A beautiful soul, Julie Lynn Kendall, gained angel wings on February 20th, 2023. She peacefully passed after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer surrounded and held by family. Julie’s vibrant smile and love of life lives on through her sister: Diane (Steve) Bailey of Omaha, Nebraska; brother, Ed (Diann) Kuziel of Lutz, Florida; daughters: Lesa (Kris) Newby of Kalamazoo, Michigan and Shannon (Justin) Ekkel of Grand Rapids, Michigan; 8 grandchildren, close cousins and many friends. Julie was reunited in Heaven with her parents, Ed and Mary Kuziel.
Julie’s infectious smile would light up a room and make your day brighter. To know her was to feel loved. Her thoughtful acts of kindness were unmatched. She adored golf with her friends, loved adventurous drives that involved new places to eat and shop.
She valued her breakfast dates with friends and regular dinner dates with her cousin, Janine Scott. She enjoyed traveling to see her brother and sister and was always looking for a good walking route to soak up some sun. Julie’s culinary skills shined in her kitchen as she made preparing and cooking look effortless. If you received any of her cookies, muffins, banana bread or spaghetti sauce, you were blessed. She appreciated the art of cooking, took classes and baked for everyone she met. She truly believed love was shared in something homemade.
Julie always took pride in her career as a radiologic technologist and later in radiology management. She enjoyed working in the medical field helping others when they needed it most. She continued her education to obtain a bachelor of science from Kennedy Western University, where it was applied in her medical management career.
Julie was an incredible Nana and Mother to her grandchildren and daughters. Her highlight of the weekends would be traveling and watching Nyah Newby dance on stage. The laughter heard at each hotel stay was infectious, and the memories made were priceless. She enjoyed visiting Grand Rapids where she would catch a sporting event or a dance recital when she was able. She also traveled to each of Lesa’s marathons, when she wasn’t taking chemo, and made sure she was at the end of every race on time with open arms. Julie was known by most runners, even though she never ran a race, that’s how supportive she was to everyone. No matter what she was doing, she gave it her all and poured her heart into it.
Julie will be greatly missed, however blessed to be wrapped in the arms of God. Her passion for a change in the outcome of a pancreatic cancer diagnosis was fierce. She survived 4.5 years after her diagnosis, which is nothing short of a miracle. Her persistent fight to make more memories, and her undying faith in God is what granted her the extra years to bless others with her presence.
At Julie’s request, there will be no funeral service. Instead she asked that friends and family be a positive light, nourish their faith in God, and help others in the world; in those times, she will be there.
Please consider donating to the PanCAN organization at pancan.org, where they: intently research pancreatic cancer, fund trials, labs, and projects. This is where her niece Jennifer Bailey-Lundberg, a doctor researching pancreatic cancer, got her first scholarship toward her mission to find an end to this disease.
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