Catherine Mary Royce

She was born in Cleveland, OH on November 30, 1925 to Edwardum Murphy and Birgittam Agnes Murphy (Walsh). Kay and her family moved to Ann Arbor in 1936 and resided here ever since. She had four brothers: Edward, John, Thomas and Joseph. Her parents and siblings preceded her in death.

Kay was a graduate of St. Joseph Hospital nursing school in 1947. On July 16, 1949 she married the love of her life George Royce. They were married 31 years before George died in 1980. They had five children; Mark (Mary), Steve (Sara), Mary, Ken, and Jim (Suzy). They all survive. Kay is also survived by 14 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. One granddaughter, Monica, preceded her in death.

Kay and George moved to Dixboro in 1950 and raised their children there. She often commented on how glad she was to live there, how wonderful her neighbors were, and how blessed she was. She worked at St. Joes upon graduation for a couple of years, then took a break to raise her family before returning to work at Glacier Hills Retirement Center. She was a nurse all her life, working or not. Kay was a volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul, and did much volunteer work at St. Thomas Catholic Church, where she was a life-long parishioner.

Kay loved to garden and was rewarded with a beautiful display of many varieties of roses, peonies, lilacs, and other flowering bushes and plants. When she moved to Brookhaven in 2009, she said she did not miss the house, she missed her backyard. She was very gregarious and made many a friend. She stayed close to her fellow nursing school graduates, and had lifelong friendships with two sisters-in-law, Pat (Ed), and Marilyn (Tom). She was close to all her Murphy and Royce relatives. She took absolute joy in her interactions with her grandkids, and loved seeing the great-grandkids grow up. Kay lived a long, full life and will be deeply missed by all who knew her.

Visitation will be at Muehlig Funeral Chapel, 403 S. Fourth Ave, Ann Arbor on Saturday, December 9th from noon until 6pm. A funeral mass will be held at St. Thomas Catholic Church, 530 Elizabeth St. Ann Arbor commencing at 10am on Monday, December 11th. This will be followed by a luncheon in the parish hall.

Burial will be at Oak Grove Cemetery in Dixboro on Friday, December 15th at 2:30 pm. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the veterans group or charity of your choice. The entire Catherine Royce family is grateful to Arbor Hospice for their exceptional care.