Obituary of Catherine Landry

At 88 years of age with family by her side, Mary Catherine Landry of Waterloo, Ontario, passed away peacefully in Palliative Care at the Grand River Hospital Freeport Site. 

Predeceased by her beloved husband of 66 years Donald Atcheson Landry. Beloved mother of Fraser (Laura Papsin), and Eric (Amrita Persaud). Beloved grandmother of Evan. Pre-deceased by her son Ian, her parents Dr. Hiram and Ena Wright (Ross), and her brother Dr. Jack Wright (Jan Glide). Sister of Dr. Lois Burgess (Geoff Burgess).

Catherine was born in Peterborough, Ontario and raised in nearby Keene. There her father was the town doctor, and her mother, working alongside her husband, a registered nurse. Patients received all treatments in the family home including surgery. Catherine remembered the scent of ether wafting through the house. It was in that home where she learned the table manners that were painstakingly passed on and eventually gleaned by her sons and grandson.

Catherine loved music, and as a teenager loved Frank Sinatra. Other favourites were Tony Bennett and Harry Belafonte, and of course her husband Don. Of late, she was enamored with Randy Bachman's music and storytelling.

First and foremost, Catherine loved her family and was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother.  In 1955, at her insistence, Catherine and Don moved from Burk's Falls to Waterloo. She worked in the home raising three boys (four counting Dad). She was an amazing cook, and her holiday meals were always delicious feasts. Her cookies and other baked goods were legendary with those outside the family lucky enough to try them. 

She had the sharpest mind, a voracious appetite for the news, and a child-like playfulness about her. Dinner conversations usually turned to politics and current events where Catherine was usually the most informed; she was certainly the most difficult to challenge.  Mom showed wonderful courage during the sickness and death of her son Ian in 1980. She adored her grandson Evan, spoiling him rotten.

Catherine and Don were passionate about the KW Symphony and the Stratford Festival; she still attended both regularly. As she did, you can be sure she was well appointed and completely fashionable. 

They shared a love of boating. During retirement, they traveled the world. Catherine was deeply committed to volunteering, including 31 years at the Grand River Hospital.

She will be interred at the Little Lake Cemetery in Peterborough, Ontario, next to Don, and her son Ian.

A memorial service and reception will be held on Wednesday, September 18, 2019, at 1:00 p.m. at the Erb & Good Funeral Home in Waterloo, Ontario.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts can be made to the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada or The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.