Kathryn Clare Hartl

Traverse City - On July 7th, 2015, after an extended illness, Kathryn "Kay" Clare Hartl passed away peacefully, at home with her family, and holding the hand of her beloved husband of 54 years, John L. Hartl, Jr.

Kay was born on June 6th, 1935, the daughter of Russell and Kathryn (Dittrich) Fellows. After attending St. Mary's High School of Mt. Clemens, Michigan, she studied English and Teaching at Marygrove College in Detroit, graduating as valedictorian in 1957 with a Bachelors of Arts degree, and also attending graduate school at the University of Detroit. She then taught elementary school in the East Pointe, Michigan area for many years.

On July 8th of 1961, Kay and John were married at St. Basil Church in East Pointe. Together they traveled the world on Pan American Airways where John was employed at the time, visiting exotic destinations such as Hawaii, Tokyo, Hong Kong, London, Vienna, Paris, Rome, Rio De Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima and even the ancient Incan ruins of Machu Picchu high in the Andes Mountains of Peru.

After seeing the world with John, Kay left teaching to selflessly dedicate the rest of her life to her family, raising five children: John "Jay" Hartl, David Hartl, Jerome (Colleen) Hartl, Thomas (Jenny) Hartl and Julie Hartl. The family lived in Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan before moving to Traverse City, Michigan in 1978.

Each of her children have countless loving memories of growing up with Kay as their dedicated mother. In particular, Jay recalls his arm becoming stuck in an escalator handrail at a shopping mall, and how Mom set a precedent for his many such future adventures by handling the situation with patience, love and understanding. David recalls Mom's signature "Mickey Mouse" ice cream sundaes (complete with cookies for ears). Jerome will never forget their tradition of peeling and sharing an orange together just before bedtime. Thomas cherishes the joyfully infectious nature of Mom's laughter – how she would often laugh so hard she would begin tearing up. Julie will always treasure their many mother-daughter lunches at the Tea Room in Milliken's Department Store.

All will remember their many family breakfasts at The Omelette Shoppe, her lovably idiosyncratic habit of ending every phone conversation with the same phrase, "Okay... uh-huh, bye-bye", and the simple but beautiful lullaby she composed herself and sang all her children to bed with, "Dark Outside, Night-Night Time."

Perhaps her greatest joys in life were her four beloved grandchildren: Evan, Henry, Jessa and Audrey. Their frequent visits were invariably the highlight of her (and their) day. When the subject of her grandchildren came up, she would never miss the opportunity to say "They don't come any cuter!"

Kay is also survived by her two siblings, Russ (Cindy) Fellows of Harrison Township, Michigan and Lou Ann (Rich) Bartlett of Warren, Michigan.

The Hartl family would like to extend their sincere thanks to the many kind and dedicated staff members of the following organizations that assisted with Kay's care: Chronic Care Management, Monarch Home Health Services, and LCA Homecare.

A funeral mass will be held on Monday, July 13, at 11:00 a.m., at St. Francis Catholic Church in Traverse City, with visitation held one hour prior.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be directed to St. Francis Catholic Church, 1025 S. Union Street, Traverse City, MI 49684 or Grand Traverse Area Catholic Schools (GTACS), 123 E. 11th Street, Traverse City, MI 49684.