Kathleen Nancy Carlton

Kathleen Nancy (Kirkland) Carlton, a cherished wife, mother and grandmother who loved reading, traveling and spending as much time as possible with her family, died at home June 23, less than two months shy of her 50th wedding anniversary. She was 71. Kathy was born June 30, 1950, in Buffalo, N.Y., the second daughter of Helen (Bilger) and Donald Kirkland and the younger sister of Sharon (Kirkland) Casey. The family moved to Syracuse when Kathy was a child, and she would live there for most of the next 30 years, except for four years attending the State University of New York at Buffalo. It was at SUNY-Buffalo where she met Wayne Carlton, a long-haired, mustachioed hippie from Brooklyn who saw her across a dining hall and started finding excuses to sit at her table. They soon became a couple and would remain so for the next 50-plus years, moving from Camillus, N.Y., to Baldwinsville, N.Y., to Poland, Ohio, to Concord, Ohio, to Marco Island, Florida. Kathy and Wayne’s marriage was full of love and respect, but also was a true partnership in raising children, juggling full-time careers and managing their home. Their secret was simple: They loved each other but also genuinely liked each other, were openly affectionate and wanted to spend all their time in each other’s company. Even in Kathy’s final weeks, weakened by cancer, she would express amazement at what a good man she married, while Wayne would sit across the room asking his children how he could have been so lucky for her to have chosen him. When their three children would ask her who her favorite was, she would look them square in the eye and say “I love your father the best,” and it was the truth. At the same time, she was an incredible mother whose love was ever present and whose support was unconditional. There was no doubt she loved her children, because she told them so all the time. There was little left unsaid in the Carlton home. She also adored her grandchildren, and the feeling was mutual. In the last months of Kathy’s life, as speech became difficult and her pain increased, her face would still light with joy at the sight of her grandchildren running around underfoot. Her work ethic, values and terrific sense of humor set strong examples. So did her professionalism and the pride she took in her job. She worked approximately 35 years for US Airways, first on the reservations desk and later as a trainer in human resources before finishing her career in corporate sales. The job’s greatest perk: free flights for her and her family, allowing her and Wayne to take their children all over the United States and to Europe. Kathy, an English major, was an avid reader who corrected her children’s grammar, refused to censor their book choices and loved crossword and Sudoku puzzles. She was a great listener who loved to gossip, rejoiced in her children’s successes and held humorous, years-long grudges on their behalf. Cross one of Kathy Carlton’s kids at your peril; she’d recall the specific slight decades later. She was also brave and compassionate. She once saw a barefoot young mom walking on the side of the road, carrying an infant and looking fearfully over her shoulder. Kathy pulled over, offered her a ride and drove her several miles to her destination. Other times, she’d tear up at the sight of a mentally ill man staggering on a city street. “That’s someone’s son,” she’d say. Kathy had her vices, although they were all benign. She enjoyed the slot machines in Las Vegas, watched trashy reality TV with her daughter and displayed consistently poor taste in family room furniture. Her purchases included a crescent-shaped couch that was impossible to lie down on, and armless easy chairs that her children would deliberately fall out of to emphasize their lack of utility. She routinely tortured her husband with paint and carpet samples, insisting he provide his opinions and then completely ignoring them. She liked to read menus out loud to exasperated family members. She loved shopping in all its forms—window, online and in-store—and had an unerring radar for finding arts and crafts fairs. She had an encyclopedic knowledge of local real estate, reciting who had painted their houses, added new porches or changed their landscaping. She enjoyed bird-watching, and a wild turkey or deer traipsing through her backyard would make her day. She loved to bake banana chocolate chip bars, a family dessert that tastes like childhood memories for all three of her children. Kathy is survived by her beloved husband, Wayne, and their three children: daughter Erin Carlton and her husband, Chris Eagle, of Concord, Ohio; son Jeff Carlton and his wife, Catherine Carlton, of Arlington, Texas; and son Matt Carlton of Concord, Ohio. Kathy has six grandchildren: Scott, Jeffrey and Jennifer Kathleen Carlton of Arlington, Texas; Avery and Liam Eagle of Concord, Ohio; and Madelyn Eagle of Newark, Ohio. She was preceded in death by her parents, Helen and Donald Kirkland, and her sister, Sharon Casey. The family will receive visitors from 3-5 p.m., Saturday, August 6, 2022, at Brunner Sanden Deitrick Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 8466 Mentor Ave., Mentor, OH 44060. A funeral service will begin at 5 p.m. at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Kathy’s name to Shriners Hospital for Children or the charity of your choice. Or consider baking a batch of banana chocolate chip bars. She’d want us to share the recipe. Please offer condolences at www.brunners.com.

Kathleen Nancy Carlton

June 30, 1950 - June 23, 2022