Maia Santamaria

She was legally Catherine; most knew her as Maia; and in the past few years she introduced herself as Cat to her comedy and literary colleagues.

Maia was born on September 22, 1951 in Alton, Illinois. She moved with her family several times before they settled in Atlanta. She graduated from Lovett high School in 1969 and from Georgia Tech in 1973. She married the love of her life and best friend Jose Santamaria in 1982 while in Atlanta, and the two moved to Rome, Georgia in 1995.

Maia had careers in hotel management, real estate, and marketing. She founded several graphics businesses, and had even been a bartender at Jose’s family’s restaurant. Her gradual loss of vision forced her temporary retirement on disability in 2002, but she soon found herself volunteering at the Northwest Georgia Center for Independent Living. She then became part-time, full-time, assistant director, and finally executive director of the center, holding that position until retiring in 2021. This was the career she felt was most fulfilling.

She loved animals, especially cats and dogs. She volunteered and fostered cats, keeping some of them, for the Rome Floyd Humane Society. She also became president of the organization, and was a board member of the Floyd County Animal Control board.

Her vision loss also did not deter her from joining her husband Jose on adventures such as camping throughout the country, tandem cycling including a five-day adventure across the Silver Comet Trail, mule riding down the Grand Canyon, and hiking through the Redwoods in California and through Little Antelope Slot Canyon in Arizona, among many other things. She loved the beach, and could sit under an umbrella all day in front of the Gulf enjoying an audio book. She also loved helping make their house a home, and took an active part in their many remodeling projects, even using a Sawzall once or twice.

More recently in her life she took up stand-up comedy, performing in Rome, Atlanta, and Columbus. In 2023 she published a book of her poetry, Echoes, Shadows, and the Wind, a lifelong project that she was very proud of.

Family and friends remember her as a loving, caring, and giving person. She was also tenacious - her blindness never stopped her from anything she set her mind to do. She used voice technology to master her computer and smart phone. She enjoyed knitting, even when she dropped stitches, tried her hand at pottery, and took up playing an Appalachian guitar.

Maia is preceded in death by her parents John and Mary Ribbing. She had no siblings but was considered an integral part of the Santamaria family. She is survived by her husband Jose; Jose’s brother Juan, his wife Judy, and their son Jason, wife Elizabeth, and daughter Clare; and their son Nick, his wife Sarah; Jose’s sister Maria, her son Stephen and wife Teresa, her son Justin and his sons Carter and Jace; and Jose’s brother Pat, his wife Laura, and their son Will, his wife Andrea, and their children London, Heidi, and Phoenix.

The family will have a Celebration of Life to remember Maia Santamaria on Saturday, March 2nd at 12 noon at the Rome Area History Museum upstairs in the Special Event Space at 305 Broad Street in Rome.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Maia’s memory to Emory Healthcare, the Northwest Center for Independent Living, or a charity of one’s choice.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Daniels-FuneralHome.com for the Santamaria family.

Daniels Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Mrs. Catherine Maia Santamaria.