"GRACEFUL, REMARKABLE & GENUINE.
IN THE TRUEST SENSE, A LEADING LADY. "
Live simply.
Love generously.
Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
CATHERINE DRINNAN TAYLOR
MARCH 8, 1919 - MAY 15, 2009
“There are people whom one appreciates immediately and forever.
Even to know they are alive in the world is quite enough.”
I don’t remember formally meeting my Auntie Cath because I was just ten tiny piggies when she came into my life but I remember when I really began to ‘know’ and love her as my family.
I don’t remember formally meeting my Auntie Cath because I was just ten tiny piggies when she came into my life but I remember when I really began to ‘know’ and love her as my family.
I was that impressionable, awkward, stubborn teenager, but even in this state there was something about Cath that I gravitated toward almost instantaneously. She and I both understood synthesis. And the likes of a beautiful friendship emerged.
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Auntie Cath not only understood that a loving atmosphere in the home is the foundation for life, she lived it, every single day of HER life. There was authenticity, a synergistic win-win component in Auntie Cath that was a rare diamond in a world that I was quickly making note wasn’t always so authentic.
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As I got older, I recognized Auntie Cath as a calm and gentle woman; one of a spirit that dictated magnanimous inner strength. There was a groundedness that produced an almost angelic like lightness, weightlessness, and effortlessness. People were her most valuable treasures, not the things that adorned her walls and tables.
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Although Auntie Cath had a listening ear, it also came with a calm gentle stroke over the face and a pull into her side embrace. YOU SIMPLY FELT LOVED. And I'll take feeling over having anyday.
Although Auntie Cath had a listening ear, it also came with a calm gentle stroke over the face and a pull into her side embrace. YOU SIMPLY FELT LOVED. And I'll take feeling over having anyday.
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When she spoke to you it was with great respect (no matter who you were). She was present and had a way of making you feel as though you were the most important person in that room for a moment. Her eyes never left yours as words of comfort, care and wisdom seemed to almost effortlessly drip off her tongue. In her presence you knew beyond any doubt that you were loved and loved without condition.
*****
When I think of families and why they ebb and flow so naturally through the hurdles, the first common thread running through their tapestry is that there has to be a genuine humanitarian at the helm. This person must have enough integrity to hold steadfast to an ethos that is rooted in nothing more than simple pure unconditional love.
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Catherine left the world a rich, rich woman! “The fortune which nobody sees makes a person happy and unenvied.” She never allowed the time burglars of life to take her away from her purpose – to spread love while running an open credit course in Happiology 101.
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The greatest gifts we can leave behind for those that love us are the memories of the ability to chance life to new thought, unexpected laughter, and wisdom. I feel blessed to have known this incredible humanitarian for all the earthly years.
The greatest gifts we can leave behind for those that love us are the memories of the ability to chance life to new thought, unexpected laughter, and wisdom. I feel blessed to have known this incredible humanitarian for all the earthly years.
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What a REMARKABLE woman she was!
My thoughts go out to my extended family.
May much laughter, light and spirit shine through the windows of your life in the coming arduous but necessary days.
