Anna Marie Catoir

Anna Marie Catoir, 32 years old, of Covington, La, passed away on Saturday evening, December 25th, gathered into the Shepherd’s arms that silent night & carried home to paradise. An angel inside & out, born August 23,1978. Anna Marie was the beloved daughter of Mary Modica Catoir and Clyde George Catoir Jr., & she shimmers on in their hearts and minds, now & forever a part of them.

Anna Marie graduated from Nicholls State University. She was an artist, poet, & a lively moving force in literary arts for the Northshore, of the greater New Orleans area. She was a member of the board of directors of the Northshore Literary Society. Always smiling, always kind-hearted, as a bookseller & general manager of Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Mandeville for nine years. She was a friend & mentor to many writers in the area. Her own writing, fantasy fiction & poetry, had a crisp, musical quality that was enchanting—like wind chimes blowing in a breeze. Her work has been published in Mosaic, the Nicholls State Literary Journal, & at Fictional Musings online. Her poem, Godmother, published on GoblinFruit.net in the spring of 2008, was nominated for the 2009 Dwarf Stars Award.

Her visual art in the form of mask making reveals, like the turn of seasons, a different & yet similarly unique talent. Her fantastical masks that seem spun from a magical world. Her mask, Harlequin, was displayed in 2006 at the UC Davis Design Museum in the juried exhibition, Face the Nation IV. Another mask, The Green, was displayed at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale Mask Exhibit in 2006. http://amcatoir.wordpress.com/

Anna Marie also taught classes in mask making, scrapbooking, & beginner's family tree to children & altered books for adults at St. Tammany Libraries for two years. Her masks have also been exhibited in the Mandeville Branch library each Mardi Gras season.

She reviewed books for several publishers & worked with local authors. The lure of books was overwhelming to her, travel & everything in-between. She loved masked balls, comic book conventions, live theater, photography, haunting bookstores, fairs & museums.

“ Anna Marie was such a special spirit. She was the most unique individual I have ever known. Her ability to remain true to herself & her ability to get along with everyone she met was inspirational. She was the single most non-judgmental and accepting person, with never a negative or unkind word about anyone. Anna Marie had an amazing ability to retain everything she ever read & learned, her intelligence was astounding, she was constantly doing things, I honestly believe there wasn't anything she couldn't do if she put her mind to it. She had the ability to look at a book & know who would like it. She was easily the best person I have ever known.” Lori B.

“Anna Marie's beauty inside & out, brains galore and a " to know her is to love her" personality made the room light up. I wish I could talk to her once more - I loved to have a serious conversation with her and then say something totally ludicrous & watch her roll those big, brown eyes to the sky. Life is so painful - she will be greatly missed.” Mary Lee Wood

"Anna Marie was the best of all of us. She had the biggest, most pure heart of anyone I have ever known. Anna Marie lived life to the fullest & never put off till tomorrow what she could do today. She never let her disabilities stop her or even slow her down. I love the way she collected words, she had a vocabulary that would make Webster envious. I will forever miss her infectious laugh & delightful smile. I am without a doubt one of the most fortunate people in the world for having her as a friend and sister. I like to imagine Anna Marie sitting in heaven with her wings watching over all of us, reading books & collecting words." Jessica Boynton

“Anna Marie was an angel on earth, the pain she endured was the fires and daggers of hell, she complained little but she was in deep pain, as she was so hopeful and trusting. She kept begging the doctors to get a plan to help her but it was not the case, one wasted too much time initially misdiagnosing her, she was willing to keep trying only to live another day but her body couldn't take any more. Now, she is free to read all the books, visit with all the authors gone before her, have time to finish her novel & many short stories left scattered, make all the Masks & Faerie Houses she wants or whisper book titles & hints down to all her earth bound friends. We will always be with you.” Love Mom and Dad

Greatly missed by her family, brother Guy E. Catoir, late grandparents Anna and Salvadore E. Modica and Joyce and Clyde G. Catoir Sr., aunts & uncles Stephanie & Gary Catoir, Cindy & Ronald Catoir, Joanne & Michael Palestina, cousins in Louisiana and several states, her honorary Aunt & Uncle Mary Ann & Van Dubrock, who treated her as their daughter; she was blessed with the friendship of their two sons. Also, missed by many wonderful long time friends & business associates.

Memorial visitation at 9:00 am with Mass at 11:00 am to be held on Saturday, January 8, 2011 at Garden of Memories Chapel, 4900 Airline Hwy. Metairie, La.

In lieu of flowers, donations are requested to the Anna Marie Catoir Memorial Fund, c/o Capital One Bank, 3840 Hwy 22, Mandeville, La. 70471 - envelopes available at service. This will be used to support causes close to Anna Marie's heart, to help future aspiring artists & authors through the Northshore Literary Society & the St. Tammany Library.