Obituaries

Catherine Josephine Manus

Catherine Josephine Manus, age 92, died peacefully at Peconic Landing Jan. 21, 2014. The skilled and loving staff of The Shores provided an atmosphere of home for our mother, and we gratefully acknowledge the importance of their presence in her life. 

Catherine Josephine Manus

Catherine, known as Cathy, was born at home in the Yorkville section of Manhattan on Oct. 13, 1921, and was raised in St. Albans, Queens. She was the daughter of Carolina (Eisenhauer) and Otto Frohwein and attended Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights, N.Y. After graduation in 1939, Catherine attended the New York Institute of Dietetics in Manhattan.

Many happy memories were shared with her friends and family, especially of summering in Amityville. Cathy and her brother, Bud, spent most of their waking hours fishing, clamming and swimming in Great South Bay. During Prohibition, the family home was a center for parties and “bathtub gin,” since her father had many resources available through his training as a pharmacist.

In later years, Cathy shared her love of the water with her children at her mother’s small home in Remsenberg. Back in Queens Village, after working till 2 in the afternoon, Cathy often piled the neighborhood children in her station wagon for a brief but refreshing outing to Beach 9th Street in Far Rockaway.

As a young adult during World War II, Cathy enjoyed going to USO dances and would frequently recall listening to the popular entertainers, such as Frank Sinatra, who performed for the servicemen. She met her future husband, Herman Manus, who was stationed in Montauk Point with the Coast Guard, at a USO event. Cathy and Herman were married May 7, 1943, at Saint Pascal Baylon in Saint Albans. After 62 years of marriage, they were often found sitting together holding hands. Herman was a devoted and loving husband.

Cathy and Herman raised four children while living in Queens Village, and she was very active at Incarnation Roman Catholic Church. For years, she was president of the Rosary Altar Society, served as a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader and was an active supporter of the Boy Scouts. She enjoyed sewing, baking, cooking, gardening, dancing, music and entertaining in general, and she had a very active social life. She and her “girls” would gather weekly for mah-jongg and “coffee klatches.”

Headstrong and opinionated, Cathy was tempered by a concern for those who were not as fortunate as she. She often fed the hobos who traveled the train line, and she volunteered with numerous organizations.

Cathy and Herman retired in 1976 to Tucson, Ariz., where they were close to her cousin Joan Brandt, her husband, Henry, and their children, Hank, Bruce and Regina. Cathy remained active in many community groups and within her church, Our Lady of Sorrows. As time passed and frailty was more apparent, Cathy and Herman moved back to Long Island in 2005. Always the lady, Cathy will be remembered for her warm smile, charming wink and ever-present jewelry and rings.

Cathy was predeceased by her husband, Herman, in 2005; her son Richard in 2001; her brother, Otto (Bud), in 2004; and her close cousin Joan in 2013.

Cathy is survived by her son John (Eileen) of San Diego, Calif.; her daughter, Diane (Michael), and their son, Philip, all of Mattituck; and her son Michael (Patricia), their three daughters, Jennifer, Jessica and Alison, and their granddaughter, Lindsey, all of Lynbrook and Levittown; and her late son Richard’s children, Richard and Christopher, both of Gainesville, Fla.

Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport handled funeral arrangements. A Mass will be celebrated at St. Agnes R.C. Church in Greenport on Saturday, Feb. 1, at 10 a.m. followed by a Celebration of Life at Peconic Landing Enriched Housing Dining Room from 2 to 4 p.m. Interment will be private at St. John’s Cemetery in Middle Village.

Memorial donations may be made to The Sisters of St. Francis Convent, P.O. Box 100, Main Street, Oldenburg, IN 47036 or Peconic Landing EAF Fund, 1500 Brecknock Road, Greenport, NY 11944.

This is a paid notice.