The
Catherine M. Taylor Memorial Fund was initiated by her son, Theodore Joyce
Taylor IV, as a lasting memorial to her. Annual scholarships will be awarded to
graduating seniors of Peters Township High School who are either members of the
Future Business Leaders of America or the Advanced Placement Spanish Class.
Catherine Elizabeth Mottey Taylor was born in Punxsutawney, PA on June 3rd, 1944, the only child of Frank J. Mottey - a football player and attorney, and Kathryn T. Mottey - a school teacher. Cathy attended Saint Cosmas & Damian Catholic School in Punxsutawney. After high school she attended Carlow College, completing her undergraduate degree in May of 1966, with specializations in both Spanish and English. Cathy obtained her Master's Degree in Education from the University of Pittsburgh in 1968. She student taught at Taylor Alderdice High School in Pittsburgh, and then taught full-time at Baldwin-Whitehall High School until she was married in 1971.
On All Saints' Day, November 1, 1972, Cathy gave birth to her first child, Alyson Lyn Taylor. Almost five years later, Cathy's second child, Theodore Joyce Taylor, IV, was born on United Nations Day, October 24, 1977.
In 1988 Cathy was diagnosed with breast cancer, a disease she battled for thirteen years. During that time, she relied tremendously on her children, Alyson and Ted, and her companion, Dr. Luis Lacouture. Sadly, her daughter Alyson died of Lupus in November of 1994. Alyson was studying elementary education at Syracuse University. Still, Cathy continued to fight and to put others before herself.
Through the years, even after she was diagnosed with cancer and lost her daughter, Cathy would make needlepoint ornaments year round to give as gifts for special occasions. And every Christmas she would single-handedly make dozens of assorted cookies to give to her family and friends. She would start right after the Thanksgiving Holiday by making pizelles and finish about seven days before Christmas with her famous cut-out cookies. The picture above shows Cathy preparing her famous Christmas cookies. The photo was taken in the late 1990s by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in her McMurray home for a feature article that appeared in the Food Section of the paper.