Catherine Della Lancaster

Catherine Della Ables was born May 30, 1926, in Chattahoochee, GA near the Fulton/Cobb county line. The daughter of Joseph Clyde and Lula Mae Ables, she was the oldest of four children. She is preceded in death by two of her siblings; her youngest sibling resides in Ball Ground, GA.

Catherine lived most of her young life in the Egan Park section of East Point, GA, near Atlanta’s international airport. Her parents worked to make a living during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. As a young girl, Catherine developed kitchen and housekeeping skills as a necessity for her part in helping the family maintain. She learned to cook frugally and innovatively out of necessity. Her experience resulted in being able to prepare sumptuous meals and desserts. Decorative cakes became her specialty and were not only innovatively designed but delicious as well. Eventually she was able to train others in the art of baking and decorating delicious cakes with innovative designs.

Catherine met and married Adrian Lancaster on January 5, 1947. They lived for three years in Ft Valley, GA where their first son was born. After moving to College Park GA, two other sons were born to complete the family. Before marriage, Catherine worked as a riveter assembling B-29 bombers during WWII at Bell Bomber Assembly plant in Marietta, GA. After starting a family, she dropped out of the workforce to be a stay-at-home mother and housekeeper, a full-time job no less.

Catherine loved adventure by travelling. When Adrian was hired by Delta Air Lines in 1955, their opportunity for travel opened to faraway places they never thought they would be able to see. They took the family to Texas, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada and California to explore vistas and natural beauty foreign to what they were so accustomed to in the South. Of course, they never tired of travelling to Florida and the North Carolina mountains. After their sons left home and married, Catherine enjoyed touring England and Scotland with Adrian and friends. Delta was certainly ready when they were!

As her years advanced, Catherine experienced health challenges that ultimately required 24/7 nursing care. She spent the last 18 months residing at A.G. Rhodes Health & Rehab at Wesley Woods on the Emory campus. While there she enjoyed participating in the bi-weekly Music Therapy sessions, led by local guitarist and singer John Abel. As a teenager, Catherine developed a love for dancing, especially the Jitterbug which was popular in the 40’s. Though her physical disabilities prevented her from dancing any more, Catherine used her sense of rhythm with tambourines and percussion instruments accompanying the Music Therapy guitarist. She even enjoyed singing with the group.

Catherine committed her life to Jesus Christ as a young girl and lived her Christian life serving the Lord and others. She served her church, family and the homebound by volunteering her time and energies to help those in need, sometimes even to the point of sacrificing her own needs.

Catherine was blessed with four granddaughters and two great grandchildren, who all live in Nevada and Arizona.