Obituary of Mary Kerski

Mary, or Kit as she liked to be called, was born August 15, 1922. She died one day shy of her 95th birthday. She was born in New York City, and spent much of her growing up living between New York and London, where her parents were from. When WWII broke out, Kit was living in London and would talk about the air raids and having to go into shelters. While this experience left a strong impression on her related to the horrors of war, she enlisted first in the English Army in London, and then transferred to the American Army, where she served as an administrative assistant to many Generals, including Eisenhower. She traveled throughout Europe during the war and was stationed for a period of time at Versailles, barracked in the horse stables. Kit met her husband Larry while he was also overseas serving in the American Army. They were introduced by Kit’s brother who was an Army friend of Larry’s. Kit and Larry both received Bronze stars for their service to country. After the war, Kit returned to Milwaukee and enrolled in classes at Marquette University, but was unable to complete her degree due to issues with her transcripts from different schools in different countries. She then worked as a legal assistant for a large Milwaukee law firm while working to bring her parents over from London to also live in Milwaukee. Kit and Larry were married in 1951. They settled in the Milwaukee area and raised their three children there. Kit worked in various capacities over the years including as a travel agent, an office manager at an investment corporation and at an architect’s office; and was the administrative secretary to Herb Kohl before he became a Senator. In a letter Kit kept for years from one of her past employers he said; “Beyond your outstanding secretarial and administrative skills, and even beyond your unflagging good cheer, I have come to rely and respect your superb judgment on people and events. You singlehandedly took on roles which would have required several people, and did them well and made the work look simple.” She was noted by employers to be highly intelligent, and able to easily grasp new ideas and new approaches to problems with ease. Along with caring for her children, and working, she was also a Girl Scout leader for 10 years. She was a Docen at the Milwaukee Zoo, and a volunteer at the St. Mary’s hospice program for many years, eventually serving as the volunteer coordinator. At her retirement party she was noted to be a person who demonstrated concern for the comfort and well-being of patients and “if anyone has ever gone the extra mile, it was her. “ She was noted to be able to coordinate the hospice volunteers with diplomacy and vigor, making the hospice team one of the most successful ones at the hospital. “You have always given us the benefit of your wisdom and wit and we are forever grateful.” Kit set a high bar for her children related to her strong commitment to the care of others and for social justice causes. She supported social justice models in all of her charitable givings and volunteer work and had, what Socrates called “practical wisdom.” Yet she had a fun side to her too. Like when she coordinated taking all three of her children to see the Beatles. She wanted us to “see those English boys sing.” Even though she never got her college degree she always said, “education is never a burden.” All of her children and grandchildren got college degrees and some even pursued advanced degrees, all with Kit’s strong support for learning, which she modeled throughout her life. She learned passable Spanish in her 90s and read the New York Times every day. She enjoyed her 5 grandchildren immensely and would read to them constantly, throw them tea parties, take them to the zoo, and let them endlessly play school and restaurant with her while she was the willing recipient and playmate. She and Larry traveled extensively over the years to Africa, China, Russia, Tibet, Australia, Japan, Greece and parts of Europe, always ending back in London, where they met. She and Larry moved to Arizona when they retired, and once there she and Larry did volunteer work with the Desert Museum and the University of Arizona Medical Center and Oro Valley Medical Center. After Larry died she moved back to the Midwest to be near family and enjoyed the past six years doing hospice and literacy volunteer work, spending time with family, while residing at Brookdale Senior Living Center. One of Kit’s favorite books was Herman Heese’s Siddhartha and this passage seems to sum up her life: “There slowly bloomed and ripened in Siddhartha the realization and knowledge of what wisdom, the object of his long quest, really was. It was nothing more than a readiness of the soul, a mysterious knack: the ability at every moment in the midst of life to think the thought of unity, to feel and breathe unity. Gradually this bloosomed in him, shone back to him from the ancient child’s face of Vasudeva-harmony, knowledge of the eternal perfection of the world, unity-a smile.” Kit is survived by her three children: Deborah(Christopher Pape of Spring Green, WI), David(Sandra Kerski, of Eden Prairie, MN); and Michael(Robin Russo of Minneapolis, MN); and five grandchildren: Timothy Pape(Brianda Pereira of Los Angeles, CA), Stephanie Nook(John Nook, of Wauwatosa, WI); Samuel Kerski(Minneapolis, MN), Eliana Kerski (Eden Prairie, MN), and Philip Pape(Madison, WI). Donations are suggested to one’s favorite charity; or to N.C. Little Memorial Hospice, Edina, MN.