Catherine (Cathy) Murphy Metcalfe passed away after a brief illness on Monday, September 18, 2023. She was born on July 1, 1940, to Frank and Rose Murphy and grew up with six siblings in Metuchen, NJ. She was married to the love of her life, Robert (Bob) Metcalfe, for almost 61 years after meeting him on a blind date set up by her sister.
Cathy lived in New Jersey and retired to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, 21 years ago after living there for six years in the 1970s. She worked at Johnson & Johnson and AT&T, but her favorite job was mother to her two daughters, Nancy and Susan, and MumMum to her eight grandchildren.
Cathy and Bob loved to travel and visited every US state as well as five continents. Some of their favorite vacations were taking National Parks road trips with each grandchild (in pairs), bringing the whole family on a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon, and later taking the whole group on an adventure trip in Costa Rica. They also loved hosting family and friends at their beautiful home in Ponte Vedra.
Cathy was a voracious reader and a lifelong game player. She played bridge and trivia with her friends and loved to do crossword and sudoku puzzles, but her favorite activity was sitting around the kitchen table with her family playing double solitaire, spades, categories, and Rummikub.
She is survived by her husband, Bob, her daughters Nancy Tegeler (David) and Susan Ablondi (Fred) and eight grandchildren: Caroline Tegeler, Eileen Ablondi, Andrew Tegeler, Timothy Ablondi, Jane Tegeler, Elizabeth Ablondi, Matthew Ablondi, and Christopher Ablondi. She is also survived by her six siblings, Frank Murphy, Peggy Lamb (Tom), Maryann Murphy (Rich Sousanis), Jane Kinyon (Rich), Rose Carini (Ray), and John Murphy (Nancy), and a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, October 7, 2023, starting at 11 am at Ponte Vedra Valley. The family will share memories at 11 am, followed by the funeral at 11:30 with Father Knight officiating. Immediately following will be a graveside committal service and reception, all at Ponte Vedra Valley.
Memorial contributions may be made to Cathy’s favorite charity, JDRF https://bit.ly/3EMUXgf, whose important research has helped several family members.
