Kathleen “Kathy” Rose Waddell

On Friday, September 27, Kathleen “Kathy” Rose Waddell (formerly Kathleen Jean Radtke) passed away after a courageous 2-year battle with glioblastoma.

Kathleen was born on June 9, 1956, to the late Virginia and Charles Rose.

Kathy was the beloved wife of the late John C. Waddell. Loving mother to Jill (Mehmet) Demirci and Renee (Matt Loll) Radtke-Loll, cherished stepmother to Melissa Waddell and Andrea (Matt) Cavanaugh, loving Nunny to Marc and Luke Demirci,  devoted grandmother to Leah and Ryan Cavanaugh, Mackenzie, and Emily Krall, and A.J. Waddell. Dear sister to Dotty (Wayne) Lauth, Sue (Bob) Zankel, Dan (Lorrie) Rose and Tim (Bev) Rose. Kathy was also blessed with many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Kathy will be remembered for her kindness, strength, intelligence, attention to detail/organization, pragmatism, dependability, selflessness, spirit of adventure and fun, warmth, and tendency to befriend people and form meaningful relationships anywhere she went. She was a people-person in every sense of the word–she loved planning travel and social gatherings, and enjoyed music, books, and good food. Above all else, she loved and took great joy in her family, to include not only blood relatives, but her beloved work family at Hanel Storage Systems where she spent the majority of her career, in addition to lifelong friend Linda Sporrer.

She was an absolutely epic mom, second mom, Nunny, grandma, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and colleague. As a single mom who raised two daughters while going to college and working full-time, she exemplified strength and tenacity in the face of adversity, the power of women and mothers, and importance of (and joy in) accountability, hard work, education, lifelong leaming, family, love, and treating people well. Kathy lived a happy and fulfilling life, and her memory will live on through all those who knew and loved her.

A gathering of family and friends will take place on Thursday, October 3, 2024, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm and 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Pittsburgh Cremation & Funeral Care, 3287 Washington Road, McMurray, PA 15317. A celebration of life to be planned at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that donations be made in Kathy’s memory to the Musella Foundation for Brain Tumor Research & Information Donation OR the Allegheny County Library Association Mobile Services Donation