Catherine Costello Tobin of Chazy Landing, New York and Hemmingford, Quebec passed away peacefully in her 95 th year on Saturday evening, October 3, 2020 in South Florida at the “Vi at Aventura” — her home since suffering a severe stroke in 2014. She is the beloved mother of Michael Tobin of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL and Patrick Tobin of Hemmingford, Quebec. She was predeceased by her daughter, Mary Catherine Tobin in 2008 and her children’s father, Roger Tobin in 2003. Her daughter-in-laws, Janet Speranza and Tamara Stevenson, who have known and loved her nearly all of their lives, grieve at her passing.
She will be missed, but fondly remembered, by her four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren: Ryan Tobin (Kristen Dunbar) of Westmount, QC; Dr Sean Tobin (Nicole Castelino), Noah and Ava of Glendora, CA; Dr Laura Tobin Mansfield (Patrick), Michael and Joseph of Metairie, LA; and Brendan Tobin (Mirella Brun del Re) of Steubenville, OH. Her grandchildren’s mother, Janice Nightingale Tobin of Plattsburgh, NY and her daughter Mary’s spouse, Floyd Bourne of Cooperstown, NY will miss her earthly presence but give thanks for the memories she created for them.
She is also survived and will be deeply missed by her sister, Lila Holmes of Hemmingford, QC and Lila’s sons — Jim, John, Gerry, and Joey — and their spouses and children. Her nephew, Matthew, sole remaining son of her predeceased sister, Mary Copeland, of Grand Rapids, MN and former brother-in-law Dennis Tobin of Ayers Cliff, QC and their families will fondly remember her.
Catherine was born on July 10, 1926, the oldest of three daughters of James Costello and Anna Mae Ryan in St-Jean-Chrysostome, QC on the Russeltown Flats farm settled by her Irish immigrant ancestors in the early 1800s in southwestern Quebec. It was here that her love of the outdoors, people, music, and education was formed. Schooled from the age of 7, in the midst of the Great Depression through the Second World War, by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, she was one of only a handful of women to graduate from Holy Names College in 1947, now the University of Windsor (Ontario). This formation led to a long and distinguished career as a teacher and educator, beginning in a two room school house in her Quebec hometown in the late 1940’s until her official retirement in the early 1990’s from the Northeastern Clinton Central School system in Mooers, New York. Teaching to her was a true vocation and ranged from her tutoring students in French and Latin, giving violin or piano lessons, camping and outdoor education with her Sixth Grade students in the Adirondacks, or just being a friend and mentor, as “Miss Costello”, “Mrs. Tobin”, or “Mrs. Moseley”. She touched hundreds over three generations. It continued with her own children and grandchildren who travelled the country and the world with her, officially always being the oldest, but the youngest at heart — the last one to leave the campfire or to turn the lights off at a party.
Silenced by her stroke in 2014, and despite the change in the quality of her life, she continued being a witness to a range of people from her caregivers to her great-grandchildren, that love is eternal, and life sacred.
A Funeral Mass was celebrated at 2pm on Saturday, October 24th, 2020 at Assumption Catholic Church, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL, to give thanks for Catherine's life and celebrate her entry into Heaven.
A Celebration of Life and Burial on what would have been her 95 th Birthday in her Quebec hometowns is planned for Saturday, July 10th , 2021.
