Judith Parsons Cattanach

June 26, 1943 - April 21, 2022

Judith Parsons Cattanach, 78, of Asheville, NC, passed away on April 21, 2022. She was born on June 26, 1943, in Cook County, IL, the daughter of the late Ernest Williams Parsons and Mary Belle (Cook) Parsons. Judy grew up in the Jonas Ridge community of Burke County, NC, attended Crossnore High School and was a graduate of Appalachian State University. While student teaching in Fayetteville, she met the love of her life, Michael Cattanach, at a military ball. They married and lived briefly in Chicago, IL and Hays, KS before settling in Marion, NC where they raised two sons. Judy touched the lives of many during her career as an English teacher. She had a gift for reaching at-risk students, and she worked for many years in the night program at McDowell High School. After her retirement, Judy went on to have a successful career as a real estate agent in Asheville. A gifted wordsmith, Judy was an author, an avid reader, and she eagerly shared her love of written works with others. In addition to her numerous personal accomplishments and interests, Judy was a loving wife, sister, mother, and grandmother. She and Michael Earl Cattanach shared fifty-two years of marriage. She was the third of six siblings: Dale Parsons, Mary Anne Parsons Laracuenti, Ernestine “Tina” Parsons, Susan Parsons of San Francisco, and Katherine Parsons Sorenson of Lisbon, Portugal. She loved her sons, Brian Michael Cattanach and Bart Lewis Cattanach and daughter-in-law Holly Draughon Cattanach, all of Asheville, and her many nieces and nephews. She was the proud grandmother of Lewis Draughon Cattanach and Finn Lawrence Cattanach of Asheville. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 7:30 PM on Friday, April 29, 2022, at Morris Funeral Home, 304 Merrimon Avenue, Asheville, NC. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis TN 38105.