Obituary of Kathleen F. Monchek
Kathleen Forsythe Monchek, 83, of Piscataway, formerly of Union Township, passed away at home on April 10, 2021.
Kathleen was born on December 29, 1937, and graduated from Mount Saint Mary’s Academy in 1955. She attended Newark State Teachers College (now Kean University) and graduated in 1959 with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. In 1974 she earned a Master’s Degree from Kean as a Reading Specialist. Her career of 30 years included teaching at Lord Stirling Elementary School in New Brunswick and at Holmes Marshall, Randolphville, and Martin Luther King elementary schools in Piscataway. She loved teaching children to read, and all of her reading students were special to her. She never forgot their names, and every year she would look over the high school graduation lists to find the former students she had helped along the way.
Kathleen was such an avid reader that she would often stay awake all night to finish a book. Almost every flat surface in her home had a book on it, and she and her husband Thomas bought bookcases until they ran out of space for them. Thomas remembers that it pained her to see books leave the house when she donated some of them to the library. She also fondly recalled her childhood love of ballet and tap dancing. As an adult, she would sometimes break into a little soft shoe on the kitchen floor just to show her family that she still “had it.”
When their children were young, Kathleen and Thomas would spend the winter months planning summer vacations that included both local camping trips and cross-country jaunts to visit national parks. Kathleen’s all-time favorites were Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon. She loved day trips to the Jersey Shore, always with a book in hand, but in later years, she also enjoyed relaxing on the beach near the family condo in Ocean City, Maryland.
Kathleen was predeceased by her mother Alice Forsythe, her father Charles Forsythe, and her brothers Thomas and James Forsythe. She is survived by her devoted husband of nearly 62 years, Thomas A. Monchek; sons, Thomas C. Monchek and Daniel Monchek , Daniel’s wife Kimberly; daughter, Eileen Kinney and Eileen’s husband Michael. She is also survived by her sister, Alice Vacula and brother, Charles Forsythe.
Kathleen loved her grandchildren; Michael Kinney and his wife Karen, Scott Kinney, Melanie Kinney, Conor Monchek, and Daniel Monchek. Her cousins, nephews, nieces, grand-nephews, and grand-nieces also had a very special place in her life and heart.
Kathleen was a communicant at Saint Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in New Brunswick. A private mass and private interment will take place under the care of Piscataway Funeral Home, 18 Stelton Road, Piscataway, NJ, with a memorial mass at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the Monchek family asks that those wishing to honor Kathleen’s memory donate in her name to the Kean Fund for Excellence, which provides scholarships for students at Kean University. Donations may be made by mail to the Kean University Foundation, Inc., 1000 Morris Ave., Union, NJ 07083; by phone at (908) 316-8920; or online at https://www.keanfoundation.org/giving.
