Obituary: Kathryn “Kay” Eleanor Wozniak
Kathryn Wozniak, January 9, 1938 – June 4, 2018
Kathryn (“Kay”) Eleanor Wozniak (nee Gilbert), of Manchester, age 80, died on Monday, June 4, 2018 at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ypsilanti. Kay waged a fierce battle with cancer beginning in 2009 and appeared to be prevailing, but fell unexpectedly ill on Memorial Day and was unable to recover.
Born in Minneapolis on January 9, 1938, Kay spent her early childhood years in San Antonio, TX before moving to Grand Rapids where she graduated from Catholic Central High School in 1956. She married the late Robert J. Wozniak in 1958 and supported him as he pursued degrees from the University of Chicago and embarked on his career with the Foreign Service, which led Kay to live in Greece and Cyprus from 1963-74. That marriage ended in divorce, but produced a daughter, Lisa K. Wozniak (Kenneth Simn) of Ypsilanti, MI, and a son, Robert J. Wozniak, Jr. (Camille Bowman) of Oak Park, IL.
Although Kay’s formal education did not extend beyond community college, she was an avid learner with an insatiable appetite for information and ideas, leading many people in her life to say, “Kay is one of the most well-read people I know.” Kay worked in a variety of jobs within the education field, ending her career at the Washtenaw Intermediate School District. She was a lifelong union supporter, helping to run an all-volunteer labor-focused radio program in Grand Rapids and serving as steward for Teamsters Local 214 late in her career.
Kay loved all things creative and artistic. She also had a competitive side and enjoyed playing board and card games with her family, particularly cribbage. She loved gardening, music and watching her Detroit Tigers. But most of all, she loved the people in her life, including her many dear friends in Ann Arbor, Manchester, Grand Rapids and beyond, the extended Wozniak-Walczak-Tilton family (who embraced her and whom she adored), the Zieziul-Meyer family (same), and of course her children, grandchildren and long-time companion and life partner Thomas Zieziul.
Like most grandparents, Kay had a special place in her heart for grandchildren Zach, Ben, Lily and Ryan. She loved them each individually with exuberance and doted on them in ways only a grandmother can. Due to proximity, Kay was an especially vital and present force in the lives of Zach and Ben, attending every performance, activity or event possible, serving as editor/critic for writing and school projects, and conversing on music, culture, politics, and many other matters. Just weeks prior to falling ill, Kay traveled with Tom and Lisa to watch Lily and Ryan play ball in Chicago.
As her friends and family know, Kay was a remarkable, thoughtful, and compassionate person, deeply committed to social, economic, racial, gender and environmental justice. She attended the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August 1963. She connected with people in a way that made everyone she met feel special, because they were. Her heart and her spirit were enormous and Kay will be missed immensely by many.
A memorial celebration of Kay’s life is being planned for late July.
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