Mary Catherine Waibel

Mary Catherine (Tippins) Waibel slid peacefully from this life on February 7, 2025, in Jacksonville, FL. Cloaked in music and love, she leaned into respite from an unwinnable battle just shy of her 73rd Birthday.

Cathy was born on February 17th, 1952, in Daytona Beach, FL, to the delight of parents Al and Mary. She was the first of three children, followed by sister Cindy and brother Jeff. The family later relocated to Jacksonville where Cathy graduated ahead of her class from Englewood High School. She was brilliant.

An abridged depiction of ensuing decades would surely read as fiction to casual passersby, replete with myriad adventures and wacky characters. She was a self-proclaimed rebel heart with wildflowers and boogie-woogie in her soul. The path she trod suggests this is accurate. Her professional endeavors spanned an array of disciplines from switchboard operator to administrative assistant. She became a connoisseur of fonts and clip art. As a teenager, she also dreamt of joining the circus. This ambition, alas, did not materialize. Unconventional circumstances notwithstanding, lifelong friends attest she was overjoyed to become a mother, first with Chris and later Sarah.

Cathy’s appetite for reading can only be described as insatiable, which still doesn’t capture it. She loved everything about books - the feel of a hardback in her hands, the life they brought to an empty shelf. Her synapses ignited across genres from Asimov to Evanovich and untold worlds between. Her wit and lexicon made her masterful at dropping clever wordplay into casual conversation, which occasionally amused her into unruly giggles.

She loved cats, cooking, crafts, and foliage. Remarkably, she had a knack for all of them. In earlier years, she sewed closets of clothes for herself, her sister, her friends, and then her children. She was invigorated by all things creative and artistic, music especially - hippie folk blues rock, Ronstadt or Diamond or The Mamas and the Papas or… get the picture? Yes, we see.

She was obsessed with flamingos.

Even with little else to spare, she offered kindness indiscriminately. Random strangers divulged their sadness or turmoil, regularly and unsolicited. She was ever mystified by this phenomenon, unaware of the love she radiated.

Cathy lost her baby sister, Cynthia Louise Tippins, far too soon. Mother, Mary (Doon) Tippins and father, Alton Vernon Tippins, also preceded her in death, along with several beloved kitties. She is survived by son, Christopher Waibel, daughter, Sarah Catherine Waibel, and brother, Jeffrey Vernon Tippins (probably).

We will celebrate Cathy Waibel, the kaleidoscope, at Hardage-Giddens Oaklawn, date and time to be determined. In lieu of flowers, she would prefer memorial contributions be made to K9s for Warriors or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Little did she know how rich we are for knowing her… So it goes.