EXETER, NH: Katharine "Kay" (Tyler) Drolet, 81, and wife of the late Gene Drolet, passed away after a brief illness surrounded by her loving family on Friday, September 28, 2012 at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Kay was born in Yonkers, NY on April 29, 1931, daughter of J. Cortlandt and Lillian Tyler. She was raised in Bradford, MA and graduated from Haverhill High School, Class of 1949.

Following her 1951 graduation from Colby Junior College in New London, NH she worked as a secretary to the Chairman of the Math Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, MA until her marriage to Gene Drolet in 1953.

While Gene and Kay raised three children in Groveland, MA, Kay worked in a variety of administrative positions within local school systems while supporting Gene as he advanced his career. In retirement, Kay and Gene spent 20 happy years living in North Conway, NH. Kay was involved in the Christ Episcopal Church, the Memorial Hospital, and was a member of the White Mountain Valley Chorale Society.

Kay was an avid skier, a passionate knitter and reader, a lover of classical music, and a wonderful friend. Her greatest joy in life, however, was her beloved husband and their children and grandchildren: Susan and husband, John Ferguson, of Ridgefield, CT; D. Tyler Drolet and wife, Pam, of West Newbury, MA, and Elizabeth Drolet of Arlington, MA; and four beloved grandchildren: John Ferguson 111, D. Tyler Drolet, Jr., Carolyn Margaret Ferguson, and Emilie Dilyara Tyler Drolet.

Relatives and friends are invited to the Memorial Service on Saturday, October 6, at 1:00 pm at Christ Church, 43 Pine Street, Exeter, NH. At the family's request there will be no calling hours. Arrangements by Dole, Childs & Shaw Funeral Home, 148 Main Street, Haverhill, MA. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Kay's memory may be made to the Riverwoods Company at Exeter New Hampshire's Benevolent Fund, 7 Riverwoods Drive, Exeter, NH 03833; Colby-Sawyer College, General Fund, at www.colby-sawyer.edu, or the Wounded Warrior Project, Inc., at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.

Online condolence may be sent to www.dcsfuneralhome.com