Kathaleen Rhoads McWilliams, age 73, passed away peacefully on Christmas Eve, her favorite night of the year, surrounded by love and to a softly sung version of Silent Night. She leaves behind an adoring family, many wonderful friends, and a grateful community who already miss her generous spirit, infectious energy, and ever-present thoughtfulness. Kathaleen lived a life dedicated to service of others and thoughtful, generous gift-giving, and her memory serves as an inspiration to carry on her beloved Rotary International’s motto of “Service Above Self”.
Kathaleen (“Kathy”) Ruth Rhoads was born on September 10, 1948 in post-war Philadelphia to Evelyn and Russell Rhoads. Over the next few years, Kathy would be joined by her brothers Russ and Ken. When she was a very young girl, she briefly moved west to Richland, Washington, but the bulk of her early years were spent in the Rhawnhurst neighborhood of Philadelphia. She attended Girls’ High for two years and then, after her family moved to the suburb of Broomall, graduated from Marple Newtown High School in 1966. One of Kathy’s favorite memories of this time was seeing the Beatles perform at the Philadelphia Convention Hall in September 1964 during the band’s second tour of the United States.
Attending college was a great adventure for Kathy, who was the first in her family to do so. She arrived on the campus of Muskingum College in the fall of 1966 and immediately found a new home. She kept herself busy with plenty of activities including a cheerleader for the football team, a sister in the Delta Gamma Theta sorority, a freshman dorm counselor, and an outstanding student with a double major in Political Science and French. Kathy was the Muskingum Homecoming Queen in 1968 (the photo accompanying this obituary is from that event). She also entered a beauty pageant (“for the money” she would later say as a defense) for “Miss Southeast Ohio” and while she came in as a runner-up, Kathy won the talent portion of the competition by playing the accordion. At college, Kathy met Darrel Fred Herdman (“Fred”) and after they graduated in 1970, the couple married and settled down in Kettering, Ohio.
The early years of Kathy’s career were devoted to teaching. She was a social studies teacher at Fairmont West High School in Kettering, where she went on to chair the Social Studies Department at the tender age of 24. One of Kathy’s greatest honors was being selected as the Ohio Teacher of the Year for social studies in 1980. Kathy’s career in education also won her recognition by the Ohio legislature on several occasions and led to her providing advice to Congress during the creation of the Commission on the Bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.
While balancing her teaching career with the pursuit of a Master’s Degree in School Counselling at Wright State University, Kathy and Fred also enjoyed spending time with a wide number of family members in the greater Dayton area. Their weekend days were often spent poolside at the home of Fred’s parents, or at backyard barbeques attended by many friends from college and Kettering. In 1975, the couple welcomed their first child (Justin) and added to the family in 1977 with their daughter (Karah). These days during the early life of their children were joyful, with birthday parties and holidays filled with family and laughter.
In 1982, the couple moved to Coral Springs, Florida, and after an amicable divorce, Kathy pursued a new career in pharmaceutical sales. She was so successful that in 1985, her high sales number resulted in a trip to London. Kathy brought along Justin and Karah for the family’s first (but far from last) trip together. Far from relying on the scheduled itinerary, Kathy wanted to ensure that her children experienced as much of the United Kingdom as possible, so she worked in a trip to Dover, a visit with family in Bolton, and an overnight train trip to Edinburgh.
In 1988, Kathy married Dennis Ralph McWilliams and she happily welcomed two new stepsons - Jeff and Brad - into the family. The couple relocated to Bainbridge Township, where they lived for the next seventeen years, and became fixtures at Kenston High School athletic events, after-proms, and Booster Club fundraisers. During this time, Kathy spent several years as a manager at IMS Company, served her church as a deacon, and grew lifelong friendships with other members of her “Tacky Twelve” group. Kathy and Denny also travelled throughout the United States searching for a retirement location, ultimately finding the perfect spot in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where they moved in 2005.
In North Carolina, Kathy and Denny threw themselves into a retirement devoted not to themselves but to others. While Denny volunteered in the kitchen at First United Methodist Church of Hendersonville, Kathaleen renewed her love of teaching by serving as an ESL and adult literacy instructor. For three years, she devoted over 200 hours of volunteer service to the Blue Ridge Literacy Council and was awarded the “Volunteer of the Year” by the organization in 2009. She also embraced new professional roles in human resources and grant administration with Blue Ridge Community College and The Housing Assistance Corporation. They also became the parents of two little dogs – Nellie (a co*ckapoo) and Molly (a Shih Tzu) – who suffered only in the overabundance of affection provided to them.
After Denny sadly passed away in 2016, Kathaleen returned to the Chagrin Valley, where she was reunited with Justin’s family, and in 2020, Karah’s family as well. Kathaleen was known as “Nana Kat” to her grandchildren and she showered them with cards, gifts, and cupcakes on what seemed a weekly basis. Nana Kat also never failed to attend a soccer game, to volunteer on pickup or dropoff duty for the grandkids, or to watch the children and give their parents a night to themselves. Kathy joined the Chagrin Valley Rotary Club and did not hesitate to volunteer for any opportunity throughout the area, most notably at the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival and supporting numerous local charitable groups. In 2020-2021, Kathaleen served as President of the Rotary Club, and while her year in leadership was unexpectedly affected by the pandemic, she managed to keep the group on course and hone her Zoom skills in the process.
Kathy loved to travel. Over the years, she would visit the American West (especially Montana) many times and she also visited Alaska, Brazil, Scotland, Italy, England, and France, among other locations, with her family and dear friends. In 2019, she travelled to Ireland with Justin and Karah, where the trio had a weeklong adventure that included stumbling around in a dark, haunted castle and staying out far too late in a village pub with a falconer dressed in traditional tweed. She was a lifelong fan of reading and learning, which she passed along to her children and grandchildren. She also loved to garden and taught her daughter-in-law how to plant during a weeklong visit to Ohio in 2006, which included a memorable and hilarious drive from the garden store in a Mini Cooper jammed full with flowers and shrubs.
Kathaleen is survived by her children, Justin (Elizabeth Hijar) Herdman and Karah (John Mark) Parschauer; her stepsons Jeff (Diane) McWilliams and Brad McWilliams; her grandchildren, Lucy and Julian Herdman, John Justin, Grace, and Beatrice Parschauer, and Jalyn and Austin McWilliams; her mother, Evelyn; her brothers, Russell and Ken; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and countless friends. She is preceded in death by her father, Russell, and husband, Dennis.
