Our mother, Catherine Washart Baptiste died on April 29th at St. Mary's Catholic Home from complications of COVID-19 and Dementia. She was 98 years old. Catherine was born in Philadelphia on August 22, 1921.

Growing up, Mom kept things going for us all. She was either starching and ironing our school uniforms, peeling potatoes for supper because Dad loved potatoes, or asking us to please not leave our schoolbooks on the dining room table. As the years went on, and she had a little more time on her hands, she first took up paint by numbers (DaVinci's "The Last Supper" no less!), and then progressed to truly beautiful needle point creations, which we all still treasure. She worked for a time at Strawbridge and Clothier in the lady's foundation department and loved to share her funny stories with us during supper. She was surprisingly athletic into her 80's, when it was nothing for her to dive into the pool and swim a lap or two. Hands down, she baked the best apple pie and like many skilled chefs, she never used recipes or measuring cups.
Mom could be stubborn and a bit of a rebel. Feisty. She would fold her arms, tilt her chin down, and insist on her point but she also appreciated fun and retained a devilish wit throughout her life. We were recently reminded that during the final month of one of our senior years in high school, she wrote a school excuse note when her daughter wanted to skip school to pursue a summer job at the shore. Mom not only wrote an excuse for her daughter, but also for her daughter's two friends. She was perfectly willing to bend a rule or two when she thought it was important. Or fun.
Mom loved her siblings. She was the daughter of Fred and Helen Washart and grew up in Glendora, New Jersey with 9 siblings. As her dementia progressed, she often talked about her siblings and would sometimes insist that her siblings lived in St. Marys with her but were "down the hall". She became exercised if she thought her sibling was being neglected and would insist to staff that her sibling in question be cared for "right now". She retained a fondness for closeness and visiting with her family all her life. We have fond memories of Mom and Dad sitting at the kitchen table, mid-morning, with either her brother Francis Walkhart, sister Teresa Berry, sister Emma Rice, sister Helen Sparks, brothers Fred and Joe Washart, or my father's brother Ed Baptiste , sharing coffee, cake, and conversation. Siblings Margaret Kellogg, Tom Washart, and Mary Bentliff were regularly visited at their homes. She is survived by her sister-in-law Teresa Baptiste.
Mom loved and was involved in the lives of her many nieces and nephews. Over the years she celebrated their triumphs and mourned their losses until she was left with fading memories of everyone but Frank. In later years, despite her fading memory, she would share stories with her primary caregiver at St. Mary's, Rose Miller, of the wonderful Fourth of July parties she celebrated with her extended family. Rose cared for Mom for the final decade of her life in St Mary's. Mom loved her and Mom's family are so grateful this world has angels like Rose.
Mom loved our Dad, Frank Baptiste. They were married for 65 years until his passing in 2008. He told the story of driving past Mom as she waited for the bus to the roller-skating rink in Glendora on the Black Horse Pike. That day he told his friend "That's the girl I am going to marry." He got himself some skates and did his best to impress her at the rink. It took some doing for him to convince our Grandfather Fred Washart, but Mom and Dad were married on August 14, 1943. As Mom's dementia progressed, she started to shed recall of most her family but never stopped talking about Dad. Sometimes it was querulous. "Where is Frank? Why isn't he coming in from the garden for lunch? It's too hot out there!". Other times it was whimsical and humorous as on the sunny day this past February she sat with her daughter by the window and waved her hand towards the outdoors. She said "That's my husband Frank out there. He is hunting rabbits....poor rabbits."
Mom loved and is survived by her daughters Catherine Holland (Ed), JoAnne Rech (Steve), Lois Kemper (Walter), and Denise Jones (Len and grandchildren Nicole Jones and Erin Jones). Her other grandchildren and great-grandchildren are Ed Holland Jr. (Nancy), David Holland (Becky) and David Jr. And Zachary; Steve Rech (Courtney) and Kelly and Kevin, Karen Rech Hoover (Danny) and Andrew, Chase, and Paige; Lewis Holloway (Jenny) and Josie, Casper, and Ruby; Matt Holloway (Kari) and Oliver and Charlie.
Because of COVID-19, a Memorial Service will be held at a future date and Internment is private.

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