Kathleen J. Weiss

CONCORD - Kathleen J. (nee: Postorino) Weiss, 60, of Concord, formerly of Racine, and Glenview, passed away peacefully at her Concord home on Monday, November 19, 2007, following a courageous battle with cancer. She was the loving and devoted wife of James M. Weiss. Kathleen was born in 1947, a leading-edge baby boomer, in Racine, Wisconsin. A precursor of the adult life she would lead, her childhood in Racine was an active and energetic one. She attended St. Catherine's High School where she was a member of the varsity debate team which made regular trips to the state tournament and also was on the cheerleading squad. Debating built skills for later life but it also teamed her up with Jim who would become her husband in 1970. College years took her to St Mary's College in Notre Dame, Ind. Her engagement to Jim was formalized in the winter of 1969 during leave from Jim's Army training at Ft Campbell, Ky. with their wedding occurring in July 1970. Kathleen's next stop was Philadelphia where she taught elementary school while Jim attended graduate school. Graduation brought a move to Glenview, Ill. (Chicago area) where she would live for twenty-one years, initially teaching and then raising four children. With the family committed to living in Glenview, Kathleen again involved herself in community and church. It was natural with four children in various schools for her to chair a school PTA. Following that work, she was asked to lead the School District wide combined PTA organization and she accepted the challenge. In the children's schools, she also served as the Room Mother and the "Art Lady" who periodically visited classrooms to offer tutorials on selected works of art. Outside of school, she enjoyed being a Brownie Leader and supporting other of her children's activities. At Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, she was active in Guild and a participant in RENEW, a multi-year faith renewal program. The family then moved to Edina, Minn. (near Minneapolis) for three years before settling in Concord, Mass. in very late 1995-a community in which she would live for the rest of her life. During this period, she Co-Chaired a Capital Campaign for The Fenn School (a private boys' school educating grades 4-9). At its conclusion, the Campaign proved to be Fenn's most successful in the school's history. Kathleen supported other community organizations hosting various activities on their behalves. These included Gaining Ground's (a volunteer organic farm which distributes free produce to those in need and is located at the Thoreau Birthplace) first Donor Appreciation event. It was in Glenview twenty years ago that Kathleen would begin her life long battle with breast cancer first as primary tumor disease addressed by a mastectomy. Following thirteen years of remission, Kathleen was discovered to have metastatic disease in 2000, which ultimately attacked her bones, liver, and brain. The metastatic phase of her disease ran for over 7 ½ years involving five surgeries, four courses of radiation, and continuous drug therapies. Told that remission or cure was unlikely, she vowed to do all she could to hold the disease at bay until she could see her children grown and living on their own. She succeeded mightily as she married off two daughters (Elizabeth and Ann) and a third (Jane) became engaged. She saw all her children finish their education and her youngest (a son, Bill) enter his third year of work in the city of Boston. While the family is far flung with children living in New York City, St. Paul, Minn., and Monterrey, Mexico, Kathleen's illness actually shrunk the family's "world" as the children returned to Concord and Boston regularly to support their mom including taking her to treatments at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Daily round-robin phone calls amongst the four children became the norm. Before her death, she received five grandchildren into the world including a baby girl born on November 14. She maintained an active and productive life within a few months of her death with her last air travel occurring this past summer to attend a surprise birthday party in Chicago for a friend of 30 years. When it was time to face death, she did so on her own terms voluntarily entering hospice care through Wayside Hospice at her home ten days before the end. As one friend noted, "She taught us how to live and she showed us how to die". Besides her husband, she is survived by her four children, Elizabeth W. Tyndale of New York, N.Y., Ann Weiss de Cortes of Monterrey, Mexico, Jane B. Weiss of St. Paul, Minn. and William A. Weiss of Boston, Mass.; and her sons-in-laws, Craig Tyndale and Pau Cortes. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Olivia and Madeleine Tyndale and Sofia, Isabel and Mateo Cortes Weiss; her mother Jeanne (Boland) Postorino of Racine; and mother and father in-law Mr. & Mrs. Harold C. Weiss of Vero Beach, Fla. She is further survived by her sisters, MaryJo Kennedy of Wheaton, Ill., Ann McKenzie of Wayne, Pa., Karen Sherman of Austin, Texas and Susan Jensen of Racine. Also survived by many nieces and nephews. She was also the daughter of the late Joseph D. Postorino. A Funeral Mass celebrating Kathleen's life will be Wednesday, November 28, 2007, at 11 a.m. in Holy Family Parish, Monument Square, Concord, Mass. Visiting hours Tuesday from 2 until 4 and 7 until 9 p.m. in MacRae-Tunnicliffe's Concord Funeral Home, Concord, Mass. Interment, St. Bernard's Cemetery, Concord, Mass. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kathleen's memory to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Office of Development, 330 Brookline Ave, Boston, MA 02115. Please indicate Dr. Come & Dr. Wong Cancer Research Funds on each check. MACRAE-TUNNICLIFFE'S CONCORD FUNERAL HOME 74 Belknap Street Concord, MA 01742-2302 (948) 369-3388 For online guestbook and directions visit: www.concordfuneral.com