Kathleen Selz

Kathleen Selz, 78, died at home on Sept. 7, 2025, in Stillwater, Minnesota. Kathleen was born to Herman and Lillian (nee Barrett) Selz in Saint Paul, Minnesota and grew up with her eight siblings. She attended Maternity of Mary grade school and Archbishop Murray High School and graduated from Marymount College in Tarrytown, NY, in 1968.

After college, she served as a VISTA volunteer assisting tribal communities in Montana. She went on to forge an extraordinary and successful career in service to others, her country and the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. After her studies, she held positions at the Ford Foundation and Columbia University in New York City. In 1978, she relocated to Washington, D.C., to become a special assistant in the Office of Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Carter Administration. She would spend nearly 25 years in the nation’s capital. In 1981, she joined the Council on Foundations serving in various roles including vice president of Planning and Administration. She was a senior consultant at The CONSERVation Company and in 1991 became the president of the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps (NASCC), a role she held until her retirement in 2002.

During her career, Kathleen also served on numerous boards including the National Community and Service Coalition, the Advocacy Task Force for the National Youth Employment Coalition and the Student Conservation Association.

She spent the past two decades living in Minnesota near her sisters and was devoted to family, caring for those needing help and serving as the family historian and keeper of important dates and facts. She was a lifelong connector and loved to travel and visit with family members and friends.

She was a lifelong Democrat, active in Minnesota politics, volunteering for numerous state, federal, congressional and presidential campaigns. Affectionately known as GOAK (Good Old Aunt Kathie), she took great interest in and had a special fondness for her nieces and nephews and hosted many of them for summer visits in Washington, DC. She loved cats who were constant companions during her lifetime.

Independent with a sound intellect and sharp sense of humor, she was a gifted storyteller and an avid reader.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Herman and Lillian Selz, brother in-law, Arthur Speltz, sister in-law, Maria (“Kitty”) Selz, and nieces Justine Ringberg and Ann Vars.

Kathleen is survived by her sisters Sheila Speltz of New Brighton, MN; Maureen (Frank) DeRosa of Palatine, IL; Patricia Swanson of Stillwater, MN; Brigid Ognibene of Silver Spring, MD; Michaeleen (David) Bellows of Lakeville, MN; Shannon Selz (Julie Odendahl) of Mendota Heights, MN; and Mary Brigh (Gordon) Ringberg of Bayfield, WI; and brother Timothy Selz of Sugar Grove, IL; as well as 21 nieces and nephews and 38 great nieces and nephews and many other family members and friends.

Funeral services provided by Bradshaw Funeral & Cremation Services, Stillwater, MN. A memorial celebration honoring her life is being arranged, with the date to be shared soon. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the PKD Foundation at www.pkdcure.org or the Justine’s Light Fund at https://thriventcharitable.thrivent.com/giving/make-gift