Catherine A. (Kelley) Hanna

Cathy shared with us ninety-five full, funny, fearless years, and she filled every one of them with love. A spirited girl her Uncle Wayne fondly nicknamed "Tinka," she became a strong woman who never lost that spark — and who has a way of making everyone around her feel cherished. Her big, beautiful, infectious smile and the twinkle in her eye are unmistakable. Forever joyful — never without a funny moment to share — she meets life with an adventurous spirit, an optimistic soul, and a kind gesture for everyone she meets. Her positive spirit runs through everything she does; it is simply how she embraces life. Think positive! she always says — and whenever family and friends need her, she helps them find their way forward. And if one way doesn't work, she finds another!

Cathy was born Catherine Ann Kelley on June 20, 1930, in New Hampshire, and grew up in St. Albans, Vermont, at the heart of a big, loving family. Her mother, Lucille Benoit Kelley, was a nurse with a caring spirit Cathy would inherit; her father, Charles Kelley, was taken from them far too soon, during his service in the war. Cathy grew up alongside her brother, John, surrounded by her many Benoit aunts and uncles — Uncle Wayne among them — and her grandmother Priscilla, a steady, loving presence in her life. At the age of two, scarlet fever took her hearing. It was a turn of events that might have made her life smaller, but for Cathy it only ever made it bigger — deepening her determination, carrying her to Brattleboro's Austine School for the Deaf and the Lexington School in New York City, and opening the door to a vibrant Deaf community that is one of the great loves of her life.

On a summer Saturday morning — July 5, 1958, at nine o'clock at Saint Mary's Church in St. Albans — Cathy was given in marriage by her brother John and, in a ballerina-length gown of white nylon over satin and Chantilly lace, became the bride of her own great love, Hugh Leo Hanna of Methuen. Together they settled in Massachusetts to build a home and a family, raising two beautiful children, Brenda and Tim, and filling their years with adventure. Cathy's curiosity carries her around the world — to Canada, California, Hawaii, Ireland, Italy, New York, and Las Vegas — and she and Hugh crossed the country more than once, by car and by train, simply to see what was out there. Hugh went before her, and we take comfort in knowing the two of them are together again — off on the next adventure.

She is, through and through, a loving and caring soul. She has a gift for making everyone around her feel like the most welcome person in the room. She is also gloriously undeterred. If Cathy sets her mind to something, it is as good as done; no one and nothing is going to talk her out of it. That same tender heart and quiet strength is what so many of us cherish most.

There is so much joy in her. She loves to engage with people and ever since her early days in school would never pass up the chance to get dressed for fun! All comic timing and that unmistakable, beautiful smile. She loves to laugh, and she loves to make others laugh — true to form, always making jokes. Always warm hearted and loving fun. Many remember when she'd tell you, with all her heart, "wow!", a teasing "bad boy!", and a heartfelt assurance that you are "a wonderful man" — and when the moment is just right, she'll stick out her tongue with a grin that says everything. Wherever there are people getting together, and a little fun to be had, that's where you'll find Cathy.

Cathy shared her time and her whole heart with the Deaf community, a community that became her extended family. Taking on official roles in the organizations she believed in, including the Quincy Deaf Club. For many years she did technical assembly work, and she was, always, the heart and homemaker of her family. She has a lifelong love affair with ice cream — a Friendly's Hot Fudge Sundae is her idea of pure happiness — and a delight in technology that never fades; she loves nothing more than getting her hands on the latest gadget, learning its tricks, and having fun with it. And through nearly all of it, there is a dog at her side — her truest companions and her very best friends.

Cathy has two children, Brenda and Tim, and three grandchildren — Jimmy, Adam, and Jenny — who carry her warmth forward, along with the countless friends who are lucky enough to share in her laughter. The love she gives so freely lives on in every one of them. We are extremely grateful and honored to be her children.

Please enjoy a nice big hot fudge sundae with walnuts in her honor — tell a good joke, have fun, hug your friend, and hug your dog a little tighter — Have a fun time together with family and friends — this is Cathy's heartfelt wish!

Cathy's Poem

Just a Moment

Please don't grieve for me, my dear—

I have only gone ahead.

Keep our laughter, keep our love, the things our hands once said.

I am not lost, not far away,

not anywhere but near;

and when your own road brings you home,

you'll find me waiting here.

So please live the way we shared—

with joy, optimism, and cheer—

for this is not the end of us,

just a moment, and we're together again,

my dear.

Cancer has touched so many of the people Cathy holds dear, and so many families like ours. In her memory, we warmly invite you to consider a gift toward cancer research. A contribution toward a future with less of this heartbreak would be a blessing to us all — and exactly the kind of generosity Cathy lives by every day.

Family and friends will honor and remember Cathy’s life by gathering for an Evening Wake in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Tuesday, June 23rd from 4 to 7 p.m. and again at 9:30 on Wednesday morning before leaving in procession to Saint Jude Church, 147 Main Street, Waltham where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Burial will follow in Immaculate Conception Cemetery, Methuen.