Mathilda "Tilda" Munroe Klaus

Mathilda "Tilda" Mae Sample Munroe Klaus

Age 81, of Longwood at Oakmont, formerly of Fox Chapel. Beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend, passed away on Sunday, November 12, 2017, surrounded by her family and dog Jaeger.  A life dedicated to family, community and friends was made all the more full and happy by long morning walks in the woods with her dogs, afternoons in the sun at the Sample Boat House eating ice cream, slow evening cruises on Chautauqua Lake and night times spent laughing by roaring fires with those she loved most.  The daughter of Paul and Helen (Heinz) Sample, Mathilda Mae and her twin sister, Rebecca Ann (Habenicht) were born on May 2, 1936 in Pittsburgh, PA. After a wonderful childhood growing up in McKeesport, PA with her twin and older sisters, Miriam (Reading Miller) and Dorothy (Hill), Tilda and Rebecca attended The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA, and Mt. Holyoke College. Tilda received her BA in Physiology/Psychology, adored singing and traveling in the V-8's and went on to Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, earning a certificate in Physical Therapy. Mathilda and Rebecca were very close all of their lives sharing a multitude of love from the waterskiing days of the Til-Bec to having boys born on the same day a few minutes apart. Directly out of college, Tilda served as a Physical Therapist at St. Francis Hospital working in rehabilitation primarily with quadriplegics, paraplegics, stroke patients and amputees. Always working to improve the lives of others in her community, Tilda was an original founder of the Vintage Senior Citizen Center, an innovative program that raised awareness of the multiple needs of area seniors, with a mission to improve the quality of their lives. Vintage acted as a catalyst in raising community consciousness among the elderly and among agencies attempting to meet the needs of this age group.  As part of the Center’s mission, Tilda helped create the “Vintage Years,” a weekly radio program broadcast on KDKA, the first public radio program of its kind and to this day serves as a model all over the country. For her work with Vintage, Mt. Holyoke College honored Tilda as part of their Woman of the Year Awards. Tilda was an active member of the Garden Club of Allegheny County, which honored her with multiple awards for her grant work and dedication to the organization’s mission. Her work as an Elder and Stephen Minister at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church was of the utmost importance to her throughout her life.  On September 17, 1960, Tilda married Robert Lee Munroe, after she graduated from Mt. Holyoke and he from Amherst College, they both adored Chautauqua, and had three amazing kids (and who knows where they stashed Sabrina?) Robert passed away on February 16, 1979. In addition to her sisters and brothers-in-law, Tilda is survived by her sons Robert (Jenny), of Severna Park, Maryland and Richard Munroe (Cooper), of Pittsburgh, PA and daughter Wendy Munroe (Andrew Stout), of Seattle, WA; her grandchildren, who called her Ama and for whom she set an example of what’s best in the world (and also made the best Chicken Divan and Grasshopper Pie on the planet), Jack, Clyde, Devin, Willis, Ian, Grady and Finn Munroe and Clare and Miles Stout; her beloved dog Jaeger; as well as numerous nieces and nephews, cousins and dear friends.  Family and friends will be received at the Fox Chapel Golf Club on Saturday, November 25, 2017 from 2 pm – 4:30 pm to remember and celebrate the loving life Tilda led. There will be a memorial service and private burial in Chautauqua, NY in the summer of 2018. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Chautauqua Foundation, PO Box 28, Chautauqua, NY 14722, the Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church, 384 Fox Chapel Road, Pittsburgh PA 15238 or the Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011Washington, D.C. 20090-6011. 

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