September 29, 1937 – October 5, 2012
Cathie Amstutz was born to Alva Bell Ogsbury and Robert Patterson Davies in West Hartford, Connecticut. She gave her life over to others unreservedly and will be remembered for her gorgeous smile and twinkling blue eyes.
Cathie grew up with her three brothers, Jim, Robert and Roger, and was part of a group of friends on Rosedale Road who remained close throughout her life.
Cathie studied art at Skidmore College and was swept off her feet there by a dashing young naval airman named Ken Derrick. The couple married in 1958. The Hartford Courant wrote that she wore a dress of “white silk bombazine styled with…a very full skirt with a deep lace border cascading into a chapel train.”
Cathie and Ken lived in Tariffville, Simsbury and Avon, CT, and had three children together. They hosted gourmet dinner parties and spent time with friends and family at Hartland Pond, Connecticut, Shadyside, Maryland, and Tortola, Virgin Islands. Cathie also painted and developed close friendships in the Avon and Hartford area.
Cathie’s marriage to Ken ended in 1972, and she spent four years raising her children as a single mother in Turner and Lewiston, Maine.
She returned to West Hartford where she worked as a graphics designer for Northeast Utilities and, in 1984, married Robert Amstutz, a Simsbury High School social studies teacher. Bob had promised Cathie the world and took her traveling to France, Germany and Italy. In 2002, Cathie and Bob moved to Waitsfield, Vermont, where Cathie sang for the Mad River Chorale, worked at the Eagles Resort, designed floral arrangements at A Schoolhouse Garden, crafted an awesome garden of perennial flowers and cared for Bob. She also provided inspiration for her five grandchildren, who knew her as “Oma.”
Through her various lives and loves, Cathie maintained a passion for animals and wildlife, for her children and grandchildren, and for cooking, flowers and art.
Cathie was not overtly religious though it would be hard to find a person who more fully lived out the Christian edict of giving to those in need. Cathie was known for taking in stray pets and for inviting people who were less fortunate to join in special family occasions and holiday dinners.
Cathy is survived by her children Alison Davies Derrick of Oklahoma City, Deborah Lynn Derrick and her husband James Baxter Hunt III of Arlington, VA, Charles Luther Derrick and his wife Karen Capwell Derrick of Fayston, VT; her brothers James, Roger and Robert Davies; and five grandchildren, Stephanie, James and Lindsey Hunt and Miles and Cole Derrick.
During Cathie’s final months, she lived with her son Chuck and family in Fayston, VT, and was tenderly supported by hospice caregivers. Donations on Cathie’s behalf may be made to Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice at the following address or link: Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre, VT 05641-5369; Phone: (802) 223-1878; Donation Link: https://npo.networkforgood.org/Donate/Donate.aspx?npoSubscriptionId=1001607.
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