Kathleen A. Maidlow (1940-2017)

10/7/2017
BY MARK ZABORNEY
BLADE STAFF WRITER

Kathleen A. Maidlow, a public school speech therapist and special education teacher who dedicated volunteer hours to helping children, died Wednesday at ProMedica Ebeid Hospice Residence, Sylvania. She was 77.

Kathleen
Kathleen "Kathy" Maidlow

She had a stroke, her son Mark said.

Mrs. Maidlow retired in 1998 from the Sylvania schools, where she’d worked for much of her 33-year career. Based at Stranahan Elementary School, she was a speech and hearing pathologist. She also taught special needs students.

“She loved helping them out. She was extremely patient,” her son said. “She had a really strong Catholic faith. That was a big part of her life, and the service side of that was important to her.”

She was warm, and she cared, said Betty Pakosz, also a retired Sylvania schools speech pathologist. 

“Kathy was the perfect person for the job,” said Mrs. Pakosz, a friend for 30 years. “She expected things, but was more willing to take a student where they were.”

Mrs. Maidlow volunteered for the Christ Child Society of Toledo for more than 20 years and tutored children in or supervised art projects. She was active in her parish, St. Joseph, Sylvania, where she was a longtime member.

“She was an ardent supporter of many charities,” her son said.

She had a gentle way of enlisting others to help. A Meals on Wheels volunteer, Mrs. Maidlow might ask a friend to ride along — and then to lend a hand in delivering the meals, Mrs. Pakosz said. As former co-workers planned get-togethers, she thought of others to invite and encouraged her colleagues to bring a guest.

“There was a kindness about her, an inclusiveness,” Mrs. Pakosz said.

A social event with friends old and new at, say, Ventura’s Mexican Restaurant, was sure to include a margarita.

“She was constantly meeting new people and engaging them in conversation,” her son said. “She made everyone feel at ease.”

She was born May 1, 1940, in Lima, Ohio, to Mary and Bernard Myers. She knew as a Lima High School student that she wanted to work in speech and hearing therapy. She received a bachelor of science degree in the field from Bowling Green State University. She’d been a lifeguard in high school and, at BGSU, became president of the Swan Club, the synchronized swimming group on campus.  

She started her education career in the Dayton area. She worked for several years with the Lucas County Board of Education after her husband got a job in the Toledo area.

Her husband of 37 years, James Maidlow, died Nov. 24, 2003.

Surviving are her sons Michael, Mark, and Daniel, and six grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 5-8 p.m. Sunday at Reeb Funeral Home, Sylvania. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Joseph Church, Sylvania.

The family suggests tributes to Christ Child Society of Toledo, christchildsocietytoledo.org/donate.

Contact Mark Zaborney at mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.