CATHERINE PATTERSON Obituary

PATTERSON--Catherine Eve, died on 29 August 2023 from sudden cardiac arrest in her New York apartment; she was 58 years old. Catherine, also called Cat Pat and Kitty, was born on 25 February 1965 in San Francisco and lived in California, New York and Vienna, Austria. She graduated from the Cambridge School in Weston, MA and from the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University. She founded Suspension of Disbelief, an off-off Broadway theater company, which produced plays by modern international playwrights. Her productions won critical approval. Catherine then went into advertising, with a long and successful career as a producer for many firms, including Big Spaceship, R/GA, McCann Erikson, VMLY&R, and Deloitte. She was recognized as a leader in the industry and led teams to win many awards including Cannes Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions in multiple categories. She was particularly proud of her work relating to the National Parks and of her mentorship of younger colleagues. A marriage to Michael Jensen ended in divorce. She married Jonathan Ogilvy, who survives her. She will be greatly missed by their son Nathaniel, her brother Nicholas and her parents George and Patricia Patterson.

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Published by New York Times on Sep. 9, 2023.

Memories and Condolences
for CATHERINE PATTERSON

12 Entries

Elizabeth Hutchinson

December 26, 2024

We have the candles Catherine sent us for Christmas that still burn bright. The beautiful photos taken by Catherine in Sunapee are dear memories of her talents. Catherine is forever in our hearts.

George Patterson

March 4, 2024

In looking through the emails Catherine sent us, we found this in an email she sent in May 2020. This was when the Covid pandemic was moving into full force. Patty replied to the email "Beautiful but please stick around." to which Catherine replied "of course, just doing due diligence."
Here´s my statement I would like to share.
" If you´re reading or hearing this don´t worry about a thing. It was time for me to shuffle off but I´ll see you everywhere in the ether and on the flip side. I tried to do good, I had a life filled with incredible happiness, beauty and love and terrific heartbreak, betrayal and pain. Just like any of us.
But boy did the good adventures outweigh the bad.
I saw so many places, I met so many friends, lived so many adventures, met and loved so many good friends and people, and survived all the bad ones.
I´m delighted to leave behind my memories of you, whom I love, my lovely kind shy and brilliant child Nathaniel who knows I love him 3000. and everything I loved about this world. "

joanne grazzini

Planted Trees

joanne grazzini

November 13, 2023

Catherine was one of the most fiercely talented people I've ever known. I was privileged to work with her as often as I did. I am heartbroken to hear this news.

Elizabeth Hutchinson

September 22, 2023

Catherine was such an incredible friend, cousin, and mom. She helped our family by supporting our kids (Nat´s cousins) and getting them walk and talking to the Sunapee Harbor together. Her wonderful positive attitude, kindness and amazing spirit will be so missed. I cherish the times we had together and send our most sincere condolences to her family from the Hutchinson family.

Angelo V. Parodi

Planted Trees

George Patterson

September 20, 2023

The first thing you should know about Catherine is that she was an intelligent, creative and caring person who loved her family and friends deeply. Just after graduating from the Experimental Theater Wing of NYU´s Tisch School of the Arts, she founded the off-off Broadway theater company Suspension of Disbelief. Under her direction the company produced innovative plays within tight budgets and to critical acclaim.

Those in her professional life knew her as a dedicated and visionary producer, often working at the intersection of technology with social causes, which held a special place in her heart. She won wide recognition and many awards for the groundbreaking projects she and her teams carried out, ranging from virtual trail-mapping in her beloved National Parks, to a gourmet dinner service for 8 high atop a billboard in Times Square for funds to fight cancer, to working to raise awareness of the lack of female representation in public statuaries, and to her work with the Mars Lander program. She was also a lifelong mentor and advocate for junior colleagues.

Closer to home, her friends and family knew her as a loving and fiercely loyal friend. Her skills as a producer and theatrical flair often manifested in imaginative events for her friends and family. During the loneliness and confinement of the COVID years, she turned Sunday family lunches into a salon, with innovative games and lively conversation, sharing tales of her adventures in advertising and her observations of life in Manhattan. She could devote more time to her writing and posted tales, poetry and commentary on Facebook, including a series of love notes to New York City. She also had more time to spend with her beloved son Nathaniel and see him develop into a fine young man and, to her great joy, begin his freshman year at Fordham University.

Tara Tyrrell Clark

Planted Trees

Gottfried Löcker

September 15, 2023

May the love of friends and family carry you through your grief.

Elizabeth Reed

Planted Trees

Jack Donaghy

Planted Trees

Blair Winston

September 10, 2023

We have known, and grown, and called each other true friend for a shockingly brief forty years. In addition to having one of the greatest artistic minds I have ever encountered (which goes a long way to explaining your impressive professional success), you were one of the most supportive, enthusiastic, intelligent, and hysterically funny people in my life. My dearest, dearest friend.

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