CATHERINE MCCABE

McCABE--Catherine. Catherine McCabe (nee Henry), wife, mother, professor, counselor, friend and a long time resident of New Rochelle, NY died peacefully on Tuesday August 23 at age 85. A woman of great dignity, faith and affection, Cay was born on January 7, 1926 to John and Theresa Henry in the Bronx. She was raised in New Rochelle and was a 1947 graduate of the College of New Rochelle. Cay married Hugh McCabe in 1949 and with him raised seven children. While the older children where in school and the youngest were in pre-school, Cay earned two masters degrees, one in Theology at Manhattan College and one in Pastoral Counseling at Iona College. She had also begun her career as a professor of Religious Studies at Iona that would span more than 30 years and touch the lives of generations of Iona students. Cay and Hugh had a wonderful partnership including working at the college they loved, Iona. Both were participants in the social movements of the 60's. She balanced her family, career and studies while still being active in her church (Holy Family in New Rochelle) and her community. As her granddaughter Kate Walsh wrote in a college paper about her, “her roles as a mother, activist, and professor were intertwined throughout the era and helped fuel each other rather than come in conflict. The relationships she formed as a mother and professor pushed her to become active in social movements for the 1960s. Her involvement in the movements informed her parenting, and her role as a professor came into her life because of her experiences as a wife and mother. In the 1970s, with her family's support, Cay enrolled in the doctoral program at Fordham University. Unfortunately Hugh died suddenly in 1978 leaving Cay to raise her still young family so she did not complete her degree. She retired from teaching in 1994 and spent the remainder of her life traveling, reading, and spending time with her family and friends. Cay is survived by her seven children, Hugh (Janet), Thomas (Joan), Mary (William Walsh), Mark (Beth), David (Evelyn), Lawrence (Nancy) and Catherine (Jill), her seventeen grandchildren, Jennifer, Drew (Jodie), Sean, Glynis, Claire, Kate, Jack, Colin, Brian, Emily, Maura, Courtney, Alanna, Madeline, Mary, Hugh and Katherine and her six great-grandchildren Haley, Zachary, Serena, Nolen, Aria and Phoenix. Calling Hours at the Fred H. McGrath & Son, Funeral Home, Bronxville, between the hours of 6 to 9pm Wednesday, 2 to 5 and 7 to 9pm Thursday. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at the Holy Family Church, New Rochelle, on Friday Aug. 26th at 10:30am. Interment to follow at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY. In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation in Cay's name to Hope Community Services, 50 Washington Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10801 914-636-4010 info@hope-cs.org.