Catherine Church, active in community

Catherine S. Church, who had been a manager for the Chamber of Commerce, died peacefully on Saturday, July 2, 2005, at New York-Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia University after what her family said was a brief and courageous battle with brain cancer. She was 54 years old and the wife of S. Thomas Church Jr.

Born Dec. 25, 1950, in Baltimore, Md., Catherine “Cathy” Church was the daughter of the late Frances and F. George Sindall II, both of Baltimore.

She attended Notre Dame Preparatory School in Towson, Md., where she graduated in 1968. She received a degree in education from Towson State College in 1972.

She met S. Thomas Church Jr. on a blind date, and the two were married on Jan. 6, 1973, in the Immaculate Conception Church in Towson.

After their marriage, the couple moved to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Mrs. Church first worked at IBM at East Fishkill, N.Y., where her husband had been employed since 1968. After her children were born, the family moved to Connecticut. Mr. Church’s job at IBM led the family to Lexington, Ky., for three years, and they moved to Ridgefield in 1988.

Mrs. Church was well known throughout the Ridgefield community. As office manager of Drs. Phillips, Cowin and Lambert’s orthodontist practice for about 10 years, Mrs. Church greeted patients and their families with a warm smile. As executive director of the Couri Foundation, she was responsible for organizing summer and Christmas programs for underprivileged children, activities for the senior center in Bangor, Maine, and entrepreneurship programs for MBA students. Most recently, Mrs. Church was the operations and membership manager at the Ridgefield Chamber of Commerce, where she welcomed visitors to Ridgefield and shared her knowledge about the town she loved.

Mrs. Church spent most of her free time caring for her family. She also volunteered with the National Charity League, a mother-daughter volunteer organization, from its beginnings here six years ago, and had also been active in PTAs over the years. She remained close to her National Charity League friends through “Sustainers,” a group established to maintain the NCL connection after the daughters finish high school.

“Cathy will be sadly missed, but lovingly remembered,” a close friend said.

“Cathy’s friendly smile, calming personality, and delightful sense of humor affected many of the people with whom she came in contact,” the family said. “Aside from being a wonderful wife and devoted mother, Cathy was a shining example of a true friend to those who came to know and love her.”

Besides her husband, Mrs. Church is survived by a daughter, Kelly, of New York City; a son, Brian,and daughter-in-law, Cara, of Newton, Mass.; two brothers, F. George Sindall III of Palm Springs, Calif., and Scott Sindall of Lutherville, Md., and his sons Andrew and Ethan.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, July 8, at 1 p.m. at St. Mary’s Church.

The family will receive friends at the Kane Funeral Home, 25 Catoonah Street, today, Thursday, July 7, from 5 to 8.

Contributions in Cathy’s memory may be made to the Brain Tumor Research Fund at New York-Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia University. Donations should be made payable to: Columbia University, Memo: “In Memory of Cathy Church.” Please send donations to Ruchey Sharma, Department of Neurological Surgery, 710 West 168th Street, Room 431, New York, NY 10032.

The family offers its “sincere appreciation and gratitude to their supportive family and friends and to the doctors and staff of Danbury and New York-Presbyterian Hospital of Columbia University.”