Catherine “Cathy” or “Cacki” McCullen was a beloved grandmother, mother, and wife during her incredible 95 years of life. She passed away peacefully in the early hours of Saturday, July 24, 2021.

Here we (Mallory and Chrissy) will share our favorite memories and record her biography. We hope that you will add on with your favorite memories as well.

We will remember Cacki for her loving nature, her playfulness, and her occasional, endearing stubbornness. She doted on us, her granddaughters. We couldn’t spend a minute with her without her telling us how much she loved us, how beautiful she thought we were, and how proud she was to be our grandmother. Because we had lost our mother, Cacki’s only daughter, in 2011, we became particularly close with Cacki. We took care of her, and she took care of us with adoring words and ready hugs.

For me (Mallory), my favorite memories are small, silly things. Whenever we talked on the phone, I would greet her by saying “Hello my little Cacka-lacka-wacka!” and she would giggle happily. Sometimes I cooked dinner as we talked, and she made a cute game out of trying to guess what I was cooking. She sent us cards for every holiday, even unexpected ones, like St. Patrick’s Day. And when she was still in Vero, I remember that every visit to see her started with a fresh batch of Nestle chocolate chip cookies that she “made with love.” When I was a toddler, I gave her the name “Cacki” to distinguish her from our nanny and family friend, Kathy Luce.

For me (Chrissy) it's hard to make a list of the memories I cherish the most. Cacki truly became the mother I needed when I lost my own, but she also became a best friend. She molded my heart to accept, feel and learn the actions of love, and there is no better feeling than being around someone that loves you unconditionally. No judgement, no stress, just warmth and love. Cacki was and will always be my feeling of home. The one memory that describes this the most was from just a few months ago. I had been working long hours, was exhausted, stressed, and overwhelmed. I picked Cacki up and brought her back to my house to make lunch and have a fun day. After I made a grilled cheese for her (which she said was the best grilled cheese she has ever had lol) I turned on the tv and fell asleep on her lap. I woke up hours later in shock feeling so bad that I did not have an exciting day with her and all she did was tuck my hair behind my ear, tell me she loved watching me sleep and that I will always be her baby. I then continued to nap in her lap for another hour. No matter how old I got, or she got, we always took care of one another and loved each other so much that nothing else mattered than us both being happy. I am so lucky to know that type of unconditional love and I only hope to make my family feel that warm, secure, and comfortable bond one day.

Cacki had a long and full life. She was born on April 17, 1926, in Dublin, Georgia, to two loving parents, Bennie and Georgia Claxton. Her father was a property manager and her mother was a homemaker. Cacki had two younger siblings, Mary Ann and Mike. For grade school, Cacki went to a rural public school near Wrightsville and Dublin. For high school, she attended one year in Dublin and then graduated from a consolidated high school near Cedar Grove in 1944.

She moved to Macon a few months after graduating to work at Robins Air Force Base, where she worked for ten years. She became the secretary for the Provost Marshal after two years and held that position for eight years. While working, she lived with Helen Dew (later Helen Harrison) and her sister Mary Ann.

Cacki met the love of her life, Charles “Rocky” McCullen, while working on base in 1952. She told us that from the first moment she saw him, she thought he was the most handsome man in the world. They were married in 1954 at the First Baptist Church in Macon, Georgia.

Rocky flew for the Air Force during World War II. He was stationed in Germany, and Cacki and Rocky would later take several vacations there together. When Rocky left the Air Force, he went to work with Eastern Airlines, and she and Rocky moved several times for his job. They spent a year in New Orleans, a brief time in Miami, and a year in Washington, D.C., before settling back in Miami and starting their family. Cacki and Rocky had their daughter, Caren, on March 15, 1961. After Caren graduated high school, they moved to a beachside condo in Vero Beach, Florida. Rocky passed away in January of 2001. Cacki lived in Vero until early 2020, when we moved her to St. Petersburg to be near Chrissy.

We will miss Cacki dearly, but we are so grateful for the time we had to spend with her. We will always feel her presence in our hearts.

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