Catherine Postel Noonan Epstein was born on June 23, 1921 and lived a long and full life. She grew up on East 49th Street, just 3 blocks from here. She used to talk about roller skating on the block before each house had sidewalks in front of them. Before the street was paved, they used to fill in potholes using ashes from their coal furnace.
She remembered the ice box and the ice delivery man, and she remembered their washing machine with a manual wringer, their treadle sewing machine, and cars with running boards.
She was the oldest of four children. Her sister Anna Wilhelmina Tully and her two brothers, Henry (Hank) and John (Jack) Postel all predeceased her.
She graduated from Erasmus Hall HS at the age of 16 and then graduated from St. John’s University with a business degree. After World War II, she married and had 3 children.
She worked for 25+ years as a guidance counselor at Roy H Mann and Dyker Heights Junior High schools, a job she found rewarding but also stressful.
On June 30, 1971 she married her second husband, Irving Epstein, and they lived happily ever after. They had celebrated their 40th anniversary before he passed away in 2012.
Her final career was Grandmother, a job she adored. Her five grandchildren agree that she was the best grandmother imaginable.
She is survived by her three children, Cathi Zillmann, Michael Noonan and Patricia Ferrazano; her two grandsons, Peter and John Zillmann; her three granddaughters, Jessica Summersgill, Kelsey Noonan and Marleah Noonan; and finally her three great-grandaughters, Hazleigh and Harper Zillmann, and Audrey Catherine Summersgill.
We’re all so sad that she’s gone but have a lifetime of memories to cherish.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Disease charity of your choosing.