Catherine Jo Powell

Catherine Jo Amidon Powell, beloved mother, grandmother, sister and friend, was welcomed into eternal life on July 21, 2025, at the age of 77. Warm and loving, with a quick wit, wonderful sense of sarcasm and immensely giving heart, Cathy brought light, joy and laughter to the lives of all who knew and loved her.

Born in Des Moines Iowa, Cathy later moved to Washington, DC where she loved to bicycle around the city and sang in a bluegrass band. Making lifelong friends while there, Cathy worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative aide for Rep. Florence Dwyer of New Jersey and Rep. Jerry Pettis of California. While playing on a local softball team, she met her future husband, Paul Lamar Powell whom she married in December 1975. Cathy and Paul lived in Georgia while he attended law school, where she edited a local paper to help support his education and in turn, gained a robust vocabulary no one could touch. They enjoyed backpacking and white water rafting together and had a shared love for their golden retrievers (West, Dancer, Bear and Maziey). After moving to Alexandria, Virginia, Cathy and Paul welcomed their daughter, Sarah Morgan, born in 1982. A devoted mother, Cathy ensured her daughter always felt supported and surrounded by the love of her family. Both an avid writer and reader, Cathy took Sarah on weekly trips to the public library to pass on her love for the written word and cultivate a lifelong love of reading. They spent many hours curled up in the bookstacks together, berry-picking, swinging at the playground, baking in the kitchen, and later, impersonating favorite celebrities or trying to make one another laugh so hard they cried.

No matter what she was doing, whether cooking up delicious recipes passed on by her grandmother, Hope, beating everyone at Scrabble, solving a crossword puzzle with “ridiculous clues” or over-decorating her house for Christmas, Cathy would always have music playing in the background. In addition to just about every well-known composer of classical music, Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Barbara Streisand, BB King, Eric Clapton, Frank Sinatra and Barbara Cook were some of her favorite artists. Singing along to “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley was Cathy’s preferred tradition to mark the start of the holiday season, and she always prepared Saturday brunch listening to Vivaldi’s Four Seasons or singing along to a record playing an aria from one of her favorite operas. Music filled her life, and a song was always in her heart. She would delight in writing new, personalized lyrics to the tune of popular songs for her dearest friends and would often perform them at birthdays and reunions. Cathy considered her friendships one of her greatest blessings and always looked forward to her annual trip to Bethany beach to reunite with some of her closest friends and make lasting memories that continued to bring her delight through her final days.

When she wasn’t helping Sarah with a last-minute school project, attending a concert, wandering through a museum admiring Impressionism, or serving at Aldersgate United Methodist Church on a number of committees, Cathy was always singing. A former member of the Paul Hill Chorale and Master Chorale of Washington, Cathy had a beautiful soprano voice that she loved to share with people and offer up to God. Whether she was rehearsing a song to be sung in Carnegie Hall or at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Cathy lived and breathed music. She loved singing with the Wesley Choir and playing bells in the Handbell Choir at Aldersgate UMC and adored her church family and the treasured friendships she made while a member there for over 40 years. Cathy’s love for God and of music were especially present during her time as the Aldersgate Day School Music Director, where she shepherded God’s littlest ones toward a love for Him through music and song.

After several amazing trips within the States and abroad with some of her dearest friends, Cathy continued to offer her cherished voice to God after moving to Jacksonville, Florida to be closer to her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons, Hunter and August. She joined the choir at Avondale United Methodist Church and found renewed joy in sharing her gifts with her new church family, while maintaining close ties to her prayer group in Aldersgate. Her final year in this world at the Windsor of Ortega was rich with time spent with her beloved grandsons, who filled their Nona’s days with silliness, championship rounds of Uno, handmade art, gardening, sushi dinners and hugs.

Catherine is survived by her daughter, Sarah, her son-in-law Brian, grandsons Hunter (10) and August (8) of Jacksonville, Florida, her brother, Russell and her nephew, Clay, both of Seaford, Delaware.

In lieu of flowers, donations in honor of Cathy may be made to her grandsons’ school, The Covenant School of Jacksonville, 2300 Bartram Road, Jacksonville, Florida, 32207.

A memorial service to celebrate Cathy’s life will be held on Saturday, September 20th at 2pm at Aldersgate United Methodist Church, 1301 Collingwood Road, Alexandria, VA 22308.

“I’ll find you in the morning sun

And when the night is new

I’ll be looking at the moon

But I’ll be seeing you.”

-I’ll Be Seeing You, Frank Sinatra