New York City. She loved the city because it fed her natural curiosity about the world.

After graduation from UNH, Kay and her roommate, Betty Ann, traveled in Europe for four months in a Mini Morris, which she said was so underpowered that it didn’t make it to the top of some hills in the Alps. To make it to the top, they had to stop, unload some of the luggage, drive to the top, then go back and carry the luggage up to the car. It was a grand adventure. When she left NYC, she and a friend bought a VW bug and drove across the country to California, but after a year, they both missed New England and they returned to the East Coast. Kay landed a job with the textbook publishing company, Ginn and Co., where she was an art editor. During that period, she traveled to Maine where she met her future husband, George S. Bournakel, an optometrist from Lewiston. They were married in Athens, Greece, in the tiny church on top of Mount Lycabettus, and then honeymooned in the country.

When they returned from Greece, they settled in West Auburn where they welcomed their two beautiful children, Stefan Spiro first, then two years later, Christina Eleni. Kay and George traveled extensively thanks to George’s membership in the International Contact Lens Society and their love of sailing. They introduced their children to skiing, spending many wonderful weekends at Sugarloaf, and to sailing the Maine coast out of Boothbay Harbor. In addition, Kay took up tennis, and traveled on her own to Africa and to Nepal. Her photographs on these journeys reveal the reverence she felt for sacred places.

She loved to read, was a lifelong student and enjoyed correcting (her daughter’s) grammar. She knew how to select the best lemons, and the importance of a perfect mechanical pencil when making notes in the margins of books. Kay attended many classes with her good friend, Jill Parisien, at the Midcoast Senior College, with a particular interest in Russian history and literature.

An intensely private person, Kay suffered the loss of her son, Stefan, who was killed by a drunk driver in Maui, Hawaii, six weeks after the birth of his son, Nicos. At the same time, her beloved husband, George, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and lived with it for 10 years before passing away from the disease. These losses changed her life forever. Kay eventually succumbed to these heartbreaks and passed away during the super blue blood moon event. She is now free of pain and sorrow and at peace.

A remarkable person, she will be sorely missed by daughter, Christina, of Portland; sister, Cynthia (Arnold), Brunswick; grandson, Nicos, of California; and her dog, Taki. Also, sisters-in-law, Angela Bournakel, Yarmouth, and Kiki Bournakel, Portland; as well as two nephews in Portland, and two nieces in Florida. She was predeceased by son, Stefan; husband, George; and brother, Alec (Angelides); as well as her parents.

Condolences may be shared with the family at www.thefortingroupauburn.com.

Kay A. Bournakel

Copy the Story Link