Mary Catherine McMurray Skeen
Mary Catherine McMurray Skeen
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Cathy was born on April 14, 1954, in Buncombe County, NC to the late William Harvey McMurray, Jr. and Mary Loftis McMurray. Cathy was a lover of nature, enjoying flowers, gardening, canning, and fishing. She spent cherished time with family and friends at Lake Tahoma, alongside her beloved Corgi dogs, Goldie and Wilson. She was an active member of Black Mountain Presbyterian Church where she sang in the choir. Following her mother, she pursued painting and served 13 years as the Treasurer for the Swannanoa Valley Art League. Cathy loved her family immensely, taking great pride in her nieces' and nephew's accomplishments. Her unique spirit, which brought so much laughter and so many smiles, will be greatly missed.
Those left to cherish her memories include her husband of 35 years, Stanley "Stan" Skeen; step son, Matthew Eason Skeen (Salam); step daughter, Lucy Merriwether Skeen (Dave); brothers, William "Bill" Harvey McMurray, III (Ann), John Robert "Bob" McMurray (Pam), and David Brown McMurray (Sarah); step granddaughter, Mattison Aiya Skeen; step grandson, Carter John Skeen; many nieces, nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.
Per Cathy's wishes, there will be no services at this time. A private memorial service will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Black Mountain Presbyterian Church, Disaster Relief Fund, 117 Montreat Road, Black Mountain, NC 28711 or Swannanoa Valley Art League, 101 Cherry Street, Black Mountain, NC 28711. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Mary, please visit our floral store.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
1 Entry
Joseph Cummings
November 19, 2025
I would like to extend my sincere condolences to Stan, Bob, Pam, Bill, Ann, David, Sarah and the rest of the families. I have known Cathy since high school and beyond. We have been close friends. I will never forget her smiles and laughter. More recently she loved visiting with our dogs Tucker and Coco. She was a true friend and also loved deeply by my late parents. Cathy spent some special Christmases helping my mother put up decorations when I was away at college- it was one of my mother´s favorite memories that she talked about often. We had more wonderful times than there is time to write about. She will be deeply missed but I can take comfort in knowing she is with her mother, father and many relatives and friends who were waiting on her to greet her. She is no longer in pain, only happiness. God speed my dear friend.
"What moves through us is a silence, a quiet sadness, a longing for one more day, one more word, one more touch. We may not understand why you left this earth so soon, or why you left before we were ready to say good-bye, but little by little, we begin to remember not just that you died, but that you lived. And that your life gave us memories too beautiful to forget" - BJ Karrer
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