Catherine W. Feeney

Catherine W. Feeney, a longtime resident of Evanston, IL and more recently Waukegan, IL, passed away peacefully at the home she shared with her family on Saturday, March 9, 2024. She was 83 years old.

Catherine was born on December 5, 1940, to James and Anne (Quinn) Burns, in Glasgow, Scotland. Upon her completion of secondary school, she began work in the public library, a profession she would follow for the rest of her life.



In 1961 she met George Feeney, and they were married on September 2, 1961. Shortly after they married, George traveled to America and once he secured a job and apartment he sent for Catherine. Together, they settled in Evanston, IL and while they initially considered moving back "home" they eventually decided to become US citizens.

Shortly after her arrival, Catherine found employment at Northwestern University Deering Library, the main library at that time. She enjoyed her work in the library as she loved books and reading (especially a good murder mystery). She initially worked part time but eventually moved to full time and worked her way up to become the Assistant Head of Circulation. She saw tremendous growth and change at the library as she was there during the construction of what is now University Library. She retired from Northwestern after many faithful and enjoyable years of service. In her retirement, she spoke fondly of her work and of the many people she had met and worked with.



Having lived the American Dream where hard work and determination paid off, Catherine and George built their dream cabin in Basalt, Colorado, where they would spend part of each year. They also enjoyed travel to Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.



Catherine was preceded in death by George, her devoted husband of 61 years. She is survived by her daughter, Adrianne (Jeff) Elbe and her beloved grandchildren Evelyn, Macklin and Vivian, as well as many loving nieces and nephews.



A funeral mass will be held at 10:00am on Friday, May 3rd at St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church, located at 806 Ridge Ave., Evanston, IL 60202. Parking is behind the church and rectory and is accessible by the alley just south of the rectory off Ridge.