Catherine Marie Davis

Catherine Schafer (called "Katie" when she was young) was born in rural Maryville, MO, the younger of two daughters of Ben and Ida Schafer. Katie was only about five when she lost her mother to cancer.

She married Leland Davis in 1931 and gave birth to two daughters, Karol and Linda. The family moved to Kansas City, MO, in the early 1940s and settled in St. Joseph, MO, in 1946.

Catherine worked as a telephone operator, retiring around 1970.

Because of Leland's drinking problem, Catherine divorced him about 1947 -- a rare and courageous act for a woman to initiate in those days. Some of her own relatives turned her and her two daughters away because they did not want the stigma of a divorced woman living with them.

Nevertheless, Catherine took Leland back around 1950, though they divorced again a few years later. Not long after, Leland suffered a stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed. Catherine again showed her enormous love and courage by taking care of him for over 20 years, until shortly before her death.

Grandma Catherine was the rock of the family. Her two daughters were enormously loving and loyal to her. Her grandsons remember her fondly for the fudge she baked, the small organ she played, and the holiday dinners that were held at her house. Catherine always found time to play with her grandsons and to listen to their problems as they grew up.

Though her illness from cancer and subsequent death hit the family hard, we were blessed to have her in our lives for as long as we did.