Katharine A. Eich

Katharine Eich, age 84 of Wayne, passed away peacefully on Monday, January 15, 2024. 

Born to Edward and Helen Kern, Katharine was brought up in Brooklyn, NY where she attended Bushwick High School. Being the beautiful girl that Katharine was, she began getting into fashion and modeling where she would often participate in different modeling contests and gigs. Once she graduated from high school, Katharine attended Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Manhattan, NY while continuing to pursue a modeling career. After graduating from Barbizon, Katharine received a job as a receptionist for the banquet department at the Sheraton-Astor Hotel on Broadway. Katharine’s desk was in the lobby of the hotel and her beautiful face was often one of the very first things you would see upon entering the building. Katharine maintained working at the hotel and modeling on the side for around two years, before marrying her husband John. 

While planning for her and John’s wedding, Katharine’s father, Edward, unexpectedly passed away leading to a change in their plans for marriage. Katharine and John decided to forgo the planning and wed as soon as possible. Katharine and John traveled to Elkton, MD to be wed as the town was famously known as the Marriage Capital of the East Coast back in the day, due to their short waiting period for a marriage license. The couple were first wed in a civil ceremony in August of 1957 and around a year later, celebrated their nuptials again in a larger ceremony in Queens, NY with friends and family. 

Katharine was an amazing homemaker and loving mother to her three boys, Edward, John III, and James. The boys were raised in Katharine and John’s first home together on Long Island, in Levittown, NY. Katharine was extremely active with her boys, whether it was taking them to the local pool to swim and race, to working in their schools cafeterias, to volunteering at various school functions; she was very hands on. Katharine was filled with compassion for those around her, extremely trustworthy, and loyal. Her boys knew they could go to their mother for anything, problems, aspirations, or just guidance and she would provide it to the best of her ability. Katharine was also a very good friend, in fact she maintained contact with her high school friends and would continually write letters to them over the years. 

After moving to New Jersey in the ‘70s, Katharine and John became involved in their townhouses homeowner association for many years. Katharine specifically worked on what they called the Beautification Committee where she oversaw the landscaping and would make recommendations for improving the visual appeal of the townhouses. Katharine was also very involved with St. Mary’s Church where she sang in the choir for almost 40 years and absolutely loved it. Monday night choir rehearsals and the conclusion of mass usually resulted in the choir group and friends reconvening at the diner over coffee. Katharine had a true love and appreciation for the friends she made while in the choir as they were a very tight-knit group. Katharine and John would even host the annual choir Christmas party at their house. St. Mary’s Church holds a special place in Katharine's heart, not only did she meet a wonderful group of friends there, her two sons, Edward and James, were married there, Katharine and John renewed their vows there on their 20th, 30th, 50th, and 60th wedding anniversary, and their grandson, Sean, was christened at St. Mary’s.

Katharine and John also enjoyed traveling around the world and would often take trips to Europe. From the five different times they visited Europe, they were able to see over sixteen countries during their travels. Katharine and John made promises to their children to take them to Europe once they had been married for one year, and so on two of their visits to Europe they were able to enjoy the trip with their sons and daughter-in-laws. Katharine and John also got to experience living in Hong Kong for a little under half a year and both enjoyed their experiences there immensely. Katharine loved visiting unique places on their travels and one of the locations she loved to frequent was the Olympic Hotel for afternoon tea in Macau, China. Katharine and John were able to explore around China and Singapore while living over there, and they made sure to stop and visit Hawaii on the way back home to New Jersey.

Katharine is survived by her beloved husband John, her three sons Edward, John III, and James, her grandson, Sean, and her great granddaughter, Hunter-Laine. She was predeceased by her parents Edwards and Helen Kern.