Kay Corman Kintzel
OBITUARY
Kay Corman Kintzel was born Kay Dawn Corman on March 20, 1937, in Shamokin, PA, to Alvin Corman and Anne Corman (Winkelblech). She graduated from Coal Township High School in Shamokin (now Shamokin Area High School) in 1955.
Following high school, Kay pursued her lifelong passion for nursing and education. She attended the Jefferson School of Nursing in Philadelphia before earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1961. While at Bucknell, she was inducted into the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She was also an active member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, participated in the Panhellenic Council, and served as secretary of the Women’s Student Government Association.
Kay continued her education at the University of Pennsylvania, where she earned a Master of Science in Nursing in 1965. During her time at Penn, she met James E. Kintzel, who was completing his medical internship. They married and moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where Jim completed his residency in internal medicine. During this time, Kay served as a clinical instructor of nursing at Duke University. They returned to Philadelphia in 1968 so Jim could complete his Nephrology fellowship. There, Kay served as a nursing instructor and conducted nursing research at the University of Pennsylvania.
Following the birth of their first son, Timothy, in 1968, the family settled in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Jim’s hometown. Their second son, Jeffrey, was born in 1970, followed by their third son, Christopher, in 1972.
Throughout these busy years of raising three sons, Kay continued her professional work. She served as editor of the widely respected textbook Advanced Concepts in Clinical Nursing, first published in 1971, and later edited its second edition in 1977. In addition to her professional accomplishments, she devoted her time to volunteer work at the Allentown Art Museum, and enjoyed playing tennis, reading, traveling, collage artwork, and stone tumbling.
Kay returned to school in the mid-’80s as her children were leaving for college, embracing a new chapter in her own education and career. She earned her Master’s Degree in Psychology at Kutztown University and became a licensed clinical psychologist and addiction counselor. She worked as a psychologist and, in 1989, opened her own practice, Counseling Consortium, in Bethlehem, where she compassionately served individuals and families for many years.
She retired in her seventies to devote more time to her family and just last year celebrated her 60th wedding anniversary with Jim.
She is survived by her three sons, Drs. Timothy Kintzel and Eliza Ng of Lakeville, CT, Jeffrey Kintzel and wife Katherine of Lafayette, CO, Christopher Kintzel and wife Carrie Polley of Towson, MD, and four grandchildren, Pearse, Lily, Leigh, and Harrison Kintzel.
Friends and family are invited to call on Friday, July 17th, 2026, from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. at J.S. Burkholder Funeral Home, located at 1601 Hamilton St., Allentown, PA 18102. The funeral service will be held immediately afterward, from 6:00 pm to 6:45 pm at the same location. Friends and family are invited to pay their respects and celebrate Kay’s life after the funeral service at 7:00 pm at the Lehigh Country Club at 2319 S Cedar Crest Blvd, Allentown, PA 18103. Condolences may be offered at: www.jsburkholder.com
Interment will be on Saturday, July 18th, at 10:00 am at Jerusalem Western Salisbury Cemetery in Allentown.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to charities dear to her heart: The Allentown Art Museum, the Lehigh Valley Historical Society, and the Pennsylvania Audubon Society.