From: Myra (John) Varty, Cathy's former neighbor on Montgommery Ave., Kingston and long time friend: I made ten pies today, but one night after working at DuPont all day ,and her at the bay. ,,,Cathy and I made 46 apple pies from scratch for the freezer ,,,she loved to have them on hand ,,,we made the pastry and peeled all those bloody apples ,,,and stacked them in her freezer ,,,what a fun and tiring time it was!!! Laughed our fool heads off doing it!!! Most pastry for pies I ever rolled out at one time!!! No one would believe us when we told them,,,they just shook their heads ,,,cute hey???

From Carol (Peter, Cathy's oldest brother). When Peter and I were in Florida for Peter's two back surgeries, Cathryn's e-mails were very supportive and I was always glad to hear from her with very positive comments. Also, during my session with skin cancer, Cathryn helped me understand my treatment plan having gone through it herself and again being very supportive. Peter and I feel very fortunate over the last two years of appointments in Kingston that Cathryn and Fred or Cathryn were always asking when we were coming to town and wanted to meet us for lunch or coffee or a trip to Costco. During these visits we had some great discussions and always anxious for this time together. I miss being able to call Cathryn as she told me what she thought and was not judgemental regarding any of our topics of discussion that we covered. Not so long ago, she asked me if I was interested in visiting some Eastern countries with her. They weren't places that I would want to travel to, but she never gave up hoping that she could do these things although she wasn't feeling well at the time. So many times, I go to bake or cook I think of Cathryn and our discussing things we did in the kitchen and recipes she shared with me and some cooking tips.

From: Jerry Ackerman, (Ellie) of Tamworth, tell the story of Cathy and Fred visiting Joyce, Sylvia's mother, (no not of Dr. Hook fame) in the Arbor Heights retirement home in Kingston. Joyce would often be sitting in a wheelchair with other residents in a sunny alcove in the hallway. Fred would ask the group if they would like to hear some music? The answer was always yes. So Fred would ask the group to hum or sing a specific tune. Once the group ‘got going’ he and Cathy would dance together up and down hallway to the music. Joyce would clap and sing along delighted. We also fondly remember, Fred, Joyce’s husband who passed away previously while at the same residence. Music was a fundamental part of Cathy's life and dancing was a passion.

From Brenda (Art) Cathy's long time friends now living in Wasaga Beach who graciously hosted Cathy and I last year. The time a group of us spent a long weekend at Thompson's cottages near Harlow in the sixties. They were very rustic to say the least. The first time Cathy saw the place she got right into cleaning the kitchen cupboards, particularly the drawers. She washed all the silverware and the container before she unpacked her own stuff. By the time she left that cabin was cleaner than it had ever been. I'm sure during your time with Cathy you've become aware of her fear of snakes and rodents.

Fred. "Yes, Brenda. It was a never ending discussion. Cathy refused to stay at my son's place in Florida because they have a large rodent eating reptile there. He offered to leave it outside, but that didn't work. It had to be out of Florida."

Again, back in the sixties, when our two daughters were four and six and had two hamsters. When Cathy and Reg came to visit it was a prerequisite that the hamsters were locked away in their cage sight unseen. On this particular day they were in their cage in the girls bedroom. Julie, our youngest, was very mischievous and decided to scare Cathy. As Cathy unsuspectingly relaxed with a beer in the living room, Julie snuck up and thrust one of the hamsters in Cathy's face. I've never seen anyone move that fast. She was outside in the blink of an eye. She finally came back when she was assured that there would be no reappearance of the hampster. In another instance, this time involving a snake, we were boating down the St. Lawrence with friends. We anchored in a lovely bay and did some swimming and sitting around on flat rocks in the water. Art and Cathy were sitting on a rock fairly close to each other. They both hate snakes. Reg and I could see a water snake swimming towards the opening between Cathy and Art and decided to let it happen. I forget which of them saw the snake first but I swear Cathy walked on water to get back to the boat. She refused to leave the boat for the rest of the day. Poor thing, but we had a good laugh at her expense.

From Patricia (Francois) of Ivy Lea. When Cathy came to one of our dinner or lunch parties, she brought me a half-apron she had sewn herself. I was very grateful, as I always wear aprons when I cook or bake and have quite an assortment of them. I did not have a half-apron, so it was special in my collection. It is perfect to use as a bib when eating pasta. Cathy had the foresight to choose a multi-coloured material for my apron which camouflages any tomato spots. Thank you to Cathy for her generous gift of a home-made half-apron.

This story is in keeping with Cathy's never ending generosity of time and purpose. There are hundreds of items that Cathy made for family and friends using her self taught skills as a superb seamstress.

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