Emma K. Barclay

Emma Katharine (Emma Kay) Barclay, 94, of Silver Spring, Maryland died peacefully in her sleep on March 1, 2018. Emma Kay was born on September 16th, 1923 as the only child of Harry Ivan and Martha Hartman. In 1941 Emma Kay graduated from York High School, where she met her high school sweetheart and future spouse, George M. Barclay. She graduated with a degree in English from Ursinus College in 1944. In 1945, she married her first husband, Edward M. Man Jr. Emma Kay and Ed had four sons together; Kenneth D. Man of York, Pennsylvania, Ronald E. Man of Memphis, Tennessee, the late Thomas H. Man of Phoenix, Arizona, and Jeffrey E. Man of Pasadena, Maryland. Following college, she taught English at Hartley Elementary School in York, PA. After the birth of her first son in 1950, Emma Kay devoted the next twenty years to raising her four boys before reentering the workforce in 1970. She retired in 1986 from the Naval Surface Warfare Center in White Oak, Maryland. Emma Kay was a beloved member of Christ Congregational Church, which she attended for sixty-four years. She served the church in many ways including the Board of Deacons, Church Clerk, Sanctuary Committee, Women’s Fellowship, and over thirty years with the choir. She always looked forward to her monthly bridge games with ladies from CCC, a tradition she participated in for over fifty years. She was also involved in the Silver Spring Woman’s Club, serving as President from 1996 - 1998 and CoPresident from 2008 - 2010. She was also President of the District Women's Clubs 1 / 2 (Montgomery County) and was president of the Emeritus Club; she served at the State Level as well. Emma Kay had many passions, but none quite so much as playing piano. One of her fondest memories was being the piano accompanist for the Ursinus College Meistersingers in their yearly performance of The Messiah, accompanying soloists from New York and an orchestra augmented by members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Some of her children and grandchildren’s fondest memories are singing along as Emma Kay, Granny as she’s known to them, played her favorite tunes. Emma Kay is survived by three sons, four daughters-in-law, fourteen grandchildren, and seven lucky great-grandchildren who got to know their doting great-grandmother. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Emma K. Barclay, please visit our floral store.