Catherine Grandia

NORTHAMPTON - Catherine Grandia, 97, loving wife, mother, and grandmother, passed away on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2017, in the comfort of her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Catherine was born in Northampton on Nov. 21, 1920, to David and Florence Smith Wright and was the oldest of five children. In 1937 her mother died, after which she assisted her father in raising her four siblings. Notwithstanding that, she was able to earn top honors in high school and later, top honors at Smith College from which she graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1942, about seven months after the United States entered WWII.

She joined the Navy and attended Officer Training School at Smith College and was then assigned to the Navy Communications Annex in Washington DC, where she worked on decrypting German code. She met and married Lt. Commander William Grandia of the United States Navy while in Washington DC. She was discharged from the Navy, under honorable conditions, as a Lieutenant, and joined Bill in San Francisco where he was stationed at the time. Bill was later ordered to Philadelphia where they started a family. From time to time, when her husband was on sea duty, she stayed with her father in Northampton.

When Bill retired from the Navy the family moved to Albuquerque, NM. There, she was an active leader of the Riverside 4-H Club where she touched many lives. Catherine was also involved with the 4-H Building Corporation and Horse Council. She was a dedicated member of the First Congregational Church, Albuquerque, where she took a special interest in caring for the rose garden. Catherine was also employed at H&R Block for over 25 years. She is survived by her youngest child, Rebecca Gibson, and husband, David, of Lindrith, New Mexico; two daughter-in-laws, Cheryl Grandia and Linda Metcalfe; nine grandchildren; several step-grandchildren; six great grandchildren; her brother, George Wright, of Amherst, Massachusetts; sister-in-law, Sally Wright, of Wilmington, Delaware; and numerous nieces and nephews. Husband William Grandia; sons: David and Jacob Grandia; brothers: David J. and Charles Wright; and sister, Carol Putnam, preceded her in death.

Services were held on Tuesday, Nov 28, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, Albuquerque. Burial was at the Santa Fe National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to the David S. Wright Scholarship, Northampton High School, 380 Elm St., Northampton, Massachusetts, 01060, or the Lindrith Area Heritage School, c/o Corinne Teller, Finance Director, 5901 Wyoming Blvd, NE, Box J- 199, Albuquerque, NM, 87109, FMI call the Lindreth Area Heritage School at 505-269-9119.

Catherine always said: "I had an unexpectedly interesting life and I am grateful for it."

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