Obituary of Karen M. Kietzman
Karen M. Kietzman
Karen M. Kietzman, a Joliet teacher and artist, died July 14, 2017 at the Joliet Area Community Hospice Home. Karen was born June 19, 1937 in Kankakee, the daughter of Ted and Madolin (Byron) Kietzman.
She was preceded in death by her siblings, Joyce (Joseph Pohlman), Ted (Alyce), Mary Jo (Victor Yanchick) and Nancy. She leaves behind her brother-in-law, Vic and numerous nieces and nephews. She is also survived by many friends whom she called “kind and loyal,” including best friend, Barb McCabe. She appreciated all her friends and their times together.
Karen was a member of the Joliet Franciscan Sisters from 1954 to 1974, known as Sr. Gerard. She taught at St. Francis De Sales, Saints Cyril and Methodius and St. Pascal in Chicago. She also taught at Sacred Heart in Hubbard Woods, St. Jude and St. Francis Academy in Joliet. Karen was a teacher but also a renowned artist. She taught art at the College (University) of St. Francis from 1971 to 1999. She held many art shows throughout the years and specialized in watercolors. She also did pottery and learned weaving during a sabbatical on the Ivory Coast in Africa.
Karen wrote that she “loved this world and explored many corners of this earth in her lifetime. Her little creatures, the cats, kept her company in her home: Albert, Vicki and Hope.” Karen held a B.A. from the College of St. Francis, an M.A. from the University of Notre Dame and an Ed.D. from Northern Illinois University.
Special thanks to the doctors, nurses, aides and volunteers at the Joliet Area Community Hospice Home for the excellent care.
A Memorial Mass will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 28, 2017, at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home, 1201 Wyoming Ave., Joliet. A gathering will follow in the Angels Café. Memorial gifts may be made to Joliet Area Community Hospice, 250 Water Stone Circle, Joliet, IL 60431 or the Sisters of St. Francis, 1433 Essington Road, Joliet, IL 60435. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Fred C. Dames Funeral Home, Joliet. For more information, please call (815) 741-5500 or visit her Memorial Tribute at www.fredcdames.com
