In Memoriam
Below is the death notice of Kathleen Shooltz, Mother of Thomas Shooltz, Class of 1966, and Patrick Shooltz, Class of 1968. Please keep the Schooltz family in your prayers
Kathleen Joyce Shooltz, nee Cowan, born March 31, 1923, died December 12, 2021. She was the beloved wife of Robert (Bob) Shooltz and daughter of Charles and Lillian Cowan, of Chesaning, Michigan.
Kathleen was the fourth of nine wonderful children and as such, family values of the strongest and purest kind defined her entire life. Her purpose driven life was directed by love. As a young woman of high school age she met the boy, Bob Shooltz, whom she knew she would one day marry. And on February 7, 1945 a marriage and partnership which would last a lifetime was consecrated at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Chesaning. Through 71 years of marriage together Kathleen and Bob walked side by side as true and devoted partners. Her intelligence, wisdom and strength of character were gifts she brought to their union and shared with all others whether as a wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt or friend.
She and Bob gave to their four children, Michael Lawrence, Thomas (Tom) Charles, Patrick James and Barbara Ann the greatest of all gifts. They each grew up watching their mother love their father and their father love their mother.
Kathleen’s most essential trait was that, above all, she was a giver. The strength which she possessed was the solid foundation upon which her marriage partnership with Bob and their children’s lives thrived. While she and Bob built their future together, she knew instinctively how to live in the moment with exceptional grace and humor. Her dancing Irish eyes and sparkling laughter were a tonic to all even in difficult times. She was once aptly described as a bubbly glass of champagne, both elegant and effervescent.
Kathleen was a blessing in the lives of their seven grandchildren, Emily (Ben), Elizabeth (Lee), Robert, Kathleen/Kate, Peter (Leslie), Michael (Helen) and Maggie and two great-grandchildren Theo and Elliott. Each of them held an equal and boundless place in her most loving of hearts.
What will be remembered by all is Kathleen’s remarkable ability to make a house a home. The warmth, the kitchen aromas, the sounds of laughter and music and dancing, the crowded meals around the dinner table where any and all friends and family were welcome, the never ending games and then the quiet relaxed conversations that followed made all who entered into her home anxious to return.
On the day Kathleen passed she is certain to have raced anxiously into heaven to reunite with Bob, the only man she ever loved, where they will be dancing the Jitterbug for all eternity.
Visitation will take place at Lynch & Sons Funeral Directors, 39 W. Burdick, Oxford, on Thursday, December 16, 2021 from 4-8 PM. Funeral Mass will take place at St. Joseph Catholic Church, 715 N. Lapeer Rd, Lake Orion on Friday, December 17, 2021 at 1:30 PM with visitation beginning at the church at 1PM. At the request of the family, masks will be required at the funeral home and the church.
In lieu of flowers, the Family requests donations in celebration of Kathleen to either:
Posted on: July 27, 2022
You can view a list of all St. Ed's Alumni who have passed away on our website.
Make a Gift in Honor of Kathleen Schooltz
St. Edward High School is humbled by the generosity expressed by our community. Commemorative gifts enable us to empower our students with the knowledge, skills, and Holy Cross values to grow into Christ-like servant leaders. To make a memorial gift, click below.
