Kathleen Brezina

Kathleen Brezina, 59 of Grand Junction moved onto a higher plane on Monday, August 25th after a brief battle with scleroderma. She was born in Rogers Park, Chicago, in 1949 and studied philosophy and photography at Barat, Oxford and Columbia College. Her formative years were influenced by Grant Park in 1968 and the caves on the island of Ibiza. She was a counterculture champion and ardent social activist with impassioned views on everything, she did not suffer fools or conservatives lightly.

She and her daughter Corona and husband John moved to Michigan to farm and homestead and be closer to nature in 1978. She became a master gardener and animal raiser, farmhand and woodcutter, a model of voluntary simplicity who shared the bounty of her garden and kitchen with all who came by. She and John were self employed and made thousands of products for the photographic trade.

All who knew her recognized a special individual with a great capacity for love and a unique world view. She was passionate about classical music, good foreign films, a nice glass of wine and English Springer Spaniels. She shared her warmth and wisdom working with troubled youth at the Cheever Treatment Center. She could be intensely vital, a high energy soul who could never sit still. She was a wonderful mother, wife and friend and there will never be another one like her.

She is survived by her husband, John, her daughter, Corona of Chicago, Illinois; four sisters- Joan (Bill) O’Malley of Lombard, Illinois; Dee Dee (Ed) O’Malley of Kansas City, Kansas; Ann (Paul) Stepan of Beverly Shores, Indiana; and Christine Ruppe of Santa Barbara, California. One brother- Bob (Sherri) Ruppe of Paoli, Pennsylvania; and many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, Robert and Eilleen Ruppe.

Visitation will be from 12-3 on Saturday, August 30 at the Filbrandt Family Funeral Home. Sharing time will begin on Saturday at 3:00 P.M. at the funeral home. Kindly share your thoughts and memories on the family’s online guest book at www.FilbrandtFFH.com.

The family is being helped by the Filbrandt Family Funeral Home of South Haven 637-0333.