Catherine F. Chapman died 25 April 2024, after a tragic, twelve-month ordeal with neuroendocrine carcinoma. She was a too-early sixty-seven. Cathy leaves children Fred and Sara, brother Joe Fonseca, nephews Gabe and Frankie, niece Lauren, and husband Mike.
Born 15 April 1957 in Manhattan to Jeanne Devlin and Francis Fonseca, Cathy graduated from the Bronx School of Science, earned a BA in anthropology from Boston University, became a social worker running a group home, and after a spell on an organic farm in Maine retrained in 1984 as a Cobol programmer. Cathy spent most of her career at Fidelity Investments, retiring in 2021 as lead software engineer.
She met Mike in 1985, marrying in 1987; when Cathy was pregnant with Fred they sold their Somerville home, embarking on a memorable three-month tour of Europe in a British ambulance adapted to a camper.
From pottery to dressmaking to painting to baking, Cathy was a consummate craft worker, practical skills she inculcated not only in raising her children but several troops of Charlestown’s Girl Guides. She loved annual family beach trips to Ocean City, bike riding and flying kites; she was an avid camper, enjoying many sojourns in the Adirondacks with the Webbers; and lately took up sailing and scuba diving.
Host and cook to legendary Saturday dinner parties and Christmas extravaganzas, as well as weekend host at her husband’s Il Capriccio restaurant, above all, we remember Cathy as the most devoted, loving, and supportive of mothers.
A dear friend, a deep intellect, and an inspiration to us all: we miss you Cathy.