Catherine Eppley, of Ridgewood, Dies at 91

[Editor's note: The following death notice was submitted by Feeney's Funeral Home.]

Mrs. Catherine Alles Eppley passed away at her home after a comfortable rest from a busy life. She was born  June 19, 1921 and grew up in Westchester County, NY, and on the family farm in Bethel, Connecticut.

After graduating from Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York City, she worked for CBS, pre-TV. One of her duties there was to take clients to plays. She saw the original production of Oklahoma 24 times.

Her first fiancé was M.I.A. in the Pacific during WWII. His mother had Sunday get togethers in her Upper East Side apartment and it was there that she met her husband, Thomas.

They were engaged a week later after a carriage ride in Central Park. They married and decided on a family of 11 children. They made it to 9. After living in the rural areas of Connecticut and Maryland, they wound up in Ridgewood, NJ. With the children in school at Mt. Carmel, Catherine returned to work at Ridgewood High School.

She was the Secretary to several Principals, making the transition to selectric type writers and computer word processing with a doubtful eye and a competent hand.

Thomas and Catherine had many a grand time directing and producing the Parish Plays at Mount Carmel. After she retired, she was busy keeping track of her children who were always bringing home friends and animals.

All enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere of 136 John Street. Her laugh could lift anybody’s spirits. Her compassion in troubled times was her gift to anyone in need.

Her passing away on May 24, 2012 in her 91st year will be remembered as a time of tears, of hugs, of thanksgiving.

She was pre-deceased by her husband, Thomas, their second child, Thomas, and the relatives on her side of the family.

She is survived by her daughter Suzanne of Upstate New York, her son John of Haverhill, MA, her daughter Mary of Concord NH, her daughter Barbara of Ridgewood NJ, her daughter Katy of NYC, her son Paul of Ridgewood NJ, her son Michael of the Big Island of Hawaii, her daughter Nancy of Goshen CT, and their families, friends and pets who will carry on the traditions of ice box cakes at Birthdays, pieces of buttered toast handed to waiting canine pals at the end of breakfast and a host of other ways to live a full life.

Visiting hours will be Sunday 1:30 -3:30 p.m., with a Service at 2:30, at the Feeney Funeral Home, 232 Franklin Avenue, Ridgewood. Cremation private. Feeneyfuneralhome.com