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Catherine Mary O’Brien passed away Aug. 9 while undergoing treatment at the Yale Smilow Center in New Haven. She was 55.

From a young age Catie adored swimming, the outdoors, and all dogs. She found her lifelong calling after graduating from Saint John’s School and Mercy High School in Middletown. When attending Boston College in Boston, Massachusetts, she went on to receive three degrees in education and school administration, graduating summa cum laude. Catie was employed more than 30 years by the Natick, Massachusetts, public school Bennett-Hemenway, not only teaching fourth grade but working with struggling students in extended-year programs. She was a sought-after private tutor for grades one through twelve. This past year, while caring for her father, she taught fourth grade at Saint John’s School in Old Saybrook.

She is survived by her beloved father Eugene R. O’Brien of Old Saybrook, her sister Maureen O’Brien, her niece Lauren Wells, her nephew Ryan Sandmann, and hundreds of Massachusetts students who stayed in her life well beyond their class room year!!! Go Red Sox!!!

A Memorial Mass will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 20 at 11:00 a.m. at Saint John Church, 161 Main St. in Old Saybrook. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made in her name to The Saint John’s School, 42 Maynard St., Old Saybrook, CT 06475, or to the Valley Shore Animal Welfare League, 647 Horse Hill Rd., Westbrook, CT 06498. To share a memory of Catie or send a condolence to her family, please visit www.rwwfh.com. Arrangements by the Robinson Wright & Weymer Funeral Home in Centerbrook.