Kathleen Broderick Breese

Born in 1936, Kathleen Broderick Breese, died on Thursday, August 30, 2018 of complication from emphysema. Kitty, raised in Chicago, attended parochial schools and entered a convent as a novitiate nun. She left before taking vows and attended the University of Illinois before becoming a stewardess for Eastern Airlines. She was based in Miami where she met her husband, William E. Breese, Jr., who was soon to become an Army officer. Kitty then became what she described as a “camp follower;” she and Bill moved more than 20 times. They lived in the Washington DC area where her son, William, was born, then in Brussels, Belgium, where her daughter, Mary, was born, and later in Germany, where her daughter, Diana, was born. She often said, “I have a sprout and a kraut.” While in Belgium, Kitty was a Red Cross volunteer in an international military hospital; learned to fly a glider and was an avid “volks marcher.” Then while they lived in Ft. Huachuca, Kitty loved the many days the whole family spent camping in the Arizona mountains. After Bill left the Army, they lived in LA and then in Minneapolis, where she loved skating on the frozen ponds; became an avid cross country skier and even took sailing lessons. They moved to Denver, where Kitty, at nearly 60, became a downhill skier. Then to Pittsburg, where Kitty and Bill rejoined the world of jazz, blues, and Dixieland, spending wonderful nights in the many musical venues of Pittsburg. After Bill retired, they moved back to Jacksonville where Kitty stayed while he was in Vietnam. She loved all things bright and beautiful and exemplified the best of both. Bill said, “She was the smartest lady he had ever known. Her wit, kindness, and understanding of the meaning of love will be with us forever.” She was preceded in death by her parents, John and Ursula Broderick and sister, Jeanie Helsel, of Chicago. She is survived by her husband of more than 50 years, William E. Breese, Jr.; son, William E. Breese; daughter, Diana Elizabeth Breese (Vargo), of Jacksonville; daughter, Mary Kathleen Breese (Caster), of Chesterfield, VA; a brother, John N. Broderick, of Chicago; and sister, Mary Ann Hillyer, of Daytona Beach. Grandchildren are Will, Kyle and Nicole Breese, Michael and Brianna Caster and Zachary and Breese Noel Vargo. The funeral will be private and interment at the Jacksonville National Cemetery.