FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED FUNERAL HOMES SINCE 1881
| Katharina R. Marx |
| May 5, 1928 - November 26, 2021 |
|
Public Events and LocationsVisitation - Saturday, December 4, 2021, 9:00 to 10:00 AM at Presentation B. V. M. Church, CheltenhamFuneral Mass - Saturday, December 4, 2021, 10:00 AM at Presentation B. V. M. Church, Cheltenham Graveside Service - Saturday, December 4, 2021, 11:45 AM at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Cheltenham |
ContactsFuneral Home - Wetzel and Son Funeral Home - 419 Huntingdon Pike, Rockledge, PA 19046 - 215-663-8550 - Map |
| Clergy - Presentation B. V. M. Church - 100 Old Soldiers Road, Cheltenham, PA 19012 - 215-379-1364 - Map |
| Cemetery - Holy Sepulchre Cemetery - 3301 West Cheltenham Avenue, Cheltenham, PA 19038 - 215-247-0691 - Map |
| Family Florist - Blake Florist - 5 Huntingdon Pike, Rockledge, PA 19046 - 215-379-8787 - Map |
| Donation - Presentation B. V. M. Church - 100 Old Soldiers Road, Cheltenham, PA 19012 - 215-379-1364 - Map |
Katharina R. "Käthe" Marx of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania died on Friday, November 26, 2021 at the Philadelphia Protestant Home after battling renal cancer for 4 ½ months. She was 93 years old. Käthe was born May 5, 1928 in Palanka, Yugoslavia, daughter of the late Anton Karl and the late Elisabeth Karl (nee - Pautz). She is the beloved wife of the late Nikolaus Marx; mother of Dr. Christine Marx; grandmother of Rebecca and Emily Telford-Marx; sister of the late Maria Lavundi and the late Elisabeth Griesbach-Loik; aunt of Brigitte Kuliczkowski and Tom, the late Dr. William Lavundi and Philomena, and Otto Griesbach and Maria. She was beloved “Aunt Katie” to Karen Kuliczkowski, Tim Schieder, and daughter Hailey; to John Kuliczkowski, Kelly Henry, and children Rylei, Cassie, and Mason; to Robert Kuliczkowski; to Jordan and Jennifer Lavundi; and “Tante Käthe” to relatives in Germany (Karlsruhe, Munich, Würzburg), Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, dearly loved cousin to Käthe Tscherny (Germany) and Julius Schumacher (Canada), among many others, and affectionately known as “Mrs. Marx,” “Frau Marx,” or “Käthe” to countless friends, neighbors, and fellow Donauschwaben.
Käthe was born, raised, and educated in a German community in Palanka, Yugoslavia, currently part of Serbia. After World War II the German population of Palanka was forced into labor camps by the communist regime. Käthe escaped the camps as a teenager and fled to Austria, then immigrated to the United States in 1956 and married Nikolaus Marx in 1957 (whom she knew as a child in Palanka). She was a bookkeeper for the Thornton-Fuller Auto Assembly Plant and for the Fritz Thornton Oldsmobile dealership in Wayne, PA for over 25 years. Käthe was a resident of the Burholme section of Philadelphia since 1963 and a parishioner of Presentation BVM Church in Cheltenham (frequently tending the church gardens into spring 2021). She was a longtime member of the Donauschwaben and of other German societies in the Philadelphia area, and meticulously organized 42 yearly German pilgrimages to the St. John Neumann Shrine and other churches, in remembrance of the those who did not survive World War II and its aftermath.
Until July 2021, Käthe was living completely independently, tending her beautiful garden with 80 rose bushes and many other flowers (including her carefully tended cornflowers, chrysanthemums, begonias, and primroses), driving her black Mercury Grand Marquis, and making plates of her famous cookies and cakes for neighbors, friends, and loved ones. In addition to growing a myriad of flowers, she also painted them in both oils and watercolors. She loved German art and music, particularly waltzes, and had an unerring appreciation for the well-crafted and handmade. Käthe had an extremely rigorous work ethic and a keen eye for detail. Her generous and straightforward spirit earned her the trust and admiration of many from all backgrounds and walks of life. Her organizational and accounting skills were legendary. She spoke German, English, Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian, and some Russian, but was equally expressive with a raised eyebrow or a single phrase that could quiet a room or create an uproar of hilarity. It was impossible to leave her home without being well-fed and sharply observed, and she was greatly loved across generations, continents, and languages.
Relatives and friends were invited to her visitation on Saturday, December 4, 2021 from 9:00 A.M. and Funeral Mass at 10:00 A.M. at Presentation B. V. M. Church, 100 Old Soldiers Road, Cheltenham, PA 19012. Her graveside service followed at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 3301 West Cheltenham Avenue, Cheltenham, PA 19038.
Religious services will be conducted by Fr. William S. Harrison Pastor of Presentation B. V. M. Church.
Donations may be made in her memory to Presentation B. V. M. Church, 100 Old Soldiers Road, Cheltenham, PA 19012.
www.wetzelandson.com
Käthe was born, raised, and educated in a German community in Palanka, Yugoslavia, currently part of Serbia. After World War II the German population of Palanka was forced into labor camps by the communist regime. Käthe escaped the camps as a teenager and fled to Austria, then immigrated to the United States in 1956 and married Nikolaus Marx in 1957 (whom she knew as a child in Palanka). She was a bookkeeper for the Thornton-Fuller Auto Assembly Plant and for the Fritz Thornton Oldsmobile dealership in Wayne, PA for over 25 years. Käthe was a resident of the Burholme section of Philadelphia since 1963 and a parishioner of Presentation BVM Church in Cheltenham (frequently tending the church gardens into spring 2021). She was a longtime member of the Donauschwaben and of other German societies in the Philadelphia area, and meticulously organized 42 yearly German pilgrimages to the St. John Neumann Shrine and other churches, in remembrance of the those who did not survive World War II and its aftermath.
Until July 2021, Käthe was living completely independently, tending her beautiful garden with 80 rose bushes and many other flowers (including her carefully tended cornflowers, chrysanthemums, begonias, and primroses), driving her black Mercury Grand Marquis, and making plates of her famous cookies and cakes for neighbors, friends, and loved ones. In addition to growing a myriad of flowers, she also painted them in both oils and watercolors. She loved German art and music, particularly waltzes, and had an unerring appreciation for the well-crafted and handmade. Käthe had an extremely rigorous work ethic and a keen eye for detail. Her generous and straightforward spirit earned her the trust and admiration of many from all backgrounds and walks of life. Her organizational and accounting skills were legendary. She spoke German, English, Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian, and some Russian, but was equally expressive with a raised eyebrow or a single phrase that could quiet a room or create an uproar of hilarity. It was impossible to leave her home without being well-fed and sharply observed, and she was greatly loved across generations, continents, and languages.
Relatives and friends were invited to her visitation on Saturday, December 4, 2021 from 9:00 A.M. and Funeral Mass at 10:00 A.M. at Presentation B. V. M. Church, 100 Old Soldiers Road, Cheltenham, PA 19012. Her graveside service followed at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 3301 West Cheltenham Avenue, Cheltenham, PA 19038.
Religious services will be conducted by Fr. William S. Harrison Pastor of Presentation B. V. M. Church.
Donations may be made in her memory to Presentation B. V. M. Church, 100 Old Soldiers Road, Cheltenham, PA 19012.
www.wetzelandson.com
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