KATHLEEN ERDLITZ CAMBRIA

Kathleen (Kathy) Anne Erdlitz Cambria, beloved wife and soulmate of Frank, departed this earth on March 15, 2019. She embraced all that life had to offer as it embraced her. She led a life filled with love. The love she gave and the love she received, instinctively comfortable with individuals irrespective of culture, profession, age and all other attributes we might assign ourselves and to others. Kathy’s seemingly unending joy just to be alive was reflected in her daily being – her smile and all the varied colors that personified her watercolors, her garden, her wardrobe, and every nook and cranny of her home. A ferocious appetite for knowledge and willingness to share it with others embodied her devotion to her husband, close family members and friends, as well as her roles as a special education teacher, tutor for the dyslexic, or even just as a conversationalist with a stranger in a retail store. Though she could never know, those of us who survive know all too well how many hearts and souls and minds Kathy touched.

Born on March 11, 1946 in Menominee, MI, Kathy was the youngest daughter of Rudolph and Irene (Powers Cox) Erdlitz. She graduated from St. Joseph’s High School, Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Cross Convent in Bay Settlement, WI.  She then attended Marquette University and graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. Soon after, Kathy began teaching children in the Milwaukee School District, embarking on a lifelong career at the interface of living and learning as a devoted and beloved educator. Kathy moved to Ann Arbor, MI in 1972, where she attended graduate school at The University of Michigan in Special Education and also taught Special Education classes at The University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University.  Kathy was the Learning Disabilities Consultant and Director of Staff Development for the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. After retirement, she loved tutoring one-on-one to children and adults with reading disabilities using the Ortin-Gillingham method at her home.

On June 7, 1986, she married the love of her life, Francis Cambria. Kathy and Frank knew each other for 41 years and were married for 33 years. They lived in Ann Arbor, MI and Naples, FL.

Kathy was preceded in death by her older sisters - Maurine Erdlitz (the late Robert) Marchaterre of Florham Park, NJ., Sally Erdlitz (the late Joseph) Kelley of Fountain Hills, AZ, and Irene Erdlitz (the late Jim) Pantaze of Shorewood, WI.  She is survived by nine nieces and nephews - Margaret (Andrew Bass) Marchaterre, Mark (Patti Roebuck) Marchaterre, Mary (David Nitz) Marchaterre, Maureen (Brian) Stehle, Monica (Jeffrey Feinstein) Marchaterre, Martin (Katherine McKelway) Marchaterre, Martin (Cindy Joyner) Pantaze, Rory Pantaze, and Bryan (Anna Alves) Cambria; 14 great-nieces and -nephews, and four great-great nephews.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on March 23, 2019 at 11:00 AM at St. William Catholic Church, 601 Seagate Dr, Naples, FL.  In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to Avow Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL 34105 or the Cancer Alliance of Naples, 3384 Woods Edge Circle Suite 102, Bonita Springs, FL 34134.