Mother's nurse at Bortz called at 10:30 p.m. last night to report that Mother had passed away peacefully. We had been with her all afternoon, and then I called to check on her at 9:30 p.m. and at that time the report was that she was breathing shallowly.
This is the obituary that will appear in the Record-Eagle:
Marian Geib Kanitz passed away on February 17 at Bortz Health Care at the age of 98. She lived to an advanced age with grace, dignity, intelligence and independence.
She was born September 8, 1908 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the daughter of Fred Peter and Mary Blanche Rice Geib. Marian graduated from Grand Rapids South High School in 1926 and the University of Michigan in 1930. She was recently honored for the 75th anniversary of her membership in Alpha Xi Delta sorority. For one year after graduation she taught physical education in Grand Rapids.
On June 27, 1931 she married Tharel T. (Dutch) Kanitz, and they were wed for 68 years when he passed away in 1999. Dutch and Marian lived in Mt. Vernon, Iowa and Big Rapids, Michigan before moving to Traverse City in 1941.
In the 1940s and 1950s, she was an active volunteer for the American Red Cross. She also administered Civil Service tests, and substituted in the First Congregational Church office. Marian was a salesclerk for over 25 years at the J.W. Milliken department store in downtown Traverse City until her retirement in 1970.
For four decades, she and Dutch went to University of Michigan home football games in Ann Arbor, and she maintained her interest in sports into her nineties. She was a member of the First Congregational Church, Munson Medical Center Auxiliary, the Ahgosa Dance Club, and many bridge clubs. After retirement, she became an active volunteer in the First Congregational Church Thrift Shop, and the Munson Medical Center Gift Shop. She enjoyed walking to her volunteer positions from her home in the Central neighborhood, where she lived in the same house for 53 years.
Marian was preceded in death by her parents, her husband Tharel (Dutch) Kanitz, three siblings in infancy, and two sisters, Katherine Geib Block and Dorothy Geib Marvin.
She is survived by her brother Frederick (Ruth) Geib of Traverse City, and sister Eleanor Geib Ross of San Diego, her son James (Emilie) Kanitz of Saginaw, her daughter Nancy (Richard) Steiger of Traverse City, five grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank the staff at both Concord Place and Bortz Health Care for their compassionate and thoughtful care of Mother over the past two years.
Marian has requested that no memorial services be held. Cremation has taken place, and interment will be in Oakwood Cemetery with graveside services at a later date. Memorial donations may be directed to the First Congregational Church, 6105 Center Road, Traverse City.
