Dr. Lois Kathryn Kitze Smithies

MADISON

Dr. Lois Kathryn Kitze Smithies died on May 18, 2010 at the age of 86 after a brief hospitalization.  She was born July 30, 1923 the daughter of Herman and Mary Ann (Kornoski) Kitze in Owen, Wisconsin.  She graduated from Owen High School and then from the University of Wisconsin at Madison earning a PhD in Microbiology in 1952.  She was named Director of Virology at the State Laboratory of Hygiene and developed the Diagnostic Laboratory of Virology and conducted research on the epidemiology of Q fever.   After her marriage to Dr. Oliver Smithies in 1958 and a brief sojourn in Toronto, Ontario, she and Oliver returned to Madison.  She was named Director of Virology at the State Animal Health Laboratory (now Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in the Department of Veterinary Sciences).  After her retirement in 1984, she enjoyed traveling the world and pursuing her interests in wild life and prairie habitats.  She was instrumental in founding the Lapinski-Kitze prairie with the Madison Audubon Society at Goose Pond.   

She is survived by Elsie Lapinski, her best friend of 60 years, of Madison; her former husband, Nobel Laureate Oliver Smithies of North Carolina; her sister Marjorie Kitze Armbrust of Medford, Wisconsin; many beloved nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews; her godson Avery Norback of Chicago; her beloved Abyssinian cat, Thalia; and many close friends.  

She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Edward, Theodore, Clarence, Fred, and William; and sister, Elaine Kitze Piltz.  

A celebration of her life will be held at Cress Funeral Home, 6021 University Avenue Tuesday May 25, 2010.  Friends and relatives are invited to gather Tuesday from 3 until 5pm with a celebration program beginning at 5pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Madison Audubon Society for the Lapinski-Kitze Prairie Restoration.  

Cress Funeral and Cremation Service

6021 University Avenue

608-238-8406