Obituary of Frank Edwin Hay

Dr. Frank Edwin Hay passed away May 13, 2023 at his home near Louisa Kentucky.

Dr. Hay was born July 22, 1932, in the small town of McVeigh, Kentucky to parents William C. “Willie” Hay and Brookie (Maynard) Hay. Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Maynard Hay and Ethan Hay, as well as three sisters Virginia Gilman, Martha Anglin, and Louise Peaden. He is survived by his devoted wife of 69 years, Mrs. Polly Jane (Scott) Hay; one daughter Margret Jane (Hay) St Amour, two sons Frank E. Hay II, and Charles Wayne Hay; his daughter in law and care taker Karen (Scott) Hay; his grandchildren Stephanie Nicole St Amour, William Adam Hay, Gregory Paul Hay, and Brookie Lynn Hay; his great grandchildren Austin Lee Hay, Haleigh Alexis Hay, and William Joshua Hay; one great great granddaughter Little Miss Milee; along with a host of other family, friends, and church members.

Known there as “Brother Edwin”; he joined the Old Regular Baptist Church called Rebecca on the second Sunday in August of 1957 and remained an active member until the day he passed. In this time, he held the position of Assistant Moderator and Moderator of the Rebecca Church; as well as Assistant Moderator and Moderator of the South Fork Church, and served thirteen years as the Assistant Clerk of the Sardis Association. For years, Brother Edwin traveled thousands of miles, delivered hundreds of sermons, and shared his beautiful gift of singing with congregations from Arizona to Virginia. One of the songs he was most known to sing was “On Jordans Stormy Banks I Stand” which includes the verse “No chilling winds, nor poisnous breath can reach that healthful shore; Sickness and sorrow, pain and death are felt and feared no more”.

Dr. Hay was a graduate of the Greenbrier Military Academy in Lewisburg, WV; he went on to serve in the United States Army as a Guided Missel Guidance Components Specialist. He earned his Bachelors Degree from Wayne State University in Detroit MI. He continued his education earning his Masters and finally his PHD at Arizona State in Phoenix, AZ. Dr. Hay was an Electrical Engineer by trade; after working with the local Power Company in Logan, WV and with IBM in Endicott, NY, he began a long career with NASA working on Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the Apollo Program, Sky Lab, and the International Space Station. He retired from NASA in September of 1982. He briefly taught at both Vanderbilt and the University of Alabama Huntsville before joining the Intergraph Corporation as an Executive Manager and Advisor to the President where he helped develop the Sustaining Engineering Program to support computer systems for government offices and private sector entities; most notably were NASA and Proctor and Gamble. Shortly after joining Intergraph, Dr. Hay took a team of Engineers and Computer Systems to collaborate with Nasa Officials to conduct the investigation in the Challenger tragedy. This team developed the software and processes to break the film footage of Challenger’s launch ultimately determining the cause of the explosion. In his final years through the clouds of dementia, he would recite the last words of Dick Scobee “Roger, go at throttle up” and tearfully recount each crew member and the brief history he remembered of each of them. He finally retired from Intergraph in January of 2000. Though Dr. Hay was a well-educated and highly accomplished man.

The accomplishment he was most proud of was his family, his special bond with “Josh”, and above all his most prized earthly treasure “Miss Polly”. He would go by many names throughout his life, Frank, Edwin, Dad, Brother Edwin, Uncle Edwin, Uncle Bo, Bear, Granddaddy, Dr. Hay, Doc, and a few others. He was respected by all who spoke to him, loved dearly by all who knew him, and will be sorely missed by so many people.

Funeral services will be held Thursday May 18th at 10:00 am at the Wilson Funeral Home with Elder Todd Dials and Elder Tom Dials. Burial with full military honors follow in the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery North East at Grayson, KY. Friends may visit the family on Wednesday from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Wilson Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in his honor to: The Rebecca Church c/o Johnny Ray White; RR1 Box 447 Lesage, WV 25537.

Care for Mr. Hay and his family has been entrusted to our family at Wilson Funeral Home.