Kathleen Baugh Gleason

Kathleen Baugh Gleason, who at 27 survived a vicious bout of polio and went on to have a full and vibrant life, died in the early spring of 2020, at the age of 92, just as the Covid pandemic set in.

Her family held off on a requiem Mass until April 30th, when they gathered to mark a life well lived.

In 1954, when Kathleen took ill with polio, the family thought her funeral might be imminent. The mother of children ages 4, 3, and 2, she lay at Parkland Hospital for weeks, the polio virus boiling through her body.

She received the last rites of the Catholic Church. But then, however, just as suddenly as the virus had appeared, it stopped just short of her lungs; doctors didn’t know why.

Six months and many hours of therapy later, Kathleen went home. She and her husband Bob subsequently had two more children and were married 63 years, until Bob’s death in 2012.

They showered their children (5), grandchildren (8) and great-grandchildren (12) with great love, traveled with a close circle of Ennis friends, and shared many good meals with friends at their table. Later, Kathleen enjoyed rich years with good friends (and good bridge) at Presbyterian Village North. She loved baseball, including trips to Rangers games. She also loved margaritas as well as vanilla milkshakes with shots of chocolate.

Then, when cancer returned after a hiatus, Kathleen dealt with it heroically but also made clear that she was ready for eternal life.

Kathleen and Bob’s survivors include Cathy O’Donnell and her husband Matt; Dan and his wife Karen; Pat, whose late wife was Laurel; and Margaret Saldana and her husband Abel. Bob and Kathleen’s daughter Alice Marie died in 1997; her husband was Mike Odom.

Kathleen asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be directed to the Sisters of Notre Dame Missions, 13000 Auburn Road, Chardon, Ohio, 44024, www.newsite.sndchardon.org.