Catherine Liming Redles

Valdosta resident, Catherine Liming Redles, died on March 27, 2026, at the age of 95. Catherine was born in Little Griffin Hospital in Valdosta, Georgia, on February 9, 1931, to the late Lt. Col. William L. and Leona (Roberts) Redles. After the death of her father, when Catherine was 18 months old, her mother moved Catherine and her sister Leona from Washington, D.C. to Valdosta where she grew up in the historic Wisenbaker-Wells-Roberts house, Valdosta’s oldest house and the home of her grandparents, John T. and Catherine (Young) Roberts. The home was filled with extended family members: aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Catherine attended local schools through high school. She graduated from Agnes Scott College in 1952 and from Katharine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York in 1953. She then went to work for the Langdale Company as a secretary in Valdosta for three years. After the death of her mother in 1953, Catherine decided she could sit on the front porch of her family home wiling away the hours some other time, so she left Valdosta and joined the U.S. Foreign Service in 1956. She had a fascinating career serving as secretary to ambassadors in several countries for a total of 29 years until her retirement. She’s lived, worked, and traveled all over the world. Her first assignment with the Foreign Service was Phnom Penh, Cambodia (1957-1959). Other assignments while in the Foreign Service were Washington, D.C. (1956-1957, 1960-1961), Dusseldorf, Germany (1962-1964), Algiers, Algeria (1965), Bangui, Central African Republic (1965-1966), Rome, Italy (1966-1970), Jerusalem (1970-1974), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1974-1977), Oslo, Norway (1978-1981), and Brussels, Belgium (1982-1985). Catherine sang in the choir of Trinity Presbyterian Church and with the Valdosta Choral Guild. She was an avid craftswoman, proficient in needlepoint, knitting, cross stitching, and crocheting. She loved to exercise outdoors, walking around her neighborhood with her beloved dogs, Willie and later Sophie.

She is survived by five nieces and nephews: Catherine Pendleton, Andy Pendleton (Janine), John Pendleton (Brenda), Melissa Pendleton, and Helen Pendleton; seven great nieces and nephews: Bucky Allen (Lisa), Kathleen Allen, John George Pendleton, Marylee Pendleton, Ashley Claypool, Savannah Claypool, and Lexie Miller; five great-great nieces and nephews: Jabin Davis, Carlen Davis, Laurel Allen, Emma Price, and Bruce Pendleton. She is also survived by her beloved cat companion, Topsy.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, April 2, 2026, at Carson McLane Funeral Home with Dennis Massie of First Baptist Church officiating. Burial will follow at Sunset Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 10:00 to 11:00 am prior to the service at 11:00. Condolences to the family may be expressed online at www.mclanecares.com. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Catherine’s honor to Hospice of South Georgia or to the Lowndes County Historical Society.