Julie K. Rybczynski, who was coordinator of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore's church leadership institute and whose battle against cancer inspired family and friends, died Saturday of acute myeloid leukemia at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The Mayfield resident was 32.
Julie Kline was born in Baltimore and spent her early years in Hamilton. She later moved to Jarrettsville with her family and graduated from North Harford High School in 1995.
Mrs. Rybczynski earned a bachelor's degree in 1999 in English with a drama minor from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland, where she had been a Marion I. and Henry J. Knott Scholar.
"I knew her well when she was here. She was one of those student leaders I run into frequently who was open and had lots of interests," said Mary Pat Seurkamp, president of the College of Notre Dame.
"Julie was a remarkable woman — smart, positive and a very committed individual. She had high energy and was a very engaging student leader," Dr. Seurkamp recalled.
In 2006, she earned a master's degree in theology from St. Mary's Seminary & University and Ecumenical Institute of Theology.
From 1999 to 2000, Mrs. Rybczynski worked at the College of Notre Dame as a capital fundraising campaign assistant, and then taught eighth-graders for a year at St. Joseph Parochial School in Fullerton.
Mrs. Rybczynski was an administrative assistant in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore's division of ministry formation and development from 2001 to 2003, when she left to become a pastoral associate at St. Clare Roman Catholic Church in Essex.
Since 2008, Mrs. Rybczynski had been coordinator of the church leadership institute for the archdiocese at the Catholic Center in downtown Baltimore.
"Julie was a woman of the gospel and deeply dedicated to the church, young women and faith-filled education," said Ruth Puls, director of Ministry Formation and Development.
"She brought great joy to the office, and when people talk about her, they talk about her sense of hope, which was contagious. She also had a great sense of humor that was always gentle," Ms. Puls said.
"She was multifaceted. One minute she'd be talking about her favorite theologian and the next about a recipe for roast lamb," Ms. Puls said with a laugh.
"She was devoted … to the Catholic Church," said Mary Beth Lennon, a longtime friend who is director of communications at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Highlandtown.
"She was a very welcoming Catholic and brought a lot to her work because she lived her faith. She was always so good to people," Ms. Lennon said.
In October 2008, Mrs. Rybczynski was diagnosed with the disease that eventually claimed her life.
She received a bone marrow transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital in January 2009, which was followed by intensive chemotherapy treatments.
"Julie had incredible faith and courage. She had the strongest conviction that she was going to recover," said Ms. Lennon.
"She fought very hard because she wanted to be present for her girls and husband. She was the epitome of the devoted wife," Ms. Lennon said.
Last autumn, Mrs. Rybczynski was too ill to return to Notre Dame when the college's alumni association presented her its Regina Russo Hammel '41 Outstanding Recent Graduate Award.
College classmates and faculty rallied around Mrs. Rybczynski, joined by others across the archdiocese, and contributed to a fund that helped defray medical costs.
Last December, communicants of St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church, her home parish, sponsored a sold-out benefit dinner for the family.
Mrs. Rybczynski was confined to Hopkins from July 2009 to early January of this year, when she was sent to Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center & Hospital for rehabilitation in Mount Washington.
She was sent home May 4 from Levindale and returned to Hopkins Hospital by mid-May.
"She only had two weeks at home and then returned to Hopkins," Ms. Lennon said. "She never complained. She always wanted to hear what was happening outside of the hospital and news of the world."
Mrs. Rybczynski maintained a deep and abiding interests in politics, the arts and particularly the theater.
"She was so intelligent and always lit up a room," Ms. Lennon said.
Mrs. Rybczynski met her future husband at St. Casimir Roman Catholic Church in Canton, where she was a member of the choir with his brother.
"We met the old-fashioned way — in church," said her husband, David C. Rybczynski, a professional saxophonist who also teaches music at Howard Community College.
They married in 2002.
Mrs. Rybczynski was an accomplished needleworker and cook. She was an avid reader, liked taking long walks around Lake Montebello and enjoyed attending the theater and singing.
"For the last year, it's been a battle for Julie," said Dr. Seurkamp. "But it was her faith and commitment to that faith that carried her through."
A Mass of Christian burial will be offered for Mrs. Rybczynski at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church, Harford Road and Pelham Avenue.
In addition to her husband, she is survived by two daughters, Eleanore R. Rybczynski, 5, and Cecilia M. Rybczynski, 3; her mother, Janet Kline of Abingdon; two sisters, Amy McCourt of Forest Hill and Tracy Kline of Abingdon; paternal grandmother Polly Kline of Bradenton, Fla.; and maternal grandparents Bernard and Marian Steinbach of Marlton, N.J.