John Eugene Cay III was born on February 3, 1945, in Savannah, Georgia, to John Eugene Cay, Jr., and Barbara Hilton Cay. Savannah shaped him early and had a profound effect throughout his life. He began his schooling at Savannah Country Day School, then traveled north to complete his secondary education at St. James School in Maryland before enrolling at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree.
In 1966, John married Mary Daniel Cay and together they had three children: John Eugene Cay IV, Christopher Winfield Cay, and Catherine Palmer Cay—and the family circle was enriched further when Mimi’s nephews, John Dawson Long and Robert Murrey Long, came to live with them in Savannah.
John began his career in the insurance business as an underwriter with the Home Insurance Company’s New York office. In 1970 he returned to Savannah to join his father at Palmer & Cay, and together they developed a plan to expand from a single office in Savannah into one of the largest and most respected privately held insurance brokerage firms in the United States. When Palmer & Cay was acquired by Wachovia in 2005, the firm had grown to 1,000 associates across 36 offices throughout the country. John served as a director of several NASDAQ and NYSE companies. He was an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and Forum One and has continued to be a member of the Chief Executive Organization.
John and Billings Day Smith were married February 18, 2006, at Bethesda by the Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach. Billings was born in New York on September 22, 1964, and was raised in Locust Valley. She graduated from Green Vale School, Ethel Walkers and Rollins College. Billings’s daughter Tate VanderPoel Smith, was born in New York on June 11, 1995.
John and Billings have together pursued ventures that reflect both their love of Savannah and their instinct for things that endure. They served as executive producers of the independent film Savannah, based on John’s father’s book, Ward Allen: Savannah River Market Hunter. In 2013, they completed the Cay Building on Ellis Square in the heart of downtown Savannah—a landmark Class A office building recognized with the Congress for the New Urbanism Charter Award, among other honors. More recently, they have turned their attention to Savannah Harbor, a 36-acre mixed-use development anchored by a 96-slip marina and a riverfront park. The first downtown marina in Savannah’s history, it promises to open a new chapter in the city’s long relationship with its waterways.
John and Billings are ardent supporters of civic, community, and nonprofit organizations. John has held various leadership roles including director, trustee, and board chair for over 30 organizations. He served as chairman of the board of commissioners of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and served as mayor of the 1996 Olympic Sailing Venue in Savannah.
John and Billings have also devoted themselves to restoring historic farm properties in South Carolina and Virginia—a quiet labor of preservation that mirrors their larger belief in the value of what came before. They reside in Palm Beach, Florida.
John Eugene Cay IV, Christopher Winfield Cay, and Catherine Palmer Cay established the John and Billings Cay Fund at the Georgia Historical Society in 2026, ensuring that their commitment to Georgia history will continue in perpetuity.