The holidays were made for Cathy. Christmas would start sometimes in July. I tried to temper
her enthusiasm and wouldn't allow carols on the stereo until September. But it was no use. I'd come home on
Summer afternoons and find Bing's White Christmas in the tape player. She'd make the holidays special
all right. Went over the top in every department. And boy, when the kids came along, it would look
like Santa's bag just popped in the living room!

Who would have thought that a city girl that owned more than a dozen pair of shoes would like fishing? She told me a story once of her and Uncle George fishing until dark at Toledo Bend, each trying to outdo the other bringing in bream.
You know, being married to someone full of surprises like that was not only fun, but kept you on your toes, too!

Cathy's one true vocation was to be a mother. All of her energies became focused on her
children. It was awesome. Early on we decided to have one child. This was a compromise from
her original desire for six. Haley would be the apple of our eye. She would want for nothing.
Theo and Spencer were greeted with the same promise.

Her family was her world. Everything revolved around it, and she was never happier than when she was home at Mom and Mr. Cliff's. Their house was our sanctuary, our place of rest and recreation. It was our summer vacation destination; our Christmas; Grand Central for the family, although scattered to the four winds, always finding their way back to home. We left Opelousas in May 1987, and from that day forward tried to find a way to get back home. We found it in July 1998. Cathy enjoyed a year of being back with family.

Children would bring the biggest smile to her face. As a preschool teacher, her vocation of motherhood was broadened to take all children under her wing. Her creativity put my artistic talents to shame, but sharpened them as well. She relished her role in the life of these young people and dearly loved each and every one of them.

I readily admit that I merely reflected her radiance. Cathy was the bright spot of our family. I was the moon to her sun. She made me so comfortable that it was easy to take her for granted. She spoiled me for anything else. I always strived to be more like her: to never meet a stranger, to help rather than stay uninvlved, to embrace a sense of justice that prevails under any scrutiny. Cathy was a liberal in the truest and best sense of that word. Her immense love of mankind would not let her be anything else.