Obituary: Cathy Anne Gershon
On Jan. 9, 2024, my sister, Cathy, passed away in the early morning. I hope she left us while in her sleep, but I do not know.
On Jan. 9, 2024, my sister, Cathy, passed away in the early morning. I hope she left us while in her sleep, but I do not know.
Cathy left this world pretty much as she entered it 74 years earlier, as a human being waiting to live her life as most of us do. We have happy times that bring us joy, sad times that bring us sadness and more of the middle times that I think, falls into just living day to day, year to year. Sadly, Cathy’s life did not follow this usual pattern because she was never really able to try out, when young, those strong wings that G-d gives most of us. She could never soar. She could never get off the ground. Cathy never really accomplished anything in her life. It’s an understatement to say she was profoundly unhappy with her life. Hers was a life that was full of drama and stress and her mood was, as I could tell, always a sad one. So, for those who knew Cathy, you might ask why was this? Why was this pretty, intelligent girl not be able to carve out her place on this Earth?
Cathy was a troubled soul from the time she was very young, I believe, until before puberty. Her parents simply were not prepared to raise a child such as Cathy. They certainly tried, for years, for decades, for a lifetime. They tried many things, but none were really effective in confronting head on a person with deep and serious emotional issues. She needed the help of medical doctors who could diagnose and treat these kinds of disorders with medications. Cathy was not unique with her issues. There are thousands out there with similar disorders that can go on with a rather normal life thanks to good medical council and proper medication.
You might ask “why didn’t Cathy’s parents seek proper, serious help for Cathy? Consider that her (and my) parents were children of the Depression who then grew into adulthood during WW II. Many of that generation didn’t look at mental issues as requiring the expensive services of these doctors where they viewed their results as dubious. They felt, more often than not, these were family matters to be quietly dealt with behind closed family doors. Our parents loved Cathy dearly but that was not the issue.
I firmly believe had Cathy been born a generation later, her life would have been very different in so many positive ways. For those reading this that knew Cathy, I have included a photo of her from so many years ago, from a time that looked full of hope and promise. Rest in peace, my sister.
Cathy was preceded in death by her parents, Muriel and Burton Gershon, Atlanta; survived by Jeff Gershon, brother, Atlanta; Andrew Gershon, nephew, New York City; Marian Gershon Radwin, aunt, Birmingham; John Lanier MD, close family friend, Atlanta; and numerous cousins. A graveside service took place Jan. 14, at Greenwood Cemetery, Rabbi Lawrence Rosenthal officiating. Arrangements, Dressler’s Jewish Funeral Care.
comments