Cathy Ann Ladd

Cathy Ann Ladd, affectionately known as Noose or Noosey-poo, passed away peacefully, of natural causes, in her sleep at Peak Resources on Sunday, October 11, 2026, in Wilmington, North Carolina. Born on January 13, 1953, in Wilmington, NC, Cathy lived a simple life of 73 years.

Cathy was preceded in death by her parents, Milton D Ladd, Sr. and Laura Maude Turner Ladd, and her sister, Janice Ladd Davenport and brother-in-law Gene Davenport.

She is survived by her brother, Duke Ladd, and his wife Amanda who came to be her caretakers for the last 10 years before her move to Peak in 2025. Also surviving are her sister-in-law, Kathy D Mitchell and husband Danny, great niece, Jaclyn D Velie, husband Jason and their family, cousin Linda B Peck, dear friend Stephanie Moore, and Cathy’s best friend Karen Greene. She is also survived by several cousins and nephews.

Cathy was best known for her vocabulary and love of birds and animals. She was proficient with her ability to complete word search puzzles and she enjoyed reading simple short stories like those in her Bible storybook or the Chicken Soup books…….especially those pertaining to cats or dogs!

She even taught her brother, Duke, to read when she was 7 and he was 5 and thus the reason that he entered first grade reading the Reader’s Digest!

She was curious about many things and would often ask what is a this or that. When she met someone she quickly asked them about their pets and told them about hers! She especially loved her orange and white cat named Tiger, who also survives her, and within minutes of meeting her you knew all about Tiger!

Cathy had an amazing knowledge of birds and could identify most any that you asked her about…..once when we asked her about a little bird in our yard, she responded, “Oh yes, that’s a black capped chickadee!”

Cathy loved music of all kinds be it popular, country, classical or hymns. She fell asleep every night listening to classical music on her radio. Some of her favorite artists were the Monkees, Alan Jackson (whom she got to go see in concert at the Azalea Festival) Christy Lane and The Lewis Family. She also wasn’t shy about telling you that her brother Duke could play all of them on the piano for you if you wanted. She was his unofficial PR person!

Cathy attended Chestnut Street School for 1st grade, but then transferred to Washington Catlett School for Special Ed. where she completed her education thru the 8th grade. In summers, the family would take weeks long car trips pulling a camper to places all over the country and Cathy got to see and do many things. She became an avid collector of souvenir spoons from her travels. As an adult she had the opportunity to travel to Cancun and to the Holy Land with her sister Janice and brother-in-law Gene. In the 1970’s Cathy worked at the New Hanover County Workshop where she met her best friend Karen with whom she has shared an enduring friendship for the last 50 plus years.

After the Workshop, Cathy attended a program at The Wave where she met Joyce Kirkum, a staff member that became another long-time friend. For the last 10 years Cathy worked at Coastal Enterprises where she quickly befriended the staff, especially the production room supervisor, Agnes Pridgen. She enjoyed her work, making friends, going bowling and to dances once a month.

She also participated in the annual Special Olympics, winning many ribbons over the years for her softball toss and walking prowess. The annual catch, weigh & release fishing tournament at Kure Beach was another event that she enjoyed.

At age 66 Cathy tried her hand at being a surfer girl! She participated in a special needs surf camp for a day, provided by IndoJax Surf Charities, where the theme of the day was “If I can surf, I can do anything!” She was up for the challenge, succeeded and it was a really fun day!

Cathy loved to GO most anywhere AND to go out to eat!

She attended just about every festival (and has the t-shirt to prove it) that occurred and was most recently asking about the Spot Festival and County Fair. She also planned, throughout the year, where her birthday dinner would be because she got to go anywhere she wanted to for dinner and this was a big deal! Her favorite cake was coconut and she had already put in her request for one this coming year!

Cathy had a gentle innocent soul and quite a personality! She will be missed by many who came to know her and her special ways. We want to recognize and thank the Nurses and CNAs on the 200 hall at Peak for their kindness, patience and good care for Cathy during these last 16 months. It takes a very special person to be called to care for these residents and we were blessed to know some of them. We also thank Ms. Lisa for the love, kindness and enthusiastic greetings she gave Cathy each time she saw her!

Funeral service will be conducted at 1:00 pm, Monday, November 2, 2026 Grace United Methodist Church, 401 Grace St., Wilmington, NC. Reverend Skip Williams will officiate. Reception and visitation following the service in the Welcome Center and we hope you are able to join us.

In lieu of flowers, a donation to any of these organizations would be appreciated. *SkyWatch Bird Rescue - 3600 Lynn Ave., Castle Hayne, NC 28429

*Coastal Enterprises - 1214 Kidder St., Wilmington, NC 28401 (please note that the donation is in memory of Cathy)

*Adopt An Angel - PO Box 15095, Wilmington, NC 28408

*Paws Place - PO Box 67, Winnabow, NC 28479