Growing Up
Cathy was born in 1922 at home. As a premature baby she entered the world amidst much concern, but quickly proved her determination to live as she grew and thrived. She grew up with an older sister and two much loved pesky younger brothers. She enjoyed walking near the river and in the woods, playing in a large old barn on the property, and always never far from a book. Her parents had a small camp or cottage on a lake where she spent many happy hours, again outside in nature, swimming, or reading. Her father, who she said, could create or fix anything mechanical and had a wonderful sense of humor, passed away when she was of college age. After her father’s passing, her mother, a model of determination, took a job to support the family.
Arriving on LI
Moving from New England to Long Island, Cathy was pleasantly surprised to see that there were trees here - she was worried that it was all beach and brush! There were 4 new teachers at Southold school in 1948 - Cathy, Lloyd, Alice, and Knobby. The 4 became close friends and eventually Cathy and Lloyd married, and Alice and Knobby married. In Southold, Alice and Knobby built a summer home next door to Cathy and Lloyd, and they remained friends throughout their lives. Cathy told the story of when on an early date with Lloyd, they were at the beach and Lloyd walked into the water, dug a clam up with his toes, and then opened and ate it! Maybe a common Long Island occurrence, this was very strange to her New England background and she never did gain a taste for raw seafood.
Love of School
Cathy loved school - both as a student and as a teacher. One of her earliest memories was crying because she could not accompany her older sister to school. She often played “school” during her childhood with old books, paper, pencils... grading papers and writing lessons. She loved words and language, both English and foreign languages and studied French and German in college. She talked about her first teaching position is a small, rural school in New England where students brought their hunting rifles to school. Until her death, she corresponded with one of her first students. She taught at Southold School from 1948-1977, sharing her love of languages with a multitude of students, sometimes students of two generations from the same families. She also worked as the school librarian.
Love of Learning
Cathy was a whiz at word games. She was a scrabble master, getting the most points from the most obscure words! She enjoyed cross word puzzles and could have earned a lot of money had she ever decided to go on the Jeopardy television show. She read news magazines and National Geographic regularly and was always up to date on the world situation. Along with Jeopardy - the nightly news, 20-20 and 60 minutes were the TV shows that she watched, with a bit of Judge Judy on the side.
Travel
Cathy always enjoyed travel. In the 70’s she made it over to Europe visiting France and Germany where she could hear her languages spoken natively. After retirement, she and Lloyd purchased a Fifth Wheel and set out to tour the US and Mexico. On one trip they joined a caravan of like minded travelers and set out for Mazatlan, Mexico. They loved the experience of seeing new places and meeting people. In Mazatlan, they enjoyed walking the beaches, purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables from the local vendors, and taking in the culture. Cathy and Lloyd often visited Ann and her family in Arizona, always bringing fun to the household. Cathy celebrated her 80th birthday with Ann and Billy in Hong Kong. She would take the elevator down from the high rise apartment, walk to the local market and purchase her morning paper. She loved riding the double-decker buses and exploring the culture so different from her own. A little less than 2 years ago, Cathy and Richard joined Ann and Billy in Germany for an adventure. She toured around Germany, through castles, along rivers, and loved riding the trains - how is that for 89 years old??
Florida
Cathy and Lloyd spent many retirement winters in Fort Meyers, FL. She always enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine. In the mobile home park, they had a full life surrounded by friends and family including her brother and his wife. They had an active life including enjoyable hours playing cards, visiting, boating, beach walking, and hosting guests. It was a treat for family members to visit them there. Often Lloyd would go out fishing, dropping Cathy off on an island where she loved collecting shells along the beach. There are a couple of huge “shell lamps” in her home filled with Florida shells.
Hobbies
Cathy loved gardening and always was anxious for Spring to arrive so that she could get outdoors and work in the yard. She kept the yard in good shape, trimming bushes, raking leaves, planting flowers. There were many attempts to grow vegetables and tomatoes over the years - a challenge to find enough sun in the yard and keep the deer away! A constant source of conversation and amusement was the continual struggles to keep the acrobatic, inventive, nimble squirrels out of the bird feeders.
Her early love of books and reading continued throughout her life. She was never far away from a book. One of the local people in the community once remarked that back in the time when a person’s name was written in a library book as it was checked out - if she saw Cathy’s name in the book she figured it was worth reading. It may seem strange that a woman so gentle and quiet had a love of murder mysteries, but it’s true! She loved a good mystery or a good love story. In her last days she was learning to check out books and read them on her iPad.
Spiritual Life
The Southold Methodist church was another presence in Cathy’s life. She attended church services each week, and was active in the United Methodist Women’s group. She spent hundreds of hours volunteering her time in the church basement “Glory Shop”. As evidenced by the numerous free calendars that she received in the mail, her checkbook often opened to support organizations helping others in need all around the globe. After giving calendars to everyone in the family, the rest were finally taken to the Glory Shop for free giveaways!
Family
The prime focus of Cathy’s life was her family. She was the nurturer, comforter, and continual presence in the lives of her husband and children. Summer afternoons were for family dinners on the back patio, while Thanksgiving brought dinners around the dining room table. She packed endless lunches for the fishermen in the family, soothed sick children, and in everything she did, made a loving home for her family. She was the cheerleader and supporter for everything her children did. While not embracing, she supported her eldest son choosing to race a car at fast speeds in circles around a track, and she never complained about her daughter choosing to live in strange places all over the world. She adored each grandchild and made each one feel a special place in her heart. She attended school performances, sporting events, and watched each grandchild grow into adulthood.
