Marcia C. Kasza

Marcia C. Kasza, BN, MSN, NP
January 23, 1943 - May 29, 2022

Marcia was called home to God on Sunday, May 29, 2022. She is reunited with her parents, Bernadette Foote (Tyckowski) and Joseph Kasza, and her brother James Kasza. She is survived by her children, Claire (Brian) Peters, Kyle (Darcy Perona) Matusinec, and Colette (Thomas) Walsh. Her greatest joy were her grandchildren, Samantha, Alexandra, Marina, Rianna, Kayla, Michael, and Elena, and her four great-grandchildren, Sophia, Gwendolyn, Juniper, and William. She adored babies and could calm any crying baby; for that, she earned the family nick-name the "baby whisperer." She is further survived by an uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, great-nieces, and treasured friends.

Marcia grew up in Milwaukee, but moved to Oxford, WI as an adolescent where her parents ran a grocery store. She graduated from Marquette in 1967, with a Bachelors in Nursing, obtained her Masters in Nursing in 1973, while parenting two children, and after thirty-years she returned to school to obtain her Nurse Practitioner degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Marcia worked as a home healthcare nurse while her children were young, transitioning to Professor of Nursing at UWM and Alverno College, and finally as a Drug and Alcohol Psych Nurse/NP at Zablocki VA from where she retired in the early 2000's.

Marcia thoroughly enjoyed travel and enjoyed her retirement by taking multiple trips to Israel with various religious and service organizations. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, she didn't slow down. After recovery, she headed out for an African Safari taking a hot air balloon ride over the Serengetti, a tour of Southeast Asia to see the temples at Ankor Wat, and to Poland and Russia fulfilling a life long dream to see the art at the Hermitage. In 2018, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. During her remission in 2019, she solo traveled to Alaska, rode roller coasters in Florida with her granddaughter, and tried snorkeling for the first time. Marcia was set to go on another grand adventure to Australia and New Zealand in 2020, but the world and her cancer had other plans.

She enjoyed spending time with friends and kept in regular contact with her best friend, Joyce, with whom she has been friends since college for 60 years. Marcia enjoyed swimming and was an avid mahjong player. She made a good friend, Rita, with whom she played and laughed throughout the pandemic. Her friendships with these women and many others sustained her and brought laughter to her life throughout its ups and downs.

When her cancer came back in 2020, Marcia fought hard to stay with her family. She endured three weeks of chemo every month and in the end her cancer markers were stable. Even though the treatment took a toll on her body and her heart, she loved being able to watch her family grow and flourish. We are so grateful to her for giving us the gift of extra time; we wish it was more.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, June 4, 2022 from 2:30 PM until the 4:30 PM funeral service at Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral Home, 1110 S. Grand Avenue, Waukesha, WI 53186. Private burial.

The family extends their gratitude to all the dedicated nursing staff and Dr. Raftery at UW Heath Cancer Center for their extraordinary care of our mother. We request that in memory of Marcia donations can be directed to charities of your choice for cancer research or woman's issues/support.