Catherine Climenko "Cathie" Jung

3/15/1937 - 8/19/2025

Houston, Texas - Catherine Climenko Jung, 88, passed away in Houston, Texas, Aug. 19, 2025. Catherine "Cathie" Climenko was born March 15, 1937, in New York, N.Y. to Dr. David Robert Climenko and Eleanor Levy Climenko.

She grew up in Albany, N.Y. with her mother and sister, Elizabeth, having lost her brother in 1939 and her father in 1947. Cathie was an excellent student, an active Girl Scout, and a drum majorette at Albany High School. She met her husband, Robert Jung, at Tufts University and they both graduated in 1958.They married in 1959 and Cathie worked in a research laboratory before starting a family while Bob completed medical school and training to become an orthopedic surgeon.

The family lived in five different states while Bob completed his military commitment and medical training. In 1973, Cathie and Bob moved the family to Old Mystic. They had become fond of the area during Bob's time at the Submarine Medical Center.

In addition to raising her family, Cathie volunteered for Child and Family Services of Southeastern Connecticut. She was also the director of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation chapter in Connecticut. Because she cared about helping people keep their pets safe, she started distributing Invisible Fences in the early 1980s.

Cathie was fond of bird watching and instilled a love of it in her family. She could routinely be seen fishing on the "Bobcat" with her boys and was as skilled with the fishing gear as she was with kitchen utensils. She loved the family dogs and bred three litters of Vizslas in the 1970s and then with Britt in the 1980s. It was Cathie who took Britt to her first dog show, which landed them in the local newspaper.

Cathie was known to be quietly independent and highly capable. She repaired the household appliances as needed and could be seen driving the family's 20-year-old manual transmission pick-up truck around town, well into her 80s. After Bob retired, Cathie, Bob and Marc moved to Manteo, N.C., where they lived for 15 years before moving to Houston in January 2024.

Cathie is survived by her children, Marc, Curt (Suzanne), Britt (Tre); as well as her grandchildren, Max, Sam and Zoe, all of Houston. She is also survived by her sister, Elizabeth Clarke of South Strafford, Vt.; and her nephew Graham Clarke, of Hanover, N.H.

We want to thank the staff of Bluebonnet Hospice Services as well as the staff from the Gardens of Bellaire, for their support and care during this last chapter of Cathie's life.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Nov. 1, at the Gardens of Bellaire in Bellaire, Texas, with a reception to follow.

Donations in Catherine Jung's name may be made to the Community Care Clinic of Dare County by visiting www.dareclinic.org or mailing a check to: Community Care Clinic of Dare, PO Box 1329, Nags Head, NC 27959 (with her name in the memo line).