DR. KRISTIE (KRISTEL) M.
PIETARILA
Dr. Kristie Pietarila, age 36, of Lee’s Summit, MO, died
from injuries related to a car accident in Independence, MO, on Tuesday, June
11, 2013, at 8:21 pm. Kristie was a loving granddaughter, daughter, sister,
aunt, & best friend. Born on
November 4, 1976 in Corpus Christi, TX, Kristie made everyone she talked to
feel like that person was the most important person in the room. She touched
the lives of everyone she came in contact with. She was a beautiful person with
a beautiful soul. She had such a radiant energy surrounding her. There wasn’t
anything she wouldn’t do to help someone else.
Kristie was a great soccer player who played soccer competitively in
high school. During her junior year of
high school, she convinced the Center School District Board of Education to
permit Center High School to have a girls’ soccer team for which she happily
played midfielder no. 12. She was on
Missouri’s Olympic Development Soccer Team. Kristie dreamed of being a member
of the US Women’s soccer team and traveling to far away spaces as a US
astronaut. After suffering several knee
injuries (that included a cartilage transplant) and a serious head injury,
Kristie was sidelined from playing soccer. Kristie was a survivor, and while
she was laid up many times and lost many college credits after her head injury,
she tried to keep a positive outlook and worked valiantly to recover. She first majored in math and then found that
engineering excited her and was a new career to pursue. She earned her BA, MS and Ph.D. from the
University of Missouri-Columbia. Kristie was a Tiger all the way! Despite her
injuries, Kristie’s love of soccer and passion for life was instilled in her
family by attending Women’s World Cup soccer games in 1999 and 2003 and by currently
attending Kansas City’s women’s soccer team, FCKC. Kristie was a passionate,
fun loving, free spirit. She enjoyed being a problem solver at ATK where she
worked for nearly 5 years. She devoted her time and energy to her family,
friends, and work. She regularly had dance parties and backyard pool parties
with her niece and nephews. Kristie was their favorite jungle gym. Kristie
“Aunt Tt” will be remembered by her niece and nephews for many wonderful
moments, especially her music, her bouncy ball, going to the movies, her luaus,
and her hugs and kisses. A visitation
will be held on Wednesday, June 26, at 1 pm at Lee’s Summit United Methodist
Church, 114 SE Douglas St., Lee’s Summit, MO followed by a Celebration of Life Service
at 2 pm. Kristie is preceded in death by her grandparents, Vernon Fricke and
Mary Louise Fricke, of Kingdom City, MO. Kristie is survived by her mother,
Kathy Pietarila, sisters, Jenny Mosakowski, 38, and Liz Pietarila, 22, brother,
Michael, 17, brother-in-law, Nick Mosakowski, 39, niece, Emma Mosakowski, 5,
nephews, Max Mosakowski, 3, and Tyler Mosakowski, 2, and best friend, Ratna
Jouzdani, and her best friend’s daughter, Chloe. In lieu of flowers, Kristie’s
family requests contributions be made to the Kristie Pietarila Trust at First
Federal Bank (1255 SE Oldham Parkway, Lee’s Summit, MO 64081) or Powell Gardens;
or alternately Kristie’s family asks that you support the FCKC women’s soccer
team by watching a game in 2013 and future seasons.
