Dan Kay Obituary, Death- After his abrupt passing, journalist Dan Kay, a prominent advocate for the families of Hillsborough catastrophe victims, received hundreds of condolences.
He worked relentlessly to seek justice for Liverpool supporters who were wrongfully killed after the 1989 disaster. He was the 45-year-old son of the late Laraine and Victor Kay. His work culminated in the ITV bio-drama Anne. He collaborated closely with the late Anne Williams’s daughter Sara to create With Hope In Her Heart, a stirring tale of Anne’s battle for justice for her 15-year-old son Kevin, one of 97 fans killed. He formerly held the position of honorary secretary of the Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation at Princes Road Synagogue and oversaw the coverage of the Hillsborough court processes for the Liverpool Echo.
The tributes were led by Steven Waldman, Dan’s uncle. According to him, “the outpourings of emotion and appreciation for Dan are an indication of the esteem in which he was held by those around him,” he told the Jewish Telegraph. He was a kind, considerate, and humble man who lacked pretense. Dan contributed to the vibrancy and dedication of the Liverpool Jewish community in his capacity as honorary secretary. “He felt obligated to accept the baton that his grandfather Jack had given him in order to support the Princes Road Synagogue community, and he frequently recited the haftorah on the day of his barmitzvah.
He did a great job of representing the Jewish community.He was, according to Jewish custom, a dedicated and loving grandson to his grandparents, regularly taking his grandmother Edna out to eat, which she always loved. However, he had also been a very nice son to his parents, Vic and Larry. And he was just generally incredibly charitable and socially conscious, spent Christmas Day feeding the homeless for three years in a row. He was able to listen to others and offer help. Dan’s former honorary secretary at the Liverpool Old Hebrew Congregation, Saul Marks, also paid tribute.
“The loss of Dan has devastated us. Although he didn’t routinely go to shul, he had a strong feeling of community obligation and Judaism was a significant part of his identity, he told the Jewish Telegraph. He had a strong commitment to maintaining our long-standing congregation and restoring our lovely shul. Since 2018, he has brought a new degree of professionalism to the honorary secretary position by utilizing his journalism abilities. I will miss our frequent discussions about football and cricket, as well as our shared memories of Kingsmead School in Hoylake.
Dan was recognized as a wonderful coworker and a kind person by David Conn, a journalist who collaborated closely with Dan during the Hillsborough inquests. The Jewish Telegraph quoted him as stating, “Everything people are saying about Dan is really true – he was a fantastic journalist, his contribution on the Echo was amazing, and not only was he totally committed to the Hillsborough justice cause, but he was truly personally so close to the families. He had a tight relationship with them, and they all expressed how much they appreciated him as a friend and as someone who could never do enough for them.Dan was a key contributor to many of the important journalism reports on the tragedy, but more than anything, he was a great person who was easy to get along with, kind, kind, and thoughtful. It is shocking and truly devastating.
