On Saturday Jan. 6, 2024 our Mom, Catherine Rea Wayne, went home to be with our Savior Jesus in heaven.
Cathy bravely fought an almost 30-year battle with breast cancer with great grace and perseverance. She passed surrounded by her family who wept with grief and joy as she blessed us with her final words and went home.
Catherine was born Aug. 16, 1955 in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, to Thomas and Marilyn Forsyth. She was the only daughter among five brothers (Tom, BIlly, Taylor, Paul and Carl) and the favorite of her father.
Cathy, a youthful tomboy, certainly enjoyed sports and the outdoors with her siblings, but also rarely missed a chance to go shopping with her mom (later, when her mother was stricken with a debilitating disease in the middle of her life, Cathy tended her with great tenderness until Marilyn’s own homecoming).
Cathy attended Dos Pueblos High School in the early 1970s, and it was there that she met her future husband, Montie. They were soon married, had five children together, started a family business, and shared a lifetime of faithfulness and memories.
Throughout the ups and downs of life, Cathy was a stalwart for her family (daughters Monica, Melissa and Michelle, and her second born son, Matt) in times of plenty and in times of struggle. She endured the loss of her first son, Montie Carl, (and not a few other trials) without abandoning her faith.
She will be missed by her children and her husband, who loved her dearly.
Cathy was incredibly generous, taking in and feeding not only many of her own family, but also her children’s friends and spouses, and whoever else appeared at her doorstep.
She was an accomplished chef and a skilled artist; both examples of talents of which she neither advertised or boasted. Instead, her love for us and others was displayed in her cooking and the sharing of her table.
She was never known to speak a harsh word to anyone or demean someone in secret. Our mom was a quiet, faithful woman who loved by her actions as well as by kind words.
Cathy also had a mischievous sense of humor that she would employ to scare her children first and grandchildren later.
Through the years Cathy took in countless “strays” (kid’s girlfriends/boyfriends, family members, employees …) and treated them as members of the family. She fed and sheltered all comers revealing the love of God in doing so. She was a mother to far more than her natural born children.
Our family would especially like to thank the doctors and nurses who cared for her these past few years, including Dr. Mukul Gupta, Dr. Deborah Meyers, Dr, Stanley McLain, DNP Stephanie Rashti, and all the nursing staff at Ridley Tree Cancer Center and Cottage Hospital.
Our greatest thanks is extended to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who has and will love us and our Mom to the end, as He has promised. Her and our prayer is that all who read these words would seek rest in Him.
Matt 11:28 “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.”
A celebration of life will be held at 2 p.m. March 10 at Goleta Beach, area D. All are welcome to attend. Our family would love to see you and hear all your stories about Cathy.