[blindlaw] Paul Edward Knisbacher Kay Dies at age 71
LPovinelli at aol.com
LPovinelli at aol.com
Sun Jan 11 01:04:23 UTC 2009
Paul Edward Knisbacher Kay Dies at age 71
By Harold Snider and Larry Povinelli
We report with great sorrow the untimely death of Paul Kay, a longtime
leader in the National Federation of the Blind, after a protracted illness on
Wednesday, January 7, 2009. We would like to recall Paul’s life and achievements.
Paul Edward Knisbacher was born on February 22, 1937 in Vienna, Austria.
Paul’s early life was traumatic. His family fled from the Nazi takeover of
Austria in November, 1938. First they fled to Belgium for about a year. When
the Nazis invaded Belgium in 1939, they again fled to England. The young
family survived the Blitz in London and after eighteen months in England
immigrated to the United States in early 1941. On arrival, Paul’s father changed
the family name from Knisbacher to Kay. He thought that the family would
flourish with more Anglicized names. In 1981, Paul had the opportunity to
revisit his family home in Vienna, Austria which had been confiscated by the Nazis.
He was able to meet his old nanny and the reunion was both happy and
tearful.
Paul grew up in the Riverdale section of the Bronx in New York City. From the
age of 10 Paul began to loose his sight. In high school he was diagnosed
with Retinitis Pigmentosa, which led to Paul’s blindness. Paul also had
severe hearing loss later in life. Paul graduated from Taft High School in 1956
and then attended The College of Insurance in Brooklyn NY where he obtained a
Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration in 1961.
In the 1960s, Paul worked as an independent insurance broker in New York
City. He also obtained training and was licensed as a Masseur. But neither
career truly satisfied Paul’s ambitions. With encouragement from his family and
members of the National Federation of the Blind, Paul entered law school at
New York University in September, 1971. Paul first joined the National
Federation of the Blind in the summer of 1968 in New York City. He attended his
first National Convention in 1969. Paul joined the student division in 1970,
where he served as Vice President and later the National Association of Blind
Lawyers, where he was an active member for 33 years. This experience changed
his life. At the same time Paul always loved big dogs and was a guide dog
user for many years after law school. He had five guide dogs during his
life.
On graduating from law school in 1974, Paul moved to Washington DC to accept
a position as Staff Attorney with the U.S. Maritime Administration, an
agency of the Department of Commerce. He was employed by the government for eleven
years, leaving to enter private law practice in 1985 where he began
practicing Criminal Law in the DC Superior Court and the U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia. In 1993, Paul and Larry Povinelli became law partners
and created a professional corporation. The corporation expanded its practice
to include numerous areas of the law. Paul and Larry practiced law together
until his death.
On Paul’s arrival to Washington in 1974, he immediately became part of the
leadership of the newly reorganized NFB of DC. He remained an active leader,
board member and officer for the remainder of his life. Paul served as
President of the DC affiliate from 1978 to 1980, distinguishing himself for his
advocacy and leadership in educating the DC City Council about blindness. Paul
was also actively involved in the Sligo Creek Chapter of the NFB of Maryland and
the Potomac Chapter of the NFB of Virginia.
Although Paul lived in Washington for thirty-five years, you could never
mistake him for anything other than an extreme New York Yankee fan. In 2007, on
the occasion of his seventieth birthday close friends of Paul gave him a
great surprise, a return visit to his old home in the Bronx and a game at Yankee
Stadium where he was able to cheer for his beloved New York Yankees.
Paul loved his baseball as he loved life. Nothing stopped him from
succeeding at whatever he wanted to do. If you took the time to get to know Paul,
you would have come to know a great friend, who had a heart of gold. He will
dearly missed by his family and friends.
A memorial service will be held at 10 AM on Sunday, January 10, 2009 at
Louis Suburban Chapel in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. Paul will be buried next to his
mother and father.
.
Paul is survived by his sister, Elizabeth Kay Goldstein
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