Kathleen Kowalczyk Obituary

Kowalczyk, Kathleen Ann

Kathleen Ann Kowalczyk, née Kelly, age 74, of Foggy Bottom Washington, DC, passed away on August 3, 2021. Kathleen was born June 14th, 1947 to John Nutly Kelly Jr. and Elizabeth Kelly, née Fiolek in Blue Island, IL

Kathleen "Kathy" was a beloved, devoted and deeply caring mother, grandmother, great- grandmother and fierce friend who lived an exceptional life full of passion, hobbies, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge.

While raising her three children and three grandchildren in Sauk Village, IL, Kathy was very active in creating a beautiful home for her family and the community. By engaging in beautification projects, local politics, Girl Scouts, Jaycees and writing for the Sauk Village newspaper, she encouraged everyone to leave things better than then they found them and that "presentation was everything". In her second chapter of life, Kathy's love of history brought her to Alexandria, VA where she began a career as an apartment property manager in DC, MD and VA. Her fine management skills and natural motherly approach won her multiple customer service awards. In retirement, Kathy volunteered at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History mounting botany specimens for the Department of Botany.

Kathy was a very gifted and energic spirit who provided a safe port in the storm of life. In her downtime her hands and heart were always busy creating a crochet or cross stich gift for a loved one, researching new vegan recipes, learning about her Polish and Irish ancestry, completing puzzles, and exploring DC. She advised her loved ones that "it was okay to be different", to "try, try again", "put one foot in front of the other," and to sort life's challenges into "Column A, Column B."

An avid sports enthusiast, Kathy shuffled along to the Chicago Bears 1986 Superbowl, thrilled at watching Michael Jordan win six NBA championships, cheered as the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks, and Washington Capitals won their coveted championship titles and of course holding her breath in Game 7 as her beloved Chicago Cubbies finally won the 2016 World Series! Holy Cow!

While tears are shed at the world's loss of Kathleen, the warmth and love she provided to every heart will stoke the flames of her memory for eternity.

Kathleen is survived by her daughter, Jennifer Richard, her son Frankie John Kowalczyk (Spouse; Tris), her daughter Manda Kowalczyk, her granddaughter Nicole Warner (Spouse; Jerek), her granddaughter BreeAnna Wolfe (Spouse; Thomas), her grandson James Richard III, and her great-grandson Raiden Warner.

She is preceded in death by her father John Nutly Kelly Jr., mother Elizabeth Kelly, son John Martin Kowalczyk, and beloved dog Hefty.

Cremation rites have been delivered and Celebrations of Life in Washington DC and Illinois will be announced via social media for a date in the future. Na zdrowie!

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