Catherine Dolan Catherine or Cath as she liked to be called, was born on the 5th May 1950 in Park House Nursing Home Crosby to Peter and Kathleen Dolan. Her early years were spent in Formby surrounded by her large closely knit family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins Bonnie, Frank, Jim and later her sister Anne. A pensive, gentle natured child who loved books. At the age of three Cath would sit quietly reading the legend of her hero at the time- Davy Crockett. Always an avid reader, she later fell in love with Doctor Who, Merlin, the Arthurian legends, Robin the hooded man, Aragorn and all things mystical and magical. From the age of eleven Cath attended Seafield Grammar school where her keen interest for literature, languages and etymology developed. She became a staunch Everton supporter whose hero was “The Golden Vision” Alex Young then outgrew her interest in football when she discovered the music of Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens and other artists. (This interest continued with her right until the end. Every Saturday she would listen to and record Sounds of the Sixties then make her own compilations which everybody loved.) As her teenage years progressed Cath became quietly rebellious. She loved nothing more than to debate religion and politics with her Dad and her uncles, rarely surrendering in an argument. She shocked the community at Our Lady’s by being the first woman to refuse to wear a hat in church. She frequently got into trouble at school for wearing black stockings and was late nearly every day. Anne would hold up the bus and ask it to wait as Cath came sidling, then running round the corner to catch it. Once on the bus she would sneeze most of the way to school. Always an outstanding pupil Cath gained 9 O levels and 4 A levels then in 1968 went on to study Modern Languages at King’s College University in London .This included a year living and teaching in Nogaro in the Gers in France. At university she grew very close to Liz Murphy who was in her class at school and with whom the family had close connections. She became a most treasured life long friend. They became inseparable and were known as Murphy- Dolan by their friends. This is where the fun really began. She and Liz were mad on Rod Stewart, beer, ballet, feminism, peace and love. Work became of secondary importance as the fun took over and a week before her finals in typical fashion Cath rebelled and considered not taking her exams. This did not go down too well!! During holidays Cath would return to Formby to be with Annie, Bonnie, Frank, Jim, the gang and two additions who would later become important family members- Chris Monckton and Liz Holmes. They would all meet up in The Bay Horse – the local pub, where Cath and Liz Holmes not to be outdone, would compete pint for pint with the boys. During the notorious summer of ‘71 the pair were fondly known as Meths and Alcs. In those days much to her Mum and Dad’s dismay Cath constantly wore the same pair of plimsolls with peace and love written on the toes. For some unknown reason these words were also later painted on the lid of the dustbin at home! Despite the fun, Cath did finally graduate with honours in 1972. She later went on to study for her PGCE and then taught in Stratford School in East Ham for a year. This was the start of her teaching career in Primary, Secondary and Adult education. At the age of 23 work and particularly teaching was not a priority, so Cath and Liz decided to travel the world. Their first stop was the Grape Harvest in Bordeaux, France. They then hitch-hiked on to Spain where rumour has it they took the place of Bob Geldof teaching English as a second language for Inlingua in Murcia. The plans to travel around the world suddenly ended and the pair then spent what they described as “A golden year in their lives”. In Murcia they fell in love with all things Spanish and met many life long friends (Alfonso, Jose, Maxi and Dorothy) Maxi has travelled specially to be with us today. They returned briefly to England for a time but the pull was too great and once again Murphy-Dolan went back there to live and to teach. In 1978 Cath returned to London to share a flat with Annie. She studied for secretarial qualifications and subsequently worked in Camden Town Hall for the Chief of Finances. This was short lived -it involved making tea and being subservient! At the time, Cath and Annie could only afford a cheap flat which had a door which barely locked and which they shared with the neighbourhood slugs in the East End of London. That was not important – they had each other. Not only were they sisters but best friends too. This closeness with one another continued throughout their lives. They always had one another to turn to during good times and bad. In London the fun continued, especially at weekends with Cath’s friend John O