July 23, 1956 saw Catherine Faith Matthews come into this world to join mother Mary, father Melvin (Matt), and sister Sharon. Little sister, Linda, joined a few years later, making Cath the middle child, to take on the role of peacekeeper that she carried throughout the rest of her life.

Cath lived her whole life in the Detroit area. She grew up in Detroit in the 60s, amidst racial tensions that taught her about inequality and the importance of love and honesty at an early age.

Cath honed her academic talents at Ladywood Catholic High School. Cath then went to Michigan State University, where she funded her own way through school. After several major changes, she graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering – a rare choice for a woman in the 70s. She also left school with a serious boyfriend who would end up her husband of 42 years, Michael.

When they married Cath decided to convert from the Methodist faith of her upbringing to Catholicism. She maintained a deep personal faith throughout her adult life. Cath and Mike had several years of living poor, each going back to school to pursue different careers, forever challenging each other and themselves. They found their passions of physical therapy, fire fighting, and raising a family.

Cath and Mike settled into their idyllic life in Berkley, with three children and full lives. Cath led Cub Scout groups, coached softball teams, participated in PTA, joined book clubs, walked marathons for Team in Training, was treasurer for Friends of the Berkley Public Library, jazzercised, made Halloween costumes, fought and beat breast cancer, burst into song and French randomly throughout the years, helped with homework, and changed the lives of hundreds of families with cognitively and physically impaired children. And she did so much more.

Cath was loving, hard-working, and passionate. She was also so much fun. At the utterance of a key word or phrase, a musical number would come to her mind and she would break into song, to the delight and/or chagrin of her family and friends.

Cath retired in June of 2020 after a 30+ year career with the MISD. With Covid raging, she hunkered down to wait out the storm, biding her time to enjoy a long retirement. Sadly, with a hip break in the summer of 2021 that pointed to metastasized lung cancer, that long retirement looked as if it would be shortened. Cath geared up to beat another round of cancer, ready to take on the slim odds. She fought hard, did her treatment, and held her family close. But sadly, the odds were too high against Cath to beat them again.

After a three week stint at the hospital over Christmas, Cath came home on January 13th to rest up and try a new treatment. A week later, she was tired and losing steam. Over the next week, her family stayed close with her, read to her, and kept her comfortable. On the morning of January 27th, Catherine Faith Matthews-Pennanen died in her home, surrounded by her family.

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