Catherine L. Stolfi was born Catherine Ligammari on March 13, 1933, at 2319 West 12th Street in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Frank and Rose Ligammari. In the family she joined brother Peter and was later joined by sister Grace.
The Ligammari family’s home in Brooklyn was surrounded by the homes of their closest relatives, as many of the family’s parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were neighbors on the same street and even in the same apartment house. This everyday proximity of those closest to her gave the young Catherine a devotion to family that lasted all her life.
Through hard work and perseverance, Frank and Rose (along with the other parents in the extended family) never let the challenges of raising young children during the Great Depression make their family want for sustenance, comfort, or love.
As Catherine grew into her teenage years and the nationwide travails of economic hardship and war subsided, she developed friendships that were so true and durable they lasted the rest of her life. Grace Ligammari was always as much a friend as a sister, and Catherine’s best friend from third grade Sally Cassarino (now Sally Castiglia) were among Catherine’s dearest of companions as the spirited Catherine and pals filled their fun time with roller skating (participating in skate reviews in organized skate clubs at the local rinks) and, especially, every summer getting away from the confines of the city for weeks at the 1000 Acres Ranch in upstate New York. Catherine found rejuvenation in the recreations of horseback riding, lake swimming, walks, and social gatherings in the sylvan setting, and her stays at the dude ranch were something she would mention throughout her life.
After graduating from Mark Twain Junior High School in 1948, Catherine attended Lafayette High School, where she was involved in the Glee Club and the school newspaper. She graduated from Lafayette in January 1951 along with her friend Sally (and – as long-standing family trivia tells it – Lawrence Zeiger… who would later become well-known as broadcast personality Larry King).
During this time Catherine and her family and friends journeyed out on adventurous trips to diverse destinations throughout the country, including Florida, California, and Chicago – the Chicago trip being Catherine and Sally’s first foray in traveling on their own, at age 17, newly graduated from high school.
After additional training in secretarial and clerical skills, Catherine entered the working world as a young woman in New York City in the employ of various large and established advertising and insurance firms such as Foote, Cone & Belding and Seaboard Surety Company.
In 1958 Catherine met Gerald Stolfi, a World War II Navy veteran who was working as an information management specialist at CBS in New York City. Catherine and Gerald’s shared lifelong sustaining Catholic faith was one of the many facets of their lives they found they had in common, and the pair grew closer as they dated throughout the spring and summer. The couple wed on October 25, 1958, commencing a marriage would last for nearly 53 years, ending only with Gerald’s death. From the start of their marriage, and for the rest of her life, Catherine was known as Catherine L. Stolfi.
After honeymooning in Bermuda, the newlywed couple moved into Gerald’s Manhattan apartment on West 71st Street. That New York apartment gained an additional tenant with the arrival of the couple’s first son, Gerald, born on September 24, 1959. By mid-1960, when Catherine was pregnant again, it was clear the burgeoning family needed more growing room, so the young family moved into their own house at 29 Furman Drive in Emerson, New Jersey. It was soon after they took residence there that the couple welcomed their second son, Richard, born on March 14, 1961. The suburban setting offered the needed space for Gerald and Catherine, which allowed the family to grow comfortably even further with the birth of their third son, Adam, on June 27, 1963.
In her role as homemaker and mother to her young sons, Catherine was loving and thorough. It was a neat and comfortable home, and Catherine put heartfelt effort into creating the best environment for her family. From the tasteful fixtures and furniture (which were always there to be, above all, used for the family’s enjoyment) to the filling and fulfilling dinners she prepared with easy grace and confident skill (using cheap shortcuts in cooking was never an option), Catherine helped create a nurturing atmosphere for her family. Through it all, she kept her clarity and poise… the stresses of raising three rambunctious boys fewer than four years apart in age notwithstanding. (On the rare occasion of a break from her calm demeanor, any of her children who experienced the brunt of her ire could be certain they earned it.)
With Catherine’s sons approaching adolescence, the family left cookie-cutter suburbia and gained a better setting for their family life when in August 1971 they moved to a newly-built house at 26 Milrose Lane in Monsey (now Chestnut Ridge), New York. Property on a quieter street and a modern house with more space allowed Gerald and Catherine to raise their sons to come of age in a more creative atmosphere, and the established couple enjoyed the greater aesthetic treasures of their location.
As her sons grew old enough to enter high school and junior high school, Catherine once again entered the workforce. She regained employment in clerical positions, this time in large companies nearby her Monsey home, notably Lehn & Fink and American Cyanamid.
After Gerald retired in the mid-1980s, Catherine followed suit a few years later. With their sons fully grown and out on their own, Gerald and Catherine made the most of their newfound leisure time – mixing relaxing days at home with evenings out, weekend trips with longtime friends, even Caribbean cruises and a trip to Hawaii.
In early 2001 Gerald and Catherine took a greater measure of ease in their retirement when they moved to a house in a senior community in Mesa, Arizona. In this desert setting they continued to enjoy socializing and engaging their interests (Catherine was active in the community’s choir), and it was during this time that Catherine became a grandmother when her first grandchild, Addison, was born on December 24, 2001. The second generation of her descendants was rounded out with the birth of her grandson, Zander, on January 25, 2003.
Catherine suffered the singular heartbreak of losing the love of her life when her cherished husband Gerald died on August 22, 2011. The whole family had been blessed by Gerald and Catherine’s long and happy marriage, and grieved with her at the loss of their father, grandfather, and father-in-law.
Following Gerald’s death, Catherine moved into a residence on East Broadway Road, almost exactly across the street from her Mesa house, into an apartment of her own – at age 78, living alone for the first time in her life.
Although Catherine’s visual and mobile capabilities diminished in the later decades of her life, she bore all her challenges with grace and dignity, successfully applying her strengths and competencies to live as adeptly as she was able.
In May 2012 Catherine started again living with family when she moved to The Colony, Texas, to reside in her son Adam’s family’s house on Brentwood Lane. These years were filled with leisurely days, family dinners and game nights, visits from her sons and other relatives, as well as parties and other family functions. Catherine enjoyed being around everyone in her close and extended family, and she added an engaging presence to every gathering.
In the spring of 2017 it became beneficial for Catherine to once again have her own residence, this time an apartment on Arbor Creek Drive in Carrollton, Texas. Her time there was made of quiet days, social entertainments, and regular visits from her family. Through it all, Catherine’s mind was as sharp as ever.
Though not suffering much pain, Catherine’s body began faltering in the fall of 2017. On October 23 she was admitted to a hospital two buildings away from (and in sight of) her apartment, and here she made her fully-aware peace with her mortality. On October 27, 2017, at 1:17 PM, Catherine L. Stolfi died peacefully with family at her side.
Catherine L. Stolfi
March 13, 1933 - October 27, 2017
She was preceded in death by husband Gerald Stolfi; father Frank Ligammari; and mother Rose Ligammari.
She was survived by son Gerald F. Stolfi and daughter-in-law Karen Stolfi; son Richard Stolfi; son Adam Stolfi and daughter-in-law Rosie Huynh-Stolfi; grandson Addison Stolfi; grandson Zander Stolfi; brother Peter Ligammari and sister-in-law Rose Ligammari; sister Grace Haverty and brother-in-law Mike Haverty; friend Sally Castiglia; and many other beloved relatives and dear friends.
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