Connor and the gang. They would hold the Friday Choice travelling all over London to meet in different pubs and then in different venues on Saturday and Sunday nights. This is where Cath first met Joe, and that was that. They literally fell for each other, off a bar stool, lips locked, following a day trip to Boulogne with the mates! When Cath and Joe married on the 30th May 1980, in typically feminist fashion Cath didn’t change her name and never wore her wedding ring. Two years later Jamie was born. The family then moved, along with Annie, who was always welcomed to share their home, into 43 Hewlett Road where they still live. Mary was born two years later and many friends were made locally through baby and school related activities. Then, unexpectedly, at the age of 41, Cath had Jenny, who she always called her ‘Magical Mistake’. With the arrival of the family Cath and Joe’s life was centred more around their home. This did not stop Cath’s natural sociability. Friends were invited and Steve and Annie always included. Many a night ended in the early hours, debates or arguments exhausted and the five girls dancing avidly to Van the Man, Bruce Springsteen or often The Galway Girl. All through their married life Cath and Joe maintained their close connections with Spain and Cath’s friends out there. Family holidays were spent there almost every year. The girls were taken to visit the places Cath loved so much, Seville, Cadiz and her favourite place of all Granada. These holidays usually culminated at the beach in La Manga being re-united with old friends Maxi, Jose and Antonio and with big family gatherings between the Murphy and The Dolan-Ross clans. Cath loved nothing more than to hear Liz’s husband Alfonso sing and play the guitar well into the night. Whilst bringing up her three girls Cath continued to work in education and to study languages, eventually obtaining a wealth of further degrees from the Institute of Linguists. She was also very much involved in the local community and served as a governor of Chisenhale Primary school for many years. At the age of 50 with Joe’s support, Cath gave up teaching to concentrate on her first love- languages. She became a translator and interpreter undertaking work for many organisations. Cath always had a strong sense of social and moral justice so was particularly proud of her involvement with Fairtrade and Café Direct. Sadly during the course of 2007 it became apparent that there was a problem with Cath’s speech and later we discovered that she was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease, of which at the time, we knew very little. This disease went on to slowly deprive her of all the things she loved - talking, eating, drinking, singing, dancing, writing and finally - moving and breathing. Cath refused to be defined by her disease, She drew strength from the presence of her family and friends as they did from her, she found different ways to communicate with people and continued to work for Fairtrade. She was determined to live as normally as possible even going so far as to travel to visit our cousin Jim in his final hours last September, although emotionally it must have been at great cost to her. She was also determined to travel home to Formby this Christmas although she was so terribly ill. Throughout Cath’s illness she received incredible love and attention from her family, especially from Joe who was her chief carer and towards the end never left her side. On Thursday 7h of January, Cath was admitted to St Joseph’s Hospice with breathing problems. Joe was allowed to stay with her as she was unable to communicate. On the 12th it became apparent that she was deteriorating. The family, including the cousins in Formby and Mary’s partner Johnny dropped everything to be at her side. Liz flew over immediately from Spain, Joe’s family and Cath’s close friends John O’ Connor, Frances, Maria and Isobel from London joined the family at her bedside. At 5.50 am she quietly slipped away surrounded by the people who loved her so. Not once throughout the course of her cruel illness did anyone ever hear her complain. Her strength and bravery inspired us all to carry on and will continue to do so. She had an amazing capacity for life and particularly for friends. Wherever she went, whatever she did, Cath made new and lasting friendships. Everyone here today has been touched by her spirit. She will live on in each of us but especially through her daughters - Jamie, Mary and Jenny who have been so strong throughout their Mum’s illness and who have so many of her amazing qualities. It’s never easy to let go of someone that it has been a privilege to know and to love. Life is never the same again. But “Nothing’s forgotten, nothing’s ever forgotten” so as you would say in your beloved Spanish Cath - “Hasta La Vista ” because one of these days WE’RE GONNA MEET ON THE LEDGE”