GLOUCESTER – Catharine S. Flygare, 100, died on Thursday, November 4, 2010 at the Seacoast Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Gloucester. She was the wife of the late Charles L. Flygare.
Born in Rochester, Minnesota on August 14, 1910 she was the daughter of the late John Hunter Selby, MD and Delia (Slaughter) Selby. She attended the Old Trails Private School, and was its oldest living alumni. Its headmaster visited her in recent years. She graduated from William and Mary in 1933.
During her senior year at college, she married a budding actor, Maurice Tarplin, and moved to New York City, where Maurice was successful in theater and radio, appearing in "Inner Sanctum" and in his own program, "The Mysterious Traveler."
After her divorce, she moved to sunny Miami. She worked for Peck & Peck and transferred to Magnolia, where she met her husband, Charles L. Flygare, a World War II veteran of the United States Coast Guard. In addition to Peck & Peck, she worked several years at Johnny Appleseed’s in Beverly, before her retirement.
After retirement, she and Charles made several trips to Sweden. They purchased a Swedish built boat called the “Ursa Minor”, and enjoyed many summers cruising the waters in and around Gloucester.
Several of her family and friends gathered at Seacoast Rehabilitation and Nursing Center this summer to help her celebrate her 100th birthday.
She is survived by a special nephew, Bill Flygare and his wife Joyce, of Gloucester; a special niece, Janet Selby and her partner Peppy Huffman, of Las Vegas; and several other nephews and nieces including, Jay Selby and his wife Heather, James Selby, Julian Selby, Laura Dee Selby, Penny Riley and her husband James, Cheryl Gossom and her husband Kenneth, Jacqueline Osgood, Geraldine Cressey, Kenneth Flygare and his wife Marcia and several great nieces and nephews, Alicia Walker, Allison Selby, Siera Selby, William Flygare, III, Amy Gaipo, Danielle Flygare, Jodi Martin, Judi Gill, Rebecca Rowe, Michael Gossom, Clinton Osgood, Keith Osgood, William Cressey, Christopher Cressey, and Leigh Flygare; and several great-great nieces and nephews.
Her funeral services will be privately held at the convenience of the family. There are no visiting hours.