Sylvia Elizabeth Cutaia

Sylvia Cutaia passed away peacefully at her home in Nederland with her husband, Steve, by her side, on November 22, 2023. She had fallen several times in the last couple of months and sustained severe trauma to her brain. She never gave up the fight to get back on her feet, but her little body eventually succumbed to the irreversible damage.
Sylvia was born in Victoria, Texas to Morris Quinton Steed and Mary Elizabeth Clapp on January 22nd, 1942. She graduated from Baylor University at the age of 20 and started teaching school. After a couple of years in the classroom, she decided to go to Sam Houston State University to get her master's degree in library science. She became the librarian at Nederland High School and worked in the education field for 39 years. Although she was tough on her students, she knew that education was something that no one could take away from them. She wanted all of them to succeed in life, so they wouldn't have to struggle just to survive in this world.
Sylvia was an avid reader and had worn out several Nooks after she retired in 1999. Traveling to casinos and playing Pai Gow was one of her favorite pastimes. She especially liked traveling to Lake Tahoe and Coushatta.
Being an excellent cook was one of her many talents. Her favorite thing to bake was rum cakes in several different flavors. She would bake them for church bake sales, our doctors, friends, and anybody else that asked for one. And although most of the time her friends wanted to pay her for them, she would never except their offer. It was her way of giving joy to others. If you had ever met Sylvia, you would know what a generous and elegant woman she was. Her thoughtfulness, kindness, and friendship were something that everyone who knew her admired. She was also a cat lover and made sure that the "step cats" of the neighborhood never went hungry or thirsty.
Sylvia was preceded in death by her parents; her sister, Mary Martha Steed; her husbands, Mike Burnfin and Jim Burnfin (cousins); father-in-law, John Cutaia; mother-in-laws, Margie Cutaia and Johnnie Garrison; sister-in-laws, Diana Cutaia, Andelene and husband, Kurt Rodrigue; nephew, Brandon Savoie; and many of her fur babies.
She is survived by her husband, Steve Cutaia; sister-in-laws, Betty Barnette, Janis Cutaia, Patti and husband, Tommy Martin, and Johnna Blunt; brother-in-laws, John Cutaia and Ronnie Peveto; nieces, Michele and husband, Jeff Bistany, Dana and husband, Matt Robinson, and Terra Cutaia; great nieces, Bianca Baughn, Jordana Bistany and Olivia Lezcano; great-great niece, Aria Taylor; great nephew, Hunter Robinson and wife, Kelsie; and fur babies Shelly, Benji, and Dusty.
A gathering of Mrs. Cutaia's family and friends will begin at 10:00 a.m., with her funeral mass to begin at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, December 2, 2023, at Saint Catherine's Catholic Church, 3706 Woodrow Drive, Port Arthur, under the direction of Broussard's, 505 North 12 Street, Nederland. Her cremation arrangements were handled through Broussard's Crematorium.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to The Humane Society of Southeast Texas, 2050 Spindletop Ave, Beaumont, Texas 77705 or Saint Catherine's Catholic Church, 3706 Woodrow Drive, Port Arthur, Texas 77642.