Catherine Byerly

Catherine grew up surrounded by family in Quincy, where she attended St. Boniface grade school. While attending Notre Dame High School, she worked as a switchboard operator and proof reader at the Quincy Herald Whig. After graduating high school in 1951, she earned a B.A. degree from Quincy College, and went on to complete an M.A. in History at the University of Illinois in Champaign/Urbana. Catherine was a research assistant in the History Department at the U of I working toward a PhD when she met Ben Byerly who was also a graduate student at the time. They were married August 23, 1958. In 1964, Catherine and Ben’s growing family settled permanently in Greeley, where Ben was a professor of History at UNC. Catherine was an active parent representative at University Schools and a long time booster for UH and UNC athletics. For many years she was a parishioner at Saint Mary's Church. She always considered Greeley home, but enjoyed travel and research in Europe. She and Ben spent most of their time abroad in England, where they were for 17 years associated with the Public Records Office in London and edited two volumes: Records of the Wardrobe and Household 1285-1286 and 1286-1289. Catherine and her husband were in the process of editing a third book when Ben died unexpectedly in London in 1990. Catherine saw the project through to completion in 1996 with the publication of Dearest Phylabe: Letters from Wartime England By Edith Base.

Catherine was an avid reader and could solve NY Times crossword puzzles in record time. She attended Pulmonary Care Exercise classes at NCMC and made many friends there. Catherine’s last couple of years were spent in the Memory Care facility at Meadow View in Greeley, where a painting she created won an award from the Alzheimer’s Foundation. Family would like to thank both Meadow View and Life Care of Greeley for the compassionate and supportive care they provided. Catherine is survived by brother Ted (Cindy) Ridder of Ionia Michigan, sisters Marilyn Ridder and Ruth Tossick of Quincy Illinois, daughters Ann (Glenn) Peterson of Spring Lake Michigan and Edie (Jeff) Reynolds of Greeley, sons Ed (Zoeann) Byerly of Victoria Texas, Fred (Verena) Byerly of Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany, Geof Byerly of Cortez, Colorado, Henry (Allyson) Byerly of Greeley and 10 grandchildren. Catherine was preceded in death by her husband, Ben Byerly, brother Charles Ridder, sister Frances Kacynski and her parents, Carl and Frances Ridder.

Visitation will be at Stoddard Funeral Home from 2-3 p.m. on Saturday, February 6 followed by a Memorial Service at 3 p.m.. Catherine's family would like to request that tribute gifts be made in Catherine's name to support Alzheimer's and Dementia research.

Please visit www.stoddardsunset.com to sign an online guestbook.