Aileen Kunitz Obituary

Aileen A. Kunitz, age 82, of Hale, passed away on Oct. 16, 2025.
Aileen is survived by daughter, Ann Kingman (Eric) of Attleboro, Mass.; son, Christopher Kunitz (Kathleen) of Leesburg, Va.; and grandchildren, Nora Kingman, Ellen Kingman, Ryan Kunitz, and William Kunitz.
Aileen is also survived by her sister, Karen Pigott (Mike) of The Villages, Fla.; and was predeceased by her sister, Jeanne Crocker; and parents, George and Elsie Pitcher.
Aileen grew up in Lincoln Park and graduated from Holy Redeemer High School in 1960. After leaving the Detroit area in 1968, she lived in St. Louis, Mo.; Croton-on-Hudson and Chester, N.Y.; and Ashburn, Va., before retiring to Hale in 2017 where she spent her final days enjoying the sunrises on Little Long Lake.
The vast majority of Aileen's career focused on managing clinical research studies for new and novel treatments for depression, anxiety, and degenerative cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's Disease. Aileen retired from New York University's Langone School of Medicine in 2016 as a member of the Institutional Review Board, where she provided oversight on NYU's clinical research programs.
Although Aileen was an accomplished professional, her greatest joy was spending time with her grandchildren, whether it was traveling with them, watching their sports, musical and theater performances, or just keeping up with them through text and social media. Aileen was an avid member of Sunrise Side Friend Connect and enjoyed sharing meals and weekly outings with the group in the Tawas area.
She was also passionate about giving back to the community, dedicating her time and resources on charities that were important to her, particularly those assisting women in need of support or helping disenfranchised families at Christmas.
A celebration of life will be held at The Buckhorn Inn in Tawas City on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m.