Catherine "Cathey" O'Connor
Obituaries
Vail Daily Trail page 5 - August 3, 1999
Cathey O'Connor leaves lasting legacy of friendship, kindness
Catherine (Cathey) O'Connor of Edwards died early Monday Morning after waging a brave battle against kidney cancer since last fall. She was 47.
A memorial service has been set for Spruce Saddle in Beaver Creek at 2 p.m., Aug. 7, a day that would have been O'Connor's 48th Birthday.
Close friends, Sharon Cole and Patti Telling orchestrated a living gift a few weeks ago for O'Connor as an early birthday present. They, along with about 30 of O'Connor's friends, replanted the family's backyard berm in colorful perennial flowers O'Connor could view from her bedroom window.
Weekly prayer services initiated by Michele Hovey, drew a variety of friends, with up to 80 people attending each Thursday. As O'Connor's physical strength diminished, a daily journal was written by a host of friends who dropped off dinners or stopped by their home to share inspiring thoughts with O'Connor and her family. O'Connor's positive attitude and unwavering spirit became an inspiration to all whose lives she touched.
For many years O'Connor taught active living through aerobics and physical fitness classes. During her valiant fight with cancer, O'Connor's lessons changed to perseverance and optimism, always punctuated with her contagious giggle and radiant smile. During the last few weeks, those life lessons again switched gears. O'Connor took on a different role, as she guided her family and friends through an acceptance of death with such dignity and grace. Even though O'Connor endured a variety of treatments as she fought cancer, it had spread to her lungs and brain.
Vail Daily Trail page 5 - August 3, 1999
Cathey O'Connor leaves lasting legacy of friendship, kindness
Catherine (Cathey) O'Connor of Edwards died early Monday Morning after waging a brave battle against kidney cancer since last fall. She was 47.
A memorial service has been set for Spruce Saddle in Beaver Creek at 2 p.m., Aug. 7, a day that would have been O'Connor's 48th Birthday.
Close friends, Sharon Cole and Patti Telling orchestrated a living gift a few weeks ago for O'Connor as an early birthday present. They, along with about 30 of O'Connor's friends, replanted the family's backyard berm in colorful perennial flowers O'Connor could view from her bedroom window.
Weekly prayer services initiated by Michele Hovey, drew a variety of friends, with up to 80 people attending each Thursday. As O'Connor's physical strength diminished, a daily journal was written by a host of friends who dropped off dinners or stopped by their home to share inspiring thoughts with O'Connor and her family. O'Connor's positive attitude and unwavering spirit became an inspiration to all whose lives she touched.
For many years O'Connor taught active living through aerobics and physical fitness classes. During her valiant fight with cancer, O'Connor's lessons changed to perseverance and optimism, always punctuated with her contagious giggle and radiant smile. During the last few weeks, those life lessons again switched gears. O'Connor took on a different role, as she guided her family and friends through an acceptance of death with such dignity and grace. Even though O'Connor endured a variety of treatments as she fought cancer, it had spread to her lungs and brain.
"Cathey had a beautiful smile and an incredible way of delivering 'happy' to her family and friends," said close friend Susie Davis. O'Connor's husband Terry has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for the entire family during these past
months. From meals to the prayer group and car pools to Allie's activities, friends jumped in to help. O'Connor's spirit was contagious, weaving a web that reached out to touch so many.
"She was such a special person to so many people," said close friend Dennie Moore, who loved O'Connor as a sister she selected for herself. "Cathey touched so many lives. She was such a competent and loving parent, an assured and trusting mother to Meghan and Allie. "Cathey was the kind of mom who always loved having giggles and happy noises in the house," Moore added. "We spent lots of traditions together--Thanksgivings, Christmas Eves, birthdays and everything in between. She was such an honest person, the kind of person who didn't have it in her to do anything wrong. Cathey's been such a wonderful role model to me, both as a mother and a friend. She's the first person I called for advice."
As a person who loved to laugh, sing and dance through life, Moore said. Cathey and Terry always found a way to include their daughters in nearly everything they did. She never missed her children's activities, even during her illness. Her last major outing was to "Peter Pan" to watch Allie perform.
Because of her involvement in her children's lives, O'Connor's strength and loving nature had a tremendous impact on her daughter's friends. "We have all been such a close group with our families doing so much together," said Jackie Pirog. "Cathey's been like a second mother to all of us. She was strong, outgoing and loved life. I joined her family in Cabo last spring and that's how I will always remember Cathey. She wanted to do everything. She felt good being at sea level, and I think she knew that it might be her last vacation."
Katie Bruen added that O'Connor taught her a new meaning of fun after she vacationed with the O'Connor family.
"She had so much poise and grace and taught me to appreciate all those little things in life." Bruen said. "Cathey will always hold a special place in my heart. And I'm so grateful her her daughter Meghan who has become an unbelievable friend."
Born in Raleigh, N.C., O'Connor and her family moved to Connecticut when she was in third grade. It was after their move to Louisville, Ky., for O'Connor's final year of high school that Terry and Cathey met and began dating. They attended the senior prom together, Terry said, but drifted apart when both enrolled in different colleges. O'Connor attended Western Kentucky University, and ultimately graduated from Virginia Commonwealth. After Terry moved to Vail in 1977, Cathey was encouraged to relocate to the Eagle Valley. The couple married in Vail and celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary April 14.
A manager at Beaver Creek Ski School for about 15 years, O'Connor also served as one of the valley's most popular fitness gurus, teaching aerobic classes at athletic clubs throughout the Eagle Valley. In addition to her husband terry, and daughters, Meghan and Allie, Cathey is survived by her father, William Nicholson of Atlanta; maternal grandmother, Louise Kroenke of Charlotte, N.C.; brothers William Nicholson and Steven Nicholson of Atlanta, Ga.; and maternal grandmother Louise Kroenke of Charlotte, N.C. Her mother, Doris Jean Nicholson, died two years ago.
In lieu of flowers, an O'Connor Family educational fund has been set up in Cathey's memory at any FirstBank.
