Catherine (“Cathy”) Louise Pierce passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at the Sussman House in Rockport, Maine. Cathy was one of the Wild Women and could always be found surrounded by her loving family.

Born into the lively Fitzpatrick family of Brewer, Maine, Cathy was the third of eight children in the household of Joseph and Sally Fitzpatrick. Family was an important fabric of Cathy’s life and likely the result of her close-knit group of siblings growing up together during her formative years on State Street in Brewer. Her siblings include Betty (and Jim) Gerding, Sylvia (and Ed) Libby, Mary (and Jim) McGrath, Dot (and Don) Tarzia, Ruth (and Larry) Rioux, Joe (and Diane) Fitzpatrick, and Ed (and June) Fitzpatrick.

Cathy was educated at Tufts University and the University of Maine at Orono. It was at the wedding of her sister, Mary, where Cathy met her future husband, life partner, and eventual caregiver, James “Jim” Lawrence Pierce aka “Pop-Pop.” She loved the large and lively extended family gatherings over the years which were always chaotic and never quiet.

She and Jim would eventually settle in Kennebunkport where they would raise their family, son Michael (and wife, Kate), and daughter, Amy (and husband, David), now both residents of Hope, Maine. Cathy was a well-known realtor in the Kennebunks, and very active and passionate about her hometown. A voracious reader, she spent many hours visiting and volunteering at the Graves Memorial Library (and later the Fernandina Beach Public Library), playing bridge with a dedicated group of friends, completing a daily crossword puzzle, and competitively watching a nightly Jeopardy episode. Cathy also enjoyed tennis and has many fond memories of her days playing and socializing at the Kennebunk River Club.

Cathy also loved the beach. In the Kennebunks she might be found at Goose Rocks, Mother’s, or the Colony Beach, and in later years at Summer Beach on Amelia Island, Florida, where she and Jim spent much of their retirement. She could easily be identified as she would be the one drinking Tab (in later years Diet Coke) and eating cheese puffs.

Cathy had a wonderful presence wherever she went in life coupled with an underlying spirit of resolve and grit. Diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the early 1990s she would spend two consecutive summers at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where she eventually (and successfully) underwent an autologous bone marrow transplant. It was also during those successive summers that she left the hospital to walk Amy, and later Mike, down the aisle for their wedding ceremonies, IV port still intact.

As a result of those two weddings, Cathy welcomed her son-in-law, David Root, and later daughter-in-law, Kate Bergen, into her life and she will be eternally grateful for their presence in it.

Later in life Cathy and Jim settled into a Quarry Hill cottage in Camden to be closer to their family. It was her grandchildren that would keep Grammy Cathy going and bring renewed sparkle to her spirit. Ella, Lincoln, and Cormac Pierce, and Phoebe and Chloe Root, are the grandkids that Grammy Cathy thought she would never live to see. However, often seen on the sidelines, at the pool, or in the concert hall, the past couple of decades have brought her and Pop-Pop joy and meaning in watching their grandchildren grow up in mid-coast Maine. We should all be so lucky.

Cathy’s grandchildren will host a celebration of life on Feb. 27, 2022, at 3 p.m. at High Mountain Hall in Camden, Maine. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers Cathy’s family would appreciate any memorial donations be sent to the Camden Area District Nursing Association at P.O. Box 547, Camden, ME 04843. To share a memory or condolence with Cathy’s family please visit their Book of Memories at www.bchfh.com.