Obituary of Catherine B. Kearns

On December 23, 2014, after 101 years and 102 days Catherine B. Kearns of Webster St. in Fort Plain reluctantly accepted the fact that no human life can go on forever. She passed away at Little Falls Hospital after a brief illness. Catherine was born on Friday, September 12, 1913 in Gloversville NY. She was the second child born to the late Emil and Nettie Richards Bertschmann of Johnstown. Catherine grew up on the family farm in Johnstown and through eighth grade attended the rural one room schoolhouse not far from her home. She went on to attend Johnstown High School, graduating with the Class of 1932. After working for several years in Johnstown, Catherine moved to Fort Plain in 1940. It was there that she met her husband, Giles F. Kearns. It was wartime and Catherine often recounted the story of taking the train to Indiana so they could be married before Giles was sent overseas. They were wed on July 10, 1943 in at St. Bartholomew's Church in Columbus, Indiana. Catherine worked for several years at the 5 & 10 store in Fort Plain where she made many friends. After the war she and her husband settled down in Fort Plain and made it their home. In 1954 they welcomed their only child, Patricia, and Catherine enjoyed being a homemaker and mother. In 1966 she returned to work as part of the staff at the Montgomery Ward Sales Agency in the village. She worked hard and shared many good times and much laughter with her co-workers. She retired from the agency in 1976. In December of 1980 Catherine was pre-deceased by her husband after 37 years of marriage. Over the course of the next 34 years she went on to enjoy her home, gardening, baking, spending time with her family and her one sports passion - baseball. Catherine was a loyal New York Mets fan but she was quite savvy in all aspects of the game. She loved to keep up with all the teams during the season and during the off-season she could always tell you exactly how many days remained until spring training. In September 2013 Catherine was feted at a 100th birthday celebration attended by many friends and neighbors. She thoroughly enjoyed her party and kept all the photos and treasures from the day nearby so she could look at them again and again. In addition to her husband, Catherine was pre-deceased by her sisters Marion and Hazel and her brother James. She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Patricia and Edward Shannon of Albany as well as many wonderful friends. Catherine was a supporting member of the Ayers Memorial Animal Shelter. She was also a life member of the American Legion Auxiliary Post 554. Services will be held on Monday, December 29, 2014 at Noon at the Gray Houghtaling Smith Funeral Home, 34 Center St. Fort Plain NY. Friends are invited to call on Monday from 11:00am-12:00pm at the funeral home. Burial will take place in Freysbush Cemetery. Memorial contributions in Catherine's name may be sent to the Ayers Memorial Animal Shelter, 133Hilltop Rd. Sprakers NY.