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Ike Hay, Famed Sculptor

Dies on Valentine’s Day

Lancaster, PA.

            Ike Hay, whose father, Isaac Kline Hay along with brothers Sam M. Hay, Jr. and W. Thomas Hay, was born in the old jail in Newton County, Georgia died yesterday of an undiagnosed lung disorder at his home in Lancaster, PA.

            Hay’s works adorn parks and galleries throughout the western hemisphere and Western Europe. His last commission before his retirement several years ago was a 20 foot bronze sculpture of one of the world’s rarest dinosaur skulls for the Smithsonian Institution. The sculpture is permanently mounted at the entry to the Reptile House in Washington, DC. This challenging project, which its curators prohibited any contact by the sculptor, was done with precision computer measurements.

            A college professor who loved his work and his students once took a position for several years in a program which taught elementary school children college level arts. The city in Alabama which was chosen for the experiment built a new library and during the dedication, offered Hay a spot on the lawn to come back someday and design a sculpture for the town to remember him by. He was able to complete and construct the work several years later.

            He was a member of the Napoleonic Society and spent summers in Paris collecting pieces of work from the period of Napoleon’s reign usually consisting of beautiful, ornate furniture. A number of people in Covington, GA are fortunate enough to be able to own several pieces he purchased and brought back to the states.

            Ike Hay, Jr. graduated from the University of Georgia and Art Institute in New York City, New York. He spent a lot of time with his family in Covington, GA although the nature of his work kept him from being able to live in Covington.  His Grandfather, Sheriff Sam Hay was a Newton county native. His mother, Florice Caldwell Hay, aunt, Ruth Caldwell Cowan and uncle, Lewis Caldwell were all Newton County natives.

            Mr. Hay is survived by his wife Teri, daughters Mistral and Moriah Hay and cousins Samuel M. Hay, III, Judson Caldwell of Covington, and Elizabeth (Libby) Hay Staples of Conyers. Plans for the service have not been announced at this time.