Final farewell for popular Cautie (96)
ON Monday, November 6, the death at the age of 96 occurred peacefully in Kerry University Hospital, Tralee, of Catherine (Cautie) Linnane (nee Smith) of the School Road, Knightstown. She was pre-deceased by her husband Arthur (Artie) in 1987, who was originally of Ardrahan, Co Galway, and by her son Kenneth who passed away in 2012.
Throughout her