Memories of Cathy

 Email from Mary Farley - September 24, 2022

Cathy died 22 years ago today (September 24, 2022).  I am remembering her laugh and the way her eyes sparkled when she was happy.  Cathy was my movie censor,  She recommended movies that she knew I would like: Happy endings, good times with friends and family, pretty places to visit.  

She held my hand when we teared up watching The Rose. We cuddled watching ET and she got tired of me saying "See you later navigator".  

She loved her dogs and they loved her.  Kay hid a black mute puppy upstairs in the north bedroom (stains from accidents are still visible on the floor),  She put a red bow around the puppy's neck and carried it downstairs as the last present on Christmas morning.  Cathy opened the box and Sammy jumped out and started licking Cathy's face.  They were inseparable for many years.

I will never be as brave as Cathy.  I hope I am as loyal.  I wish I could give her one more hug today.

Cats on the Fourth of July

Email from Mary Farley

November 25, 2021

I forgot to include a favorite scene of mine.  One of our cats, really Kay's cat, had kittens and mother had to give them away.  She made nurses outfits for Kay and Jean and put the kittens into the girl's baby buggies for the 4 of July parade. Kay and Jean were adorable and they had no trouble giving the kittens away to parade spectators.

Another creative costume by Marjorie was making Kay and Jean outfits out of 25-pound sacks of C & H sugar.  She used the top of the sack to make the caps and the body of the sack was their dress.  They looked very sweet.  This was not the reason Kay developed a distaste for pink   That came a couple of decades later.  As you can see Kay did have some very striking pink coats.

You will also notice that both Kay and Cathy had amblyopia, or "lazy eye".  Their left eyes were slightly off focus center.  Kay had surgery to correct it when she was a teenager by Dr Schiak.  Cathy's was also corrected when she was much younger.

Thank God for Big Brothers

Email from Mary - March 6, 2022

Cathy had naturally curly hair and mother had a hard time finding someone who could cut it well.  Eventually she found a lady at Frederick and Nelson's store in Seattle who did a wonderful job and Cathy loved it.  Cathy was 10 or 11 years old when Kay and Jean were going to Seattle for something.  They took Cathy with them to get her hair cut.  They took the bus to Seattle and waited while she got her hair cut and then walked 4 blocks to the Greyhound Bus Station where we caught the bus to Bothell for many years.  They put Cathy on the bus to Bothell and went on their way.

Cathy was very familiar with the bus route.  She knew how to walk home from the bus stop in Bothell as she had done it many times with mother and rode by there often on her bike.  However, this time she fell asleep and woke up when the bus was back in Seattle.  She got off the bus and went into the bus station to wait for Kay and Jean to come back and take the bus home.  It was a long wait, and she had no money.   She started crying because she had to go to the bathroom, and she was afraid she would miss them if they came while she was in the restroom.  A lady had been watching her and called mother.  Mother called Jim and Jim went to get her in his MG.  Cathy thought Jim walked on water and you can imagine how happy and relieved she was when she saw him.

Thank God for big brothers.

I heard this story from mother when I came home for a visit from nursing school. Mother was still terrified about what could have happened to Cathy.