Catherine "Kay" Noone Woods

Catherine (Kay) Noone Woods, 87, passed away at the home of her daughters on Thursday May 23, 2024. Kay had been a longtime patient of Harbor Hospice and we are very grateful to her nurses for making her comfortable these last few years. Thank you.

Kay is survived by her children Michele, Marie (John), Ann (Rafael), Dennis (Leigh), Pat (Dana), Cate and Joe, daughter-in-law Holly (Jim), 20 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren and 4 siblings. She is predeceased by her loving husband Jim, son Jim, her parents and 8 siblings.

Kay was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana before moving to Houston with her husband as a newlywed in the summer of 1959. Growing up as one of 13 children, she attended Assumption Grade School, located less than a half of mile from home. Even though school was close to home, she often joked with us that she had to “walk miles up hill both ways in the snow with her brother Francis on her back”. She completed high school at Sacred Heart. After graduation, she joined three of her sisters as an employee at the RCA record manufacturing plant and was assigned as a clerk typist in the personnel department. Kay would relay tales of looking forward to being asked by her supervisor to escort guests from the front gate to the recording studios where we’re sure she met many (now) famous artists. After two years, Kay left her job to marry the love of her life, Jim, whom she affectionately called the “blue-eyed boy from Texas”. Jim and Kay celebrated 64 years of wedded bliss before Jim’s passing in January 2023. So often we are reminded by friends, family and church members that they miss seeing our parents always holding hands. Maybe this is the key to a long and happy marriage? May they both rest in peace.

Our Mom doted on all her children. It was her love of children, especially babies, that led her to take on babysitting as a source of income while we were growing up. So many of her “children” called her Grandma and kept in touch long after they left her care. There were times when these “children” would stop by to say hello to Mom and Dad while they were sitting outside on the driveway, a favorite pastime.

In addition to raising eight children, Mom and Dad were actively involved with their parish, Corpus Christi Catholic Church. They were in Family Guild, RCIA, sponsors for couples in the marriage counseling program and eucharistic ministers for the distribution of communion to patients at St. Joseph’s Hospital. They also volunteered frequently at Corpus Christi grade school. Their contributions culminated in the Woods Award - an annual service award created in their honor.

Mom and Dad loved to travel and the family spent many weekends going on Sunday drives or camping. There was the annual summer trip to Indianapolis to visit Kay’s parents and to attend the family reunion picnic. Jim and Kay also traveled with their children’s families to Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Mount Rushmore, Biltmore, Branson, California, Florida, New York, Belize and many other locales.

Mom was a wonderful Mother. We will miss her sly sense of humor, her gentle reminders to clean our room and her limitless love of children, often stopping to talk and admire little babies wherever she went. We mourn her loss everyday but are comforted in knowing that she is in heaven with Dad, God and family.

A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, July 20 at 11:00 a.m. at Corpus Christi Catholic Church at 9900 Stella Link Rd., Houston, Texas 77025. The family asks that those who wish to make a donation, please consider donating in her memory to the Corpus Christi Catholic Church Capital Campaign.