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August 12, 1947 – September 22, 2021 (74 years old)
YOUNGSTOWN – Catherine W. Powers, 74, passed away peacefully on Wednesday (September 22) with her family by her side.
Catherine was born on August 12, 1947 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the second of four children of Emily M. Powers and John Weed Powers.
An avid reader all of her life, Catherine attended Hollins College and Cedar Crest College. She obtained a master’s degree in library science from the University of Pittsburgh.
She immediately landed a job with Digital Equipment Corporation as a researcher, including a stint at her London-based facility. At Digital, Catherine was at the forefront of the transition of information retrieval from hard copy to digital sources.
She also favored her parents with a personal computer with a 10MB hard drive at first, which freed her users from the annoying need to constantly insert and take out floppy disks from the computer.
Upon her return to the United States, Catherine worked for an executive placement firm in Philadelphia, then several years as a development specialist at Park Vista in Youngstown.
Catherine was motivated to move to Youngstown in 2004 to support her aging parents.
She was predeceased by her father in 2012 and helped her mother live independently thereafter until her death at the age of 99 earlier this year.
Catherine has been active in several local clubs and organizations. She has been an active member of the Youngstown Symphony Guild, served as a Trustee of the Butler Institute of American Art, oversaw the Edward W. Powers Charitable Fund Awards, and supported Fellows Riverside Gardens at Mill Creek MetroPark.
Among her friends and acquaintances, Catherine was well known as a strong advocate for animal welfare. While facilitating rescues and adoptions, she was able to resist the temptation to have more than three animals at a time.
Friends will be received Saturday (October 2) from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at Cunningham-Becker Funeral Home in Poland. A memorial service celebrating the life of Catherine will follow at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family is asking for memorial gifts to be made to the Butler Institute of American Art or Animal Charity of Ohio.
To send flowers to Catherine’s family, visit our flower shop.
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