Cathy Nicolle Pedersen

“Give me a problem and I’ll hand you a solution.” Those who knew Cathy Pedersen would agree that motto accurately described her. Cathy was a woman of great drive and a very original, independent thinker. For Cathy, no challenge was impossible, and just about any desired result was within her grasp. Cathy placed great trust in her intuition. Since that intuition generally led her in the right direction, who was she to doubt it.       She was the daughter of Dorothy and Stanley Nicolle. Her childhood found her in Scarborough where she matured into the independent person she eventually became.      During her grade school years, Cathy was a very focused and serious student who actually enjoyed the challenge of many classroom problems. She was determined to succeed, and she drew upon her gifts of trust and perseverance to provide her with a competitive edge. While her first love might have been academics, Cathy took part in playing music. She enjoyed her music and going to school. Cathy delighted in projects that required planning, critical thinking and resolution.      During high school, Cathy was relentless in her pursuit of learning, especially in those subject areas that really grabbed hold of her interests. It wasn't that she didn't put forth her best efforts in all classes, but if a subject really interested her, she would eagerly put forth extra effort to learn all she could. Her favorite class in high school was music class.      Cathy was loyal to her friends. She found that she was most in tune with people who had similar interests and thought about things much the way that she did. Cathy sometimes had a tendency to be critical in her friendships but she was more interested in finding out what was right in a situation rather than in being mean toward others. She never intentionally set out to hurt any of her friends. Cathy was a person who challenged others to fend for themselves and to be original in their thinking and evaluation of the outside world. Later in life, she became friends with Allison, Frances, Roberta, Jennete, Steve, John and Greige.      On June 26, 1993, Cathy exchanged wedding vows with Walter Pedersen at Agincourt Baptist of Scarborough, Ontario. Walter's sensitivity to Cathy's needs proved to be a wonderful influence on this woman. Walter's influence brought Cathy to a new emotional level, one that eventually enhanced all of her other gifts and abilities. Walter was able to help Cathy appreciate the fact that others made contributions and Cathy became better at interacting with those around her. Because of this, Cathy grew as a person.      During Cathy's professional working years, she was at her best when working independently. It became the hallmark of her performance. Cathy was generally able to refocus her drive and determination and readily work toward finding a way to get things done that was beneficial to herself and her co-workers. Her primary occupation was as a Quality Control Operator. She was employed for Cascades for 27 years .      For Cathy, her outside interests and hobbies became another exercise in learning and mastering areas that interested her. She greatly enjoyed unraveling the "hows" and "whys" that lay behind her hobbies. Cathy was always pushing herself to learn more and to stretch her knowledge base even further. She firmly believed that the more things that she knew the more control she would have over things. Her favorite pursuits were her books, her knitting and her dogs.      Watching her favorite sporting events by herself was never a problem for Cathy. It allowed her to indulge in her own individual interpretation of the event. It was not uncommon for Cathy to know what the right play or move “should have been,” and she would vocally address these feelings even if there was no one around to hear them. And if there were others around, she would still state her feelings and gladly debate anyone on their opposing views. Recreational sports included riding her bike. She enjoyed following her favorite sporting events.      Cathy's faith allowed her to better appreciate the gifts and opinions of others. This deepening aspect of her life helped her to accept her own feelings to a greater degree. She was a member of the Baptist Church for many years.      Cathy's skepticism was visible when she found it necessary to place too much trust in one person. This was never clearer than when it was time for her to schedule a vacation or period of time away from her regular schedule. Cathy loved the research aspects of planning a trip, but the actual process of relaxing was far more difficult. Still, she did manage to enjoy some time away. Favorite vacations included trips to Newfoundland and North Carolina.      Cathy was a lover of animals and cherished her pets. Some of Cathy's favorites were her cat "Doc", her cat "Simon", her parrot "Buttons", her Cocker Spaniel "Baby", her Lassa Poo "Snooky' and her West Highland Terrier "Fergus". Her family was rounded out by her tropical fish.      Cathy Pedersen passed away suddenly on December 9, 2009 at her work place as the result of heart disease. She is survived by her husband Walter and her father Stanley. Services were held at Oshawa Funeral Home Chapel. Cathy was laid to rest in Pine Hills Cemetery, Scarborough, Ontario.      Cathy Pedersen was always drawn to what was measurable, practical and factual. She was a very competent person who expected competence from others. She could be headstrong and certain about the way things were suppose to be. She was determined in every aspect of her life and certain that she was usually right about things. She trusted her intuition over all else, even if it opposed the popular belief, and she had faith in her inner vision and speculations. She wanted to be acknowledged by others as having made a contribution to whatever she was working on. Her family and friends will miss her fierce determination, relentless innovations and analytic mind. She leaves with all those who knew her many wonderful memories.