Catherine Thompson

Catherine Rawlins Thompson

Beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, daughter, and cousin, died peacefully on November 23, 2016 following a brief illness. She was preceded in death by her dear mother, Joyce Rawlins, her beloved aunt, Faye Grimsley, who was like a second mother to her, and her cherished daughter-in-law, Barbara Strom Thompson. She is survived by her devoted family: her husband of 68 years, Carl G. Thompson; children Peter, David (Sharon), and Jonathan (Lou Ann); six grandchildren, Anna (Bradley), Caroline (David), Elizabeth, Andrew (Victoria), David, and Tyler; a great granddaughter, Carter, a special cousin, Grey Hammond, and a large circle of other family members and dear friends. Catherine was born on August 14, 1924, in Moores Hill, Indiana. She graduated from Moores Hill High School in 1942, and then enrolled at the University of Cincinnati, majoring in Sociology and graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1946. She married Carl G. Thompson, a physician and former classmate at UC, in 1948. They settled in Wyoming, Ohio, in 1956, and continued to live in Wyoming for 57 years, moving to Maple Knoll in Springdale in 2013. Although Catherine was an only child, she had grown up in close proximity to a large and loving extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins, and her devotion to family, both immediate and extended, was at the very heart of her life. She was a devoted and loving wife and a mother extraordinaire, and loved nothing more than the occasions when her family gathered together for holidays and other celebrations. She was also a tireless volunteer who was instrumental in the founding of what is now called the Lads and Lassies Community Preschool in Wyoming, volunteered for decades at the Valley Interfaith Food and Clothing Center, and for many years tutored children at Winton Terrace and in Wyoming, among many other volunteer engagements. From her mother and aunt, both music teachers, she inherited a lifelong love of music; she was a very good pianist, loved the arts and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, had an encyclopedic knowledge of Big Band Era music, and served as president of the Wyoming School Music Association. She loved sports and the outdoors; she was a lifelong and devoted fan of the Cincinnati Reds and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, a skilled and energetic tennis player well into her eighties, and, true to her Hoosier roots, had a deadly two-handed set shot. For more than sixty summers she returned with her family to the same beautiful spot on Long Lake near Traverse City, Michigan, where she enjoyed sailing, water skiing, concerts at the nearby Interlochen Center for the Arts, and persistent and occasionally successful fishing with her beloved cousin, Malcolm Bruce. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church of Wyoming for more than fifty years. A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on Saturday, January 14, 2017, at the Presbyterian Church of Wyoming, with a reception at the church to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that friends consider making donations to the Valley Interfaith Food and Clothing Center, 420 W. Wyoming Ave., Lockland, OH 45215, or the Presbyterian Church of Wyoming, 225 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming, OH 45215.