Kathleen Anne (Smyth) Fielis, 74, of Little River South Carolina, went to be with the Lord on December 4, 2021. Kathleen, born on March 25, 1947 to James R. Smyth and Roberta M. Smyth in Camden, NJ, immediately brought joy and laughter into the world. Kathleen went on to graduate from Sterling High School in 1965.  After graduating from high school, Kathleen went on to pursue a degree in Special Education at Rowan University followed later by a Masters Degree from Marygrove College.  She started a long and successful career as a Special Education Teacher retiring from Ocean City Intermediate School.  She fought for her students to have the resources they needed and for them to be "mainstreamed" into classes with other students to help them grow and be all they could be in the world.   

Family came first and her children and grandchildren were her greatest love and joy.  Kathleen also loved having good times with her many friends from the schools she worked in, her communities where she lived and organizations she participated in like the Elks in Little River, SC.  Kathleen loved to have fun and enjoyed a good party where she could laugh and spend time with friends and family.  The hole left by her absence is impossible to fill.  Kathleen Fielis was predeceased by her Father James R. Smyth, her mother Roberta M. Smyth, her brother Patrick Smyth, and her late husbands Allan Baccala and Joseph Fielis.  She is survived by her sons Joseph Fielis and Michael Baccala along with his wife Christy Baccala and her three grandchildren James Baccala, Nina Baccala and Kate Baccala.  She is also survived by her brother Richard Smyth, Sister-in-law Barbara Smyth, her niece Jacqueline Smyth and her spouse Sara Solomon along with their children Nessa Solomon Smyth and Nick Solomon Smyth.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Kathleen's’s name to The Tim Tebow Foundation for Night to Shine.  Kathleen started arranging "proms" for special needs children in her classrooms back in the 1970's.  This was part of her passion to give all people in society the joys of a celebration.

Services will be announced at a later date.

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Additional thoughts from Mike Baccala (Kathleen's Son)

It is with great sadness I share the loss of my Mother, Kathleen Anne (Smyth) Fielis with those that knew and loved her. Mom was a fighter and a champion of the underdog her whole life. She faced many challenging situations but she persevered and always fought for her two sons, her family, her students and friends when they needed help. She deeply loved her two sons and grandchildren. She enjoyed spending time with them playing games, laughing at old pictures and family movies and enjoying their company in general.

As her first son, I spent the first 10 years with her as she was essentially a single Mother. My Father was in a terrible accident with the National Guard a few months before I was born. He had severe brain damage and paralysis as a result and Mom had to pick herself up and figure out how she was going to raise me and provide for the family. I can only imagine how hard those years must have been and I profoundly appreciate her strength and determination to make a life for us in difficult circumstances. She provided a home that was full of fun, joy and laughter.

After I was born she went back to Rowan University to get her degree in Special Education and Teaching. That was her career for over 35 years until she retired from the Ocean City Intermediate school. She loved her work and her students. She fought for them much like she would fight for her own two sons. I remember in the early 1970's when she put on the first of many "Proms" for her special education students. She gave them a time of recognition, joy, dancing and fun they would never experience otherwise. I look today at what Tim Tebow has done with Night to Shine and the special needs community and see how much of an innovator and caring teacher she was. I have had many people share how Mom helped them believe in themselves as students and go onto to live awesome lives. She brought heart to her job as a special education teacher just like she did with her family.

Mom loved to have fun and throw a party. I remember many parties at our home where family and friends would come for good food, good drink and plenty of joy and laughter. She enjoyed sharing her home and hospitality with others. Often some dancing might break out as she grew up in the disco era of the 1970's. Mom and her brother, Rich Smyth, would often go dancing together with friends or at our home. I remember listening to Stayin Alive, The Hustle, Disco Inferno, Night Fever and so many other songs playing on the record player or 8 track. She would try to teach me some of the moves but I did not inherit her dancing genes. Her passion to enjoy life and have a good time with family and friends was one of the things people will remember Mom for.

Mom also loved to travel and I did inherit that gene from her for sure. She would take me everywhere she went and I loved exploring all the new places. My earliest memories include a lot of time with Pop and Gram (Kathleen's Parents) in Ocean City at the beach. We loved spending time at the beach and with family. Even though traveling with me could be difficult (I threw up on my first flight to Bermuda and then proceeded to jump into the pool and almost drown), she would bring me along to experience these places and be with her as she also tried to live life to the fullest. Disney also became a favorite place for us to visit as a family. We spent dozens of holidays enjoying the sights, sounds, and experience of Disney. We could do these things because she worked hard to support us and give us these opportunities.

Mom also loved her family. The Smyth family gatherings were frequent and they were always filled with stories, laughter and memories. We would spend time at Pop and Gram's home in Somerdale, NJ and then in Ocean City, NJ many times a week. Often Rich and Pat, Mom's brothers, were also there and we would spend time together playing cards, going to the beach, sharing a meal, telling stories and plenty of laughter. We would often travel together and enjoy time in Florida when Pop and Gram would go there for a short season in the winter. Family was a great love of Mom's and she especially missed her father.

As I write this I am filled with many emotions. I have been blessed to call her Mom and have her in my life. I believe the Lord gave me and my family a special time with Mom four weeks ago much like he did with Pop before he passed away in in 1998. My family and I had a chance to spend some precious last moments with them both before they left this world. I know Mom believed that she would see her father again in heaven. I know she believed in God. While I am heartbroken at the loss of her here I have a certain hope that I will embrace her again and spend eternity with her and the Lord. When I was not a believer, I was asked to do the reading for Pop's funeral and it was Revelation 21. I will never forget how heartbroken I was then and am now with Mom. I do recall the words I will share that struck me from that passage here in hopes that it would give you peace that there is something greater ahead for Mom and those that believe. The words were "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." I have plenty of tears, mourning and pain with the loss on this side of heaven, but I have hope with these words and my faith.

Mom's life made a difference to her family, students and friends and I hope everyone will remember the goodness she brought to us all in her life. She loved her family, she loved to have fun with friends, she was a champion of the underdog and fought for all of us that were a part of her life. Please share your stories about Mom and the good memories so that we can memorialize her together and celebrate her life.

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