Kathleen C. Pitcavage, 60, of Swoyersville, died unexpectedly early Tuesday morning, January 15, 2013, at home in the company of her devoted husband. 

Born on July 01, 1952 in West Pittston, Kathy was the daughter of Jule (Starolis) Keder, of West Pittston and the late Frank Keder. 

Kathy graduated from Wyoming Area in 1970, where she served as the class treasurer.  She continued her academic career by attending Bloomsburg State College in 1974, majoring in Education.  A studious learner, Kathy achieved beyond a Master’s degree in the education field. 

Putting her degrees into effect, Kathy devoted her professional career to elementary children, as well as her Alma Mater.  She was employed in the Wyoming Area School District for over 30 years, serving a majority of the time as a sixth grade teacher, first at Montgomery Avenue and most recently at Tenth Street Elementary. 

Upon graduation from Bloomsburg in 1974, Kathy Keder was united in matrimony with her high school sweetheart Michael Pitcavage, of West Wyoming.  The newlywed couple fulfilled a dream of owning their own business when they opened Pitcavage’s Meat Market in 1975, a local butcher shop that thrived in the West Wyoming community until its closure in 1991.  Kathy pulled double duty, teaching and working in the store nights and weekends.

Kathy did not limit herself to helping children in the classroom.  Her generous nature is what many remember most about her.  Kathy was always hosting family in the couple’s Swoyersville home, for various holidays and events.  She spent numerous Saturdays cleaning the church of the former Our Lady of Sorrows, now St. Monica’s Parish, in West Wyoming, and teaching CCD classes for the middle school students.

Kathy got the greatest satisfaction from being with the ones she loved most dearly: her family and friends.  The couple loved taking family vacations with their two children, Annie and Jamie.  She enjoyed spending Sundays in the summer at her in-laws’ cottage in Tunkhannock along the Susquehanna River.  Relaxing at the shore with her childhood girlfriends also gave her great pleasure.  Recently, Kathy’s purpose in life became her devotion to her two grandchildren, Chase Zimmerman, of Lancaster, and Ella Smith, of California.  These two additions to her life brought her overwhelming joy; she loved being Grammy. 

Kathy’s spirit and energy cannot be completely captured in words.  She lived life from the heart, going above and beyond with everyone she encountered.  Her smile and laugh were infectious, putting all of those in her company in the best of moods.  Her departure in this world leaves an emptiness in all those who knew her; however, her memory fills the spirit with love and jubilation.

Kathy was preceded in death by her father, Frank Keder. 

She is survived by her loyal, adoring husband of 38 years, Mike; their two devoted children, Jamie Pitcavage and Annie Zimmerman, along with her husband Jon; her loving mother, Jule (Starolis) Keder;  her siblings, Frank Keder and Barbara Pumplun; and, of course, her cherished grandchildren, Chase Zimmerman and Ella Smith. 

You are missed, Kathy.  You left us too soon, but your memory will live on in our hearts. 

Relatives and Friends are respectfully invited to attend the funeral which will be conducted on Monday, January 21, 2013, at 9:15 AM from the Wroblewski Funeral Home, Inc., 1442 Wyoming Avenue, Forty Fort, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial to be celebrated at 10:00 AM in Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Roman Catholic Parish, 116 Hughes Street, Swoyersville, with the Reverend Joseph J. Pisaneschi, her Pastor, as celebrant.

Con-Celebrants of the Funeral Mass will be Monsignor John J. Bendick and the Reverend Richard J. Cirba, both of Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, Pittston.

Interment with the Rite of Committal will follow in Saint Joseph’s Roman Catholic Cemetery, West Wyoming.

Family and Friends are invited to call on Sunday, January 20, 2013, from 3:00 to 8:00 PM, at the funeral home.

For additional information or to send the Pitcavage family an online message of condolence, you may visit the funeral home web-site www.wroblewskifuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, the family would like to set up a one-time scholarship in Kathy’s name for a graduate of the Wyoming Area class of 2013 who plans on pursuing a career in elementary education.  Donations can be made out to Michael Pitcavage, sent c/o Mrs. Michelle Harden, Tenth Street Elementary School, 55 Tenth Street, Wyoming, PA 18644.