Cathy was born in 1922 at home. As a premature baby she entered the world amidst much concern, but quickly proved her determination to live as she grew and thrived. She grew up with an older sister and two much loved pesky younger brothers. She enjoyed walking near the river and in the woods, playing in a large old barn on the property, and always never far from a book. Her parents had a small camp or cottage on a lake where she spent many happy hours, again outside in nature, swimming, or reading. Her father, who she said, could create or fix anything mechanical and had a wonderful sense of humor, passed away when she was of college age. After her father’s passing, her mother, a model of determination, took a job to support the family.
Arriving on LI
Moving from New England to Long Island, Cathy was pleasantly surprised to see that there were trees here - she was worried that it was all beach and brush! There were 4 new teachers at Southold school in 1948 - Cathy, Lloyd, Alice, and Knobby. The 4 became close friends and eventually Cathy and Lloyd married, and Alice and Knobby married. In Southold, Alice and Knobby built a summer home next door to Cathy and Lloyd, and they remained friends throughout their lives. Cathy told the story of when on an early date with Lloyd, they were at the beach and Lloyd walked into the water, dug a clam up with his toes, and then opened and ate it! Maybe a common Long Island occurrence, this was very strange to her New England background and she never did gain a taste for raw seafood.
Love of School
Cathy loved school - both as a student and as a teacher. One of her earliest memories was crying because she could not accompany her older sister to school. She often played “school” during her childhood with old books, paper, pencils... grading papers and writing lessons. She loved words and language, both English and foreign languages and studied French and German in college. She talked about her first teaching position is a small, rural school in New England where students brought their hunting rifles to school. Until her death, she corresponded with one of her first students. She taught at Southold School from 1948-1977, sharing her love of languages with a multitude of students, sometimes students of two generations from the same families. She also worked as the school librarian.
Love of Learning
Cathy was a whiz at word games. She was a scrabble master, getting the most points from the most obscure words! She enjoyed cross word puzzles and could have earned a lot of money had she ever decided to go on the Jeopardy television show. She read news magazines and National Geographic regularly and was always up to date on the world situation. Along with Jeopardy - the nightly news, 20-20 and 60 minutes were the TV shows that she watched, with a bit of Judge Judy on the side.
Travel
Cathy always enjoyed travel. In the 70’s she made it over to Europe visiting France and Germany where she could hear her languages spoken natively. After retirement, she and Lloyd purchased a Fifth Wheel and set out to tour the US and Mexico. On one trip they joined a caravan of like minded travelers and set out for Mazatlan, Mexico. They loved the experience of seeing new places and meeting people. In Mazatlan, they enjoyed walking the beaches, purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables from the local vendors, and taking in the culture. Cathy and Lloyd often visited Ann and her family in Arizona, always bringing fun to the household. Cathy celebrated her 80th birthday with Ann and Billy in Hong Kong. She would take the elevator down from the high rise apartment, walk to the local market and purchase her morning paper. She loved riding the double-decker buses and exploring the culture so different from her own. A little less than 2 years ago, Cathy and Richard joined Ann and Billy in Germany for an adventure. She toured around Germany, through castles, along rivers, and loved riding the trains - how is that for 89 years old??
Florida
Cathy and Lloyd spent many retirement winters in Fort Meyers, FL. She always enjoyed the warm weather and sunshine. In the mobile home park, they had a full life surrounded by friends and family including her brother and his wife. They had an active life including enjoyable hours playing cards, visiting, boating, beach walking, and hosting guests. It was a treat for family members to visit them there. Often Lloyd would go out fishing, dropping Cathy off on an island where she loved collecting shells along the beach. There are a couple of huge “shell lamps” in her home filled with Florida shells.
Hobbies
Cathy loved gardening and always was anxious for Spring to arrive so that she could get outdoors and work in the yard. She kept the yard in good shape, trimming bushes, raking leaves, planting flowers. There were many attempts to grow vegetables and tomatoes over the years - a challenge to find enough sun in the yard and keep the deer away! A constant source of conversation and amusement was the continual struggles to keep the acrobatic, inventive, nimble squirrels out of the bird feeders.
Her early love of books and reading continued throughout her life. She was never far away from a book. One of the local people in the community once remarked that back in the time when a person’s name was written in a library book as it was checked out - if she saw Cathy’s name in the book she figured it was worth reading. It may seem strange that a woman so gentle and quiet had a love of murder mysteries, but it’s true! She loved a good mystery or a good love story. In her last days she was learning to check out books and read them on her iPad.
Spiritual Life
The Southold Methodist church was another presence in Cathy’s life. She attended church services each week, and was active in the United Methodist Women’s group. She spent hundreds of hours volunteering her time in the church basement “Glory Shop”. As evidenced by the numerous free calendars that she received in the mail, her checkbook often opened to support organizations helping others in need all around the globe. After giving calendars to everyone in the family, the rest were finally taken to the Glory Shop for free giveaways!
Family
The prime focus of Cathy’s life was her family. She was the nurturer, comforter, and continual presence in the lives of her husband and children. Summer afternoons were for family dinners on the back patio, while Thanksgiving brought dinners around the dining room table. She packed endless lunches for the fishermen in the family, soothed sick children, and in everything she did, made a loving home for her family. She was the cheerleader and supporter for everything her children did. While not embracing, she supported her eldest son choosing to race a car at fast speeds in circles around a track, and she never complained about her daughter choosing to live in strange places all over the world. She adored each grandchild and made each one feel a special place in her heart. She attended school performances, sporting events, and watched each grandchild grow into adulthood.