Catherine B. (Crocker) Gnieski of Medford, passed away at the age of 92 on Saturday, March 26th. Catherine was the daughter of the late Clarence and Barbara (Sullivan) Crocker. She was the devoted wife of the late Frank Gnieski. Catherine was predeceased by her brother James Crocker of Barnstable. Her sister-in-law Margie and nephew Sean reside in Virginia. Catherine is survived by her sons and their spouses, Michael & Miriam of Auburn, John & Dawn of Wakefield, Richard & Donna of Needham, and by her grandchildren, Bryan, Meaghan, Caroline, Michael, Alexandra, John, Andrew, and Matthew. She is also survived by her dear friends Rose Scanlan and Patsy Silva.
Catherine graduated from Stoneham High School in 1947 and began working at a hat box company in Stoneham. Later, while working at Boston Woven Hose in Cambridge, a co-worker asked if she and her girlfriends would like to attend a dance at the Buddies Club in Boston. It was there where she would meet her husband Frank who was in the Navy. After marrying they lived in East Cambridge before moving to Medford to raise their family. Every February, Kay would look through the newspaper and secure a cottage to rent on Cape Cod for a week during the summer for her young family. There, they would visit her favorite beach, Seagull Beach in West Yarmouth. Catherine then worked as a Comptometer Operator for Tip Top Baking Co. and later at Baybank Middlesex.
Catherine had a great group of lifelong girlfriends, and she enjoyed telling stories about how much fun they had together. In retirement, Kay and Frank enjoyed traveling to Cape Cod, Atlantic City, Bar Harbor, and Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Kay was a prolific doodler and had a keen interest in scripting phrases that caught her ear such as “take the bull by the horns” and “don’t judge a book by its cover”. She loved jazz music, was an avid listener of talk radio and read the Boston Globe daily. She was a big fan of all Boston sports teams and she was the #1 fan of “Big Papi” and the Red Sox.
Kay was strong-willed, and did things her way. Her sharp wit and ability to inject a bit of humor during a difficult time, to lighten the mood, will be missed. Most of all, she loved her family with all her heart. We will be forever grateful to have had a mother like her. She will be missed dearly.
Her family would like to thank the staff at the Greenwood Nursing & Rehabilitation Center for the special care that they provided over the past two years.
Services for Catherine are private.