Catherine Lacatena

Catherine Lacatena, age 86, of Wayne for fifty-eight years, passed Thursday, August 3, 2023.

Catherine was born to Walter and Lillian Murphy in Paterson. While growing up, she was a Girl Scout and later graduated from St. John’s Cathedral High School where she was a cheerleader for the basketball team. After high school, she worked as a Bell Telephone operator and for the Kearfott Corporation in Totowa. 

Catherine met her husband Tony when they were teenagers in Paterson.  Tony’s car had broken down, and Catherine was passing by with her best friend Betty.  Catherine recalls delightfully that Tony looked like Marlon Brando, and he was strikingly handsome.  She and her girlfriend circled the block a few times to catch a glimpse of him, and she was successful at getting a date.  They went to the movies and then went out for a hotdog.  Their wedding followed on November 15, 1958, at St. Brendan’s Church in Clifton. They settled in Paterson before moving to Wayne in 1965.  Together, they raised their nine children and have been blessed with fourteen grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.  Catherine and Tony enjoyed a loving and devoted marriage of fifty-eight years before Tony’s passing on October 1, 2015.

Catherine was a dedicated Catholic and a parishioner of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Wayne for many years. 

Catherine will be lovingly remembered as a delightful soul with a Winnie the Pooh-like simplicity and sweetness that radiated with every step she took.  She was a devout Catholic who was forgiving, happy, and humble.  She loved all the holidays. As a mother of nine, she had a strong love of family, always had a listening ear, and was the caretaker of all around her. She could be strong in her convictions but did not like conflict.  She appreciated the simplest of kind gestures.  All respected her selflessness and easygoing nature. Her compassion was cherished by all who knew her, and she made the arduous task of raising nine children look easy.  One of her favorite sayings, when you asked her how she was doing, would be “Good, Better, Best, Never Let it Rest Until Your Good is Better and Your Better is Best.” 

Catherine was a great cook whose culinary skills were nothing short of extraordinary. She was known for her expertise in Italian cuisine.  Her ability to cook joy into her lasagna, eggplant and turkey stuffing will be dearly missed. Catherine loved trips to Atlantic City to play slot machines. She also enjoyed travel, cruises, and just going out to dinner. In the autumn of her years, she enjoyed watching game shows and football games on television and chatting the day away on the phone with her sisters. Her love for her Irish heritage was endearing.  Many claim there was a leprechaun behind the twinkle in her eye and her adorable smile.  Her cute demeanor and non-confrontational way added an extra layer of charm, and her presence always brought warmth and joy to the table.

Catherine was the loving wife of the late Anthony Lacatena (d. 2015); loving mother of Mary Contini and her husband Joseph, Catherine Faulkner and her husband Richard, Michael Lacatena, Anthony Lacatena, Nancy Sorrentino and her husband Alfred, Christine Massood and her husband Louis, Lori Phelan and her husband Jim, Theresa Lacatena, and Elizabeth Dowd and her husband Brendan. She was the dearly loved grandmother of fourteen grandchildren; Joseph and his wife Beth Contini, Michelle Contini, Ryan  Faulkner, Alfred and Anthony Sorrentino,  Jordyn, George, and Kimberly Massood, Sean, James, Lauren, and Phoebe Phelan, Lilyana and Ashley Dowd, cherished great-grandmother of four great-grandchildren Oliver, Vivian, Samantha Jo and Amelia Contini; she was dearly loved by her sister Patricia Petrone of Clifton, and her siblings who have already passed Mary Schultz and Daniel Murphy. 

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, 45 Urban Club Road, Wayne, NJ 07470 or the Bethlehem Hermitage, 82 Pleasant Hill Road, Chester, NJ 07930.