Catherine Sarah Sumberg

Catherine W. Sumberg, 87, passed away at her home surrounded by her family, on May 5, 2020. Catherine was born and raised in New Haven, explaining her lifelong passion for the Connecticut “hot” lobster roll but not her inexplicable love for the Red Sox, in a family of rabid Yankees and Mets fans. Despite this quirk of personality, Catherine won admiration from her family, friends, and colleagues her entire life. She earned her Bachelor’s in Education from Southern Connecticut State College in 1956, working as a public school Special Education teacher for several years. She married Lewis Sumberg in 1956 and, after the birth of her two children, became a full-time homemaker. Catherine returned to her lifelong vocation in Special Ed in 1974, working at the Smallwood unit at Moccasin Bend. In 1978, she earned her M.A. in Education from Northern Illinois University, returning to Smallwood to become an administrator. In addition to her professional accomplishments, including a commendation for her treatment of patients at Moccasin Bend, Catherine also was noted for her kindness in everyday life, orchestrating celebrations for all birthdays, holidays, and personal milestones. She was particularly noted for her Christmas roasts and St. Pat’s corned beef and cabbage. She had a great, quirky sense of humor and of the absurd, a fan of corny Vaudeville jokes, George Carlin, and Second City. She loved Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Frank Sinatra, and all great literature, particularly, poetry, James Joyce, and the Southern writers. She had universal empathy, a deep spirit, and an abiding kindness that made her notable to everyone who knew her. Catherine is preceded in death by her beloved older brother, Martin, and by great friends Bill Yunginger and Jim Macum. 
Catherine is survived by her devoted husband of 35 years, Lewis A.M. Sumberg, her beloved children, Chris (Mary Pat), daughter, Martha (Kevin) Moore, beloved grandchildren, Alyssa and Aaron, her beloved sister, Dorothy, sister-in-law, Barbara, nephew and niece, Marty and Sue, and a superabundance of friends, including, but certainly not limited to, Pat and Vernon Lattin and family, Ted and Marcia Caldwell, Wanda Dowlen, Blondie Johnson, Robin Vandergriff, Sandra Yunginger, Linda Geselbracht, Gail Carter, Trish Bowers, Nancy Allshouse, Leslie Greenhill, Bob Stanley, Satoko Thel, and many others. A memorial service will be held at Lane Funeral Home Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. in the Coulter Chapel followed by a reception. The service also will be live-streamed on her tribute page by going to lanefh.com. https://www.oneroomstreaming.com/view/authorise.php?k=158896106858524
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to PBS, Arbor Day Foundation, Habitat for Humanity, or the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Arrangements entrusted to Lane Funeral Home, Chattanooga, TN. (423) 877-3524 www.Lanefh.com

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