Jeffrey Charles Kitzis Obituary

Jeffrey Charles Kitzis attended Pioneer High School in San Jose, CA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Jeffrey Charles Kitzis.

Graduation Year	Class of 1969
Date of Passing	Nov 12, 2017
About	JEFF KITZIS sadly passed away on November 12, 2017 after a valiant two-year battle with acute myeloid leukemia. A memorial service will be held for him at Oak Hill Cemetery/Home of Peace in San Jose on Friday, February 16, 2018 at 3 PM. All are invited to attend. Throughout his illness, he was upbeat, strong, stoic and uncomplaining, especially after a successful stem cell transplant in April, 2016. The cancer relapsed later that year, however, and though he remained upbeat almost to the end of his life, his illness was unrelenting with a dearth of good medical options. Jeff graduated from San Jose State with an accounting degree and Golden Gate Law School with a JD degree. While attending law school, he worked as an auditor at the CA State Tax Franchise Board, which, it turned out, eventually led to his 30-year career with Ernst & Young in New York as a State and Local Tax principal. In 1999, he married Ellis Ann Burrows, and they subsequently lived on the Upper East Side of New York, and then Brooklyn Heights, his final home. Though they did not have children, they loved their cocker spaniels, in succession Sassy, Sienna and Cleo, as family. In fact Jeff always said, and meant, that he preferred his four-legged daughters to children. Jeff was an intelligent, reasoned voice in every situation and much loved by friends and colleagues. He was constantly reading and absorbing information, alternating between stacks of printouts on current state tax law and books of all genres, from science fiction and fantasy to political and historical treatises. He loved to travel, ski and make plans for the next trip or getaway weekend. He was in love with life and because he was curious about what the future would hold for mankind, literally wanted to live forever. He was diagnosed with leukemia just five months before his scheduled and long-anticipated retirement, and planned to return to Southern California to live out his life in the sun.