Born: September 24, 1940 in Manhattan, New York City

Died: February 1, 2023 at her home in Pleasant Garden, NC

Preceded in death by her parents John Aloysius Whittle and Catherine Hannah Cooney Whittle, brothers John (Jack) Whittle and Francis (Frank) Whittle

Survived by:

Husband of almost 62 years Vincent H. Shaw Jr. of Pleasant Garden

Daughter Donna Shaw Davis, husband Joe and son Michael of Greensboro

Daughter Brenda Shaw Rohme, husband Rick and children, Brandon, Justin and Meagan of Greensboro

Daughter Joann Shaw of Pleasant Garden

Son Jim Shaw and wife Lori, children Noah, Hailey and Kaitlyn of Pleasant Garden

Great Grandchildren, Kamden Petty and Riley Rohme

Sister Elizabeth (Beth) Whittle Flood of Pearl River, NY

Catherine was born in New York City and moved to Greensboro in 1961. She obtained her under graduate degree in Social Work from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Graduating Summa Cum Laude in 1979 and completed her master's degree in Public Affairs in 1984.

Since 1979 she has labored in many capacities in the field of victim's rights , child abuse prevention and crisis intervention. She served as director of Greensboro's Rape Center, over saw the formation of the "Turning Point" program which consolidated services in the areas of domestic violence, child abuse and rape crisis intervention, and for several years she supervised the crisis services division of that agency.  She had a central role in the creation of Clara House, a residential facility for the victims of domestic violence, and Stepping Stones, a daycare for abused children. She also served tirelessly on the Governor's Sexual Abuse Task Force.

Catherine retired in 2012 after more than 25 years of service to the District Attorney's Office in Guilford County. She implemented the Fair Treatment for Victims and Witness's Act. She lent her voice to countless victims of serious crimes and she made human, a legal process that was often too bewildering to those unfamiliar with its twists and turns.  In that cause, she invested the sweat of her brow, the kindness of her heart and the passion of her soul.

Catherine had several roles in her life: a basketball coach, scout leader, school bus driver, director for many years of the day camp at Girl Scout Camp Douglas Long, but the most important was wife, mother and "Nanny". She was very dedicated to her family and was often referred to as "the glue" of our family.

A few little-known facts about Catherine are, she appeared on Jeopardy in 1968, she played basketball for the College of New Rochelle where she attended on a full academic scholarship and was an avid gardener that led to multiple ribbons won at the fair for her flowers.

Catherine was a faithful member of St Mary's Catholic Church in Greensboro where she participated in many roles such as Lector, Eucharistic Minister and member of the counting team. She was also a marriage tribunal advocate for the Diocese of Charlotte.

Catherine participated in cancer drug trials at UNC Chapel Hill for 2 years which extended her life and the possibility for others to do the same.

The family would like to thank her medical care team at UNC Chapel Hill Cancer Center which included Dr. Jared Weiss and the Cancer Center in Greensboro which included Dr. Gary Sherrill.

A funeral mass will be held at St Mary's Catholic Church, 1414 Gorrell St, Greensboro NC on Friday February 10th at 2:00 pm.

The family will receive friends for one hour prior to the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes donations be made to Family Service of the Piedmont for the Clara House Shelter, 315 E Washington St., Greensboro, NC 27401.