Kay Shaw Browne, M.D., 80, of Mill Valley died peacefully in her home on June 14, 2025.

Kay was intelligent, empathetic, and fiercely independent. Born on June 13, 1945, in Jersey City, New Jersey, she attended George School, Mt. Holyoke College, and Harvard Medical School (where she was one of only a few women in her graduating class). She retired after a fulfilling career as a doctor, most of which was spent as a behavioral pediatrician for the State of California, while also raising two boys on her own.

Kay was a dedicated advocate for mental health support and awareness, serving as an educator for, and board member of, NAMI-Marin. In addition to her children and grandchildren, Kay loved the theatre, supporting ACT, Berkeley Rep, and MTC; animals, most notably her Ocicats, Golden Retrievers and Irish Wolfhounds; and the outdoors in her adoptive home of California, passing her love of skiing, hiking, swimming, and scuba diving on to her children.

Kay was predeceased by her parents, Harold and Helen Shaw, her sisters Jane Kolkhorst and Sue Keffer, and her niece Kathy Ruddy. She is survived by her children, Nathan and Timothy Barteau, and Timothy’s wife Raquel Mata, her grandchildren Caiden, Sebastian, and Adeline, her nieces and nephews, and her extended East Coast, Indiana and Los Angeles family.

A celebration of life will be scheduled for August.