John Walcott Kay

John Walcott Kay (18901927) was an African-American physician. He operated a medical practice in Wilmington, North Carolina and was one of the founders of the city's Community Hospital for African-Americans.

Early life and education Kay was born in Weldon, North Carolina in 1890. He attended Leonard Medical School at Shaw University in Raleigh, graduating with a medical degree in 1912. In 1921, he co-founded Community Hospital, which was the city's first hospital to exclusively serve African-American residents, alongside A. J. Wilson, Foster Burnett, Willie Blount, and Boyd Paul.

Personal life While a student at Shaw University, Kay met Willie Virginia Otey. They married in 1915. They had seven children, two of which died in infancy. One of his daughters, June, was a prominent civil rights activist. He was the grandfather of North Carolina State Auditor Ralph Campbell Jr. and Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell. Kay had a large Neoclassical house built in Wilmington, where the family lived until his death.

He died on March 6, 1927, following an emergency surgery for a ruptured abdominal hernia, and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Raleigh. His widow and children moved to Raleigh upon his death.