Catherine L. Calagna

Catherine L. Calagna (née Ebner), beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great
grandmother, died peacefully in Shelburne, Vermont, on September 30, 2025. She was
87.
Cathy was born on November 23, 1937, in Queens, New York, and spent her childhood
in Jamaica Estates. One day her brother Bob brought home a friend, Tony, from
Brooklyn Tech, and Cathy immediately fell head over heels. They would be married a
few years later.
Cathy went to St. John’s University at a time when few women went to college, and she
was graduated with a B.S. degree in Business Administration in 1959. She worked in
the back office at Gimbel’s department store in Manhattan after graduation, purchased a
silver Corvette convertible with her own money, and completed the European Grand
Tour with her new-found freedom.
Cathy married Tony in 1961, and they quickly started a family. Their daughter, Christine,
was born later that year, followed by a second daughter, Renée, in 1962, and a son,
Anthony, in 1969. Tony built his young family a home on Steep Bank Road in
Nissequogue, NY, in 1965, where they lived until Tony’s death in 2020 and Cathy
relocated to Stowe, Vermont.
Cathy was the owner of The Intimate Apparel Shop in St. James for over twenty years,
where she formed lifelong friendships with the women who worked for her and doted on
her regular customers. The Christmas rush was always an exhausting, but exhilarating,
time for her business.
Cathy loved gardening, and she could usually be found in her large vegetable garden,
where she happily shared space with neighbors looking for a sunny spot and ready-
made irrigation. She was an avid tennis player, swimmer and beach goer, an incredible
cook, and a joyful singer in the church choir. Mostly, she was a kind and generous
woman, a selfless giver of comfort and love who always put the needs of others before
her own.
Cathy is survived by her children, Christine O’Rourke and her husband Dave, Renée
Mitchell and her husband Mitch, and Anthony Calagna and his wife Hilary, along with
her five grandchildren, Sandra, Alec, Cole, Hugh, and Alice, and three great
grandchildren, Elena, Cormac, and Anika.
A mass will be held at Saints Philip and James Church in St. James on Saturday,
November 8 th , at 10:15am, followed by burial at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.
In lieu of flowers, please consider sending donations to the Alzheimer’s Association.