Catherine Mary DeGalan

Catherine Mary DeGalan - a former music teacher and the beloved matriarch of a large extended family of children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - passed away on November 28 at her home in Crystal Lake. She was 87.

Catherine was born in Detroit on Dec. 21, 1933, just two weeks after Prohibition ended and euphoric celebrations erupted across the United States. Her family teased her that perhaps this explained why she absolutely loved a good party and couldn’t bear to miss out a family gathering or social event.

Catherine was born into a tight-knit Irish Catholic family of doctors, lawyers and civic leaders. Her Aunt Queen was the first woman doctor in Detroit and the city’s Woman of the Year in 1947; her Uncle James was a politician and power-broker. Another uncle was an executive at General Motors, while yet another was a senior leader at the United Auto Workers union. Family dinners were intense.

She graduated with honors from Siena Heights College in 1955 with a degree in music. She played piano, was lead soprano in the choir, and played timpani in the college symphony. After college, Catherine taught music in Detroit and performed in plays and musicals with the Moravian Players. Her love of music, theatre and the arts was life-long. She especially loved opera (Wagner was her favorite), attending Lyric Opera in Chicago for decades and
traveling to Honolulu, San Francisco, New York, Munich, Salzberg and London for performances of opera, symphonies and theatre – especially Shakespeare.

In 1957, she married Richard R. DeGalan, an army intelligence veteran and young businessman from Detroit. They settled in Mt. Clemens, Michigan, and soon started a family that over the decades would grow to four children, eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

The family moved to McHenry County in 1969, eventually starting a manufacturing business in Woodstock. Catherine turned her attention to raising children and grandchildren. She was a fixture in Crystal Lake at Piranha swim meets, Yellow Jacket Hockey games and Tiger, Trojan and Wolves football games and band recitals. And though she stood at a diminutive 4 foot 11 ¾, she invariably cheered loudest, longest and last.

Catherine is preceded in death by her husband, Richard; her mother, Jean Catherine Donovan, a nurse at General Motors; her father, Edward Grove Donovan, an attorney; and her sister, Margaret Donovan, an educator and academic. She is survived by her daughters Michelle Jacobs and Beth (Keith) Van Damme, of Crystal Lake; her sons Richard DeGalan of Naples, Fla, and Matthew DeGalan of New York, NY; and her grandchildren Ryanne DeGalan,
Brandon Van Damme, Corinne DeGalan-Whooley, R.J. DeGalan, Catherine Van Damme, Sarah Jacobs, Christopher Van Damme and Sean Van Damme.

In her later years, her sense of adventure took her on trips to Hawaii, Europe and the United Kingdom with her husband, and to China with her sister, where they walked along the Great Wall of China, cruised up the Yangtze River and enjoyed the bustle of Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Still, her favorite moments were at home, surrounded by her family, good food, laughter and music. To the end, she loved a celebration, and one of her last days was a festive Thanksgiving with her children and grandchildren at her home in Crystal Lake. She will be remembered by her family and all who knew her for her kindness, loyalty, compassion and boundless optimism.

A celebration of her life will take place at 1:30 pm Dec. 21 – her birthday -- at the Woodstock Opera House. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in her memory to BandWith Chicago, which provides music education to underserved students in Chicago. www.bandwithchicago.net. 917-405-8663.