Kathleen B. Pavlik was born on June 28th, 1957 to Jim Bannon (deceased) and Mary-Ruth Carlis Bannon in the Juniata neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia. She was joined by siblings Patty McArdle (Ray), Jim Bannon (Cindy), Claire Ercolono (Mario), Sue Bannon (Ed), and Nancy Poskus (Jim). She graduated from St. Basil Academy in 1975. She returned to education later in her life, earning her B.A. from Immaculata College in 2005, magna cum laude. She impressively obtained this degree while also working full time and raising two children.
In 1983, she met husband John Pavlik in a chance encounter at a local bar through mutual friends, and they began dating shortly thereafter. John's career brought them to New England, where they lived on the North Shore of Boston and in New Hampshire. They decided to marry in 1986, in a small ceremony in NH. Later that year, they welcomed daughter Leah, and decided to move back to Pennsylvania to be closer to family in 1989. They purchased a house on Peck Road in Downingtown, in which the family grew up and still resides. They welcomed son Tim in 1991. The family was completed with a constant feline presence in the house, which brought her much joy.
Kathy, as she went by, would most want to be known for her devotion to her children and husband. She regularly said that being a mother was the joy of her life, and her two children will be forever grateful for her unconditional love and unwavering support. Kathy was also an avid amateur painter, and regularly spent afternoons in her sunny office, putting still life and landscapes to paper with watercolor paints. Her cooking skills were unparalleled, and she insisted on the family tradition of eating dinner around the table every night, without fail. Her cooking skills led her to start for a time a small business as a personal meal prep chef in the late 90's (far ahead of her time) which was eventually featured on the front page of the food section of the Daily Local. Her and her husband's passion for music was evident, and they passed on their rock-n-roll leanings to their children. She enjoyed long distance bike riding, and up until her illness could be found most weekends biking along the river trails in Chester County and beyond. Her favorite place in the world was the beach, either at family's small home outside Sea Isle City, NJ, or snorkeling and boating on any of the several tropical vacations she and the family were lucky enough to take.
The family will be forever grateful to her for her stewardship of not only special occasions such as these vacations, but also care in planning and maintaining the day-to-day life at home - a place she made a joy to live in. Though her last years were marred by illness that she fought valiantly against up until her final days, we will forever remember her as our loving mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend. We are relieved she is finally at peace, and celebrate the life she lived with our community.
A celebration of life for Kathy will be held Saturday, January 19 at the James J. Terry Funeral Home 736 E. Lancaster Ave. Downingtown PA 19335 starting at 2:00 pm and calling hours prior 12:30 - 1:45 pm.
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