Mary Catherine (Kay) Briscoe passed away on December 7, 2010 at Clark-Lindsey Village in Urbana, Illinois. A remembrance and gathering of friends will be held at Clark-Lindsey Village on December 16, 201 at 2:00 p.m.

Mrs. Briscoe is survived by her son, Richard, and his wife, Demi of Carmel Valley, California, her nephew, Robert C. Moore Jr. of Savannah, Georgia, and her niece, Patricia Ann Moore, of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Mrs. Briscoe was pre-deceased by her husband, John William (Jack) Briscoe. Her older brother, Robert C. Moore, perished in a U.S. Army aircraft accident in 1946.

Mrs. Briscoe was born on December 17, 1917, Long Island, New York, the daughter of Chester and Marie Moore. Her family eventually moved to La Grange, Illinois where Mrs. Briscoe attended grade school, and graduated from Lyons Township High School in 1935. She attended junior college in La Grange, and then transferred to the University of Illinois in 1937, graduating in 1939 with a degree in Journalism. She met Jack Briscoe while attending the University of Illinois. Mr. Briscoe worked as a waiter at a campus residence house where Mrs. Briscoe lived, and they were married on July 4, 1942. Mr. and Mrs. Briscoe transferred to a number of military bases in the South from 1942 to 1946 during Mr. Briscoe's service in the U.S. Army Air Corps. Following World War II, Mr. and Mrs. Briscoe returned to the University of Illinois in 1948 where Mr. Briscoe joined the Civil Engineering faculty and began his career at the University.

Mrs. Briscoe enjoyed and was involved in a variety of University and local activities over a period of many years. Some of her affiliations included PEO (Hi Chapter), Champaign Social Science Club, University of Illinois Women's Club publicity chair, Civil Engineering Wives' Group Chair, and First Presbyterian Church Sunday School Leader and Chancel Guild Chair. Her personal interests included cooking, needle pointing, reading, and entertaining friends. Mrs. Briscoe had a charming sense of humor, a love for animals and a sensitivity for others that enabled her to have many life-long friends. She and Mr. Briscoe particularly enjoyed sharing their summer home on Carlin Lake in Wisconsin with family and friends.

Memorial contributions may be sent to the University of Illinois Foundation, Harker Hall MC 386, 1305 W. Green ST., Urbana, IL 61801-9886 for the Jack and Kay Briscoe Endowment Fund, or to the Urbana Free Library Foundation, 300 S. Broadway Ave., Urbana, IL 61801.

Condolences may be sent to www.renner-wikoffchapel.com.