Kathy Ann Haller

Kathy Ann Haller, 74, passed away peacefully Saturday, December 30, 2023, while in residence at Serenades by Sonata memory care facility in Longwood, Florida.

She was born on January 22, 1949, at Van Wert County Hospital, the second daughter to Eugene and Berta Haller. Kathy was the younger of two daughters.

Having grown up in Van Wert, Kathy graduated from Van Wert High School in 1967. As a child, Kathy developed a keen sense of artistry and enjoyed many arts and crafts, including drawing, basket weaving, and sewing. Her sister Susan was a lifelong inspiration, partner, and mentor in Kathy’s artistic endeavors. Later in life, Kathy became a prolific maker of quilts. Kathy made it clear to her children Andrea and Marcus that she hoped the dozens of handmade quilts that she crafted and passed on to them would blanket her grandchildren in love and warmth throughout their lives.

In 1984, Kathy settled with her husband Michael and their children in central Florida, where she lived for the remainder of her life. Her husband and children knew Kathy to be a dedicated manager of her family’s home, bills, and day-to-day life. Kathy made her children feel they were always well loved and cared for. Her children recount fond memories of holiday baking and decorating. However, these activities extended year-round as Kathy seemed to be in a constant state of preparation for the next important milestone in her husband’s and children’s lives.

Although Kathy was well known for her unwavering commitment to her family and home, she also juggled a full-time career as a highly skilled medical records technician and risk management consultant. Kathy retired in 2014 after more than four decades of work. Her retirement allowed Kathy to finally focus entirely on her home, her family, and her pets. Other than her husband, children, sister, and grandchildren, her pets were perhaps Kathy’s greatest love.

Dedication, hard work, perseverance, optimism, and an irrepressible commitment to her family defined Kathy’s life. Like so many others, progressive dementia robbed Kathy of her personality and dignity. Still, her family is buoyed that she never lost her ability to recognize the people to whom she gave so much energy, life, and love.

Kathy is survived by her loving husband, Michael Baltzell; her children, Andrea Baez and Marcus Baltzell; her grandchildren, Jeffrey Baez, Lindsay Baltzell, Simon Baltzell, and her sister, Susan Haller.

In lieu of flowers, preferred memorials: Dementia Society of America or the Humane Society of America.