(nee Horten), age 84. Beloved wife of 59 years to Robert A. Thomas; devoted and inspiring mother of Susan (Steven Leo), Jennifer (Stephen Washington), Michael (Kelli), Patrick (Julie), Megan, and Kristin (Michael Hoffman). Catherine was preceded in death by her loving parents, Albert J. and Hannah O'Callaghan Horten, and her sister, Barbara J. Miles. She was a loving and proud grandmother of 11, including Sophie and Caroline, Terra, Henry, and Erin, Danny and Anneliese, Charles and Edward, and James and Marcus. She was a dear aunt to many, and was particularly close with her sister's children, Jackie, Julie and Jonathan. Catherine died peacefully at her home surrounded by her family on January 5, 2022. Catherine grew up in Cleveland Heights and attended St. Ann School and Beaumont High School where she made lifelong friends. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English from Case Western Reserve University in 1959, known as Flora Stone Mather College at the time. She channeled her passion for classic literature, poetry and the arts to educate thousands of children and adult students as a teacher and director of literacy programs in Northeast Ohio. After raising six children, but with her youngest still at home, she began as the coordinator of Adult Basic Literacy Education and English as a Second Language (ESL) in the Cleveland Heights University Heights School District from 1986 to 1995. While there, she developed novel GED preparation classes and ESL programs teaching immigrants how to speak, read and write English. She also created the New Citizens Handbook for guidance on how to navigate their new country. Catherine's warmth and kindness put her students at ease, and she was beloved by them. From 1995 to 2009, she presided as director of Cleveland Reads to focus on her passion for helping children "learn to read so they could read to learn." She designed and developed a unique and impactful learning tool called Lit Kits for Kids, a self-contained literacy package that develops reading skills at every learner level - from early to fluent learner. She trained and nurtured tutors who administered these reading programs in the Cleveland public schools, giving children exposure and access to inspiring, culturally relevant, relatable, and meaningful literature that would be a solid foundation for lifelong education and learning. She was a regular guest on Cleveland Public Radio programs highlighting literacy efforts in Ohio schools. In 2011, Catherine joined Coach Sam's Inner Circle Foundation, dedicated to providing educational support to children at risk in Greater Cleveland. As the director of the literacy component, Catherine developed Aiming Higher, a program designed with best practices that fosters the reading and learning skills needed in fourth grade and beyond, leading the program until her retirement in 2017. Over thirty years, Catherine worked with state agencies, including Ohio Reads and Governor Taft, federal agencies under Presidents Clinton and Bush, and foundations to secure millions in grant funding to ensure the vitality of her literacy programs. Catherine was a fierce believer in equal rights for girls and women. Her feminism and leadership paved the way for other girls and women, including her daughters, granddaughters and the many women she hired and mentored throughout her career. She even helped start the South Euclid Girls Softball League in the 1970s which endures. Catherine was a renaissance woman, embracing all forms of art and literature, and enthusiastically including her husband, family and friends in her love of the arts. She was a trained artist, producing beautiful works throughout her life and continually taking classes at the Cleveland Institute of Art and the Cleveland Art Museum. She adored classical music and was an avid fan and supporter of the Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Opera and Cleveland Ballet, with a special place in her heart for Puccini's La Bohme. She was a movie buff and regular at the Cedar Lee Theater. She enjoyed all movie genres, with her most favorite activity being the post-movie discussion with a glass of Chardonnay and some tasty appetizers. As a romantic, her all-time favorite movie, of which she knew every line, was Casablanca. Catherine was a consummate entertainer. Coming into her and Bob's beautiful and welcoming home or lush backyard garden, one could always count on delightful conversation served with her homemade exquisite, delectable pastries, pies, or cakes. She was at the same time elegant and graceful, and warm and accessible. When she asked how you were, she really wanted to know - and she listened. She drew on her voracious reading to share and engage in any conversation, like the true well-read world traveler she was. She had a quick wit and an Irish saying for almost every occasion and loved a good laugh. When she and her sister, Barbara, got together, they were guaranteed to "end up in stitches," laughing so hard until they cried, as they had since their youth on East Derbyshire Road. Catherine was a lover of music, ensuring all six of her children took classical piano lessons. The grand piano and Hi-Fi player were central to the creative and entertaining environment at home. She encouraged rousing singalongs at every event, and even embraced rock and roll guitar, pounding drums, and boisterous vocals emanating from her children's basement practice sessions, often coming down to suggest which Beatles or Queen songs to play. With a vibrant growth mindset, she kept abreast of current events with her radio dial tuned to NPR, her love of The New York Times, and philosophy and politics classes taken well into her seventies. She embraced opportunity and believed that one's perspectives and experiences were to be shared, exchanged, and nurtured. She and her husband, Bob, would spend hours in their backyard, enjoying nature and each other's company and discussing world events. Everyone who knew Catherine, in whatever capacity it may have been - as wife, mother, sister, grandmother, aunt, leader, teacher, or friend - experienced her unrivaled dedication, love, intellect, humor, beauty, creativity, compassion and empathy. The world felt inherently more beautiful and hopeful in her presence, no matter the circumstances. Catherine was adored by her husband, and she will be dearly missed by all. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you buy a book for a child or donate to a favorite organization that supports literacy. A celebration of life will be held in the early summer. Interment private, Lake View Cemetery. Due to covid, a private ceremony will be held at the SCHULTE & MAHON-MURPHY FUNERAL HOME, 5252 MAYFIELD RD., LYNDHURST (BETWEEN RICHMOND AND BRAINARD). Please sign the Tribute Wall at: schultemahonmurphy.com
Published by The Plain Dealer from Jan. 8 to Jan. 9, 2022.