Catharine Stayer

Catharine Grace Bemis Stayer passed away unexpectedly early Thursday morning surrounded by her children and grandchildren at St. Vincent's hospital in Green Bay. She was 71. Born Catharine Grace Bemis on June 9th, 1943 at St. Nicholas hospital in Sheboygan, she was the third of Grace (Carlson) and Francis "Pete" Bemis' five children. She possessed from the outset an incandescent curiosity for all the things of this world along with a strong spirit of adventure. "She was interested in everything!" said her sister, Lulu Lubbers. By the time she graduated from Central High in 1961, those interests had drawn her everywhere from a camp in South Dakota to Manila for a semester in the Philippines. After graduating with a degree in deaf education from Northwestern University in 1965, she taught hearing impaired children for several years at Washington School. Cathy's commitment to her students, and more broadly to all children, went beyond the classroom. Throughout her life she was willing to open her doors to those in need, inviting them not only into her home, but into her family, and into her heart. In ways big and small, Cathy dedicated her life to helping others. She believed deeply in the power of education to improve people's lives, and was a generous supporter of schools both local and around the world. Upon returning in 2009 from the Nkhwali School in Malawi, which she founded in conjunction with Lakeland College, she expressed her motivation to Lakeland Magazine, "I hope it helps these kids to say, ‘I can get an education. I have options.' There is a whole big world out there, and they can be whatever they want to be." She served on the boards of numerous charities, including the local chapters of the United Way and the Red Cross, Camp Evergreen, Draft, and the Elkhart Lake Improvement Association. Over the course of several decades, Cathy travelled to countless disaster sights around the United States as a relief volunteer and coordinator with the Red Cross. She was known to give up her bed to victims of a hurricane or tornado, opting instead for a cot or the floor. She spent months in New York after 9/11 providing aid to families affected by the attack. In 1998 the Red Cross bestowed on her the Clara Barton Award, its highest volunteer honor. She enjoyed marriages to Kenneth Suprick and Ralph C. Stayer, from which came her beloved family. More than anything, however, Cathy was a loving and unflaggingly dedicated mother to her children and grandchildren. She devoted the majority of her life to their care and support. Equally likely to share her infectious enthusiasm for a Galapagos tortoise as she was to calmly hold people together in a crisis, Cathy gave all of herself to her loved ones. She was a voracious reader and had an insatiable desire for knowledge. Her deep desire to get to the truth of a subject made her a formidable debater, a skill born around the dinner table with her father and siblings and honed on the debate teams of Central and Northwestern. Strong, kind, and generous, she spent her life giving back, often anonymously, to the community into which she was born. Her legacy of philanthropy will carry on through the Catharine B. Stayer Family Foundation. She is survived by her children, son Michael and daughter-in-law Nichola (Spyvee) of Sheboygan; son Ralph along with Sara Gilbert of Fox Point; daughter Laura along with Robert Catena of Sheboygan Falls; son Felma Degefa and daughter-in-law Donelle (TeGrotenhuis) of Caledonia; and son Patrick and daughter-in-law Jennifer Murray of New York, NY. Cathy is also survived by her many grandchildren: Rex, Harry, Loki, Una, Owen, Ethan, Alex, Cody, Solan, Mati, Nattan, and Mira. Cathy is further survived by siblings Patricia (James) Schreiber of Sheboygan; Richard (Kristin) Bemis of Sheboygan; Mary Louise "Lulu" (Joel) Lubbers of Sheboygan; stepbrother Steven (Katy) Larson of Plymouth; and Linda (Thomas) Ottensman of Boulder, CO. She was preceded in death by her parents, her stepmother Josephine (Larson) Bemis, her stepsister Sarah Mabey, and her brother Peter Bemis. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Wednesday, May 27, 2015 at 1:00 PM at St. Clement Catholic Church, 522 New York Ave., Sheboygan, with Rev. Matthew Widder officiating. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery. Relatives and friends may visit with the family on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 from 4:00 to 7:00 PM at Ballhorn Chapels 1201 N. 8th St. Sheboygan. For those considering memorial gifts, the family suggests charitable donations close to Cathy's heart: Safe Harbor of Sheboygan County, Camp Evergreen, or one of the many others she supported over the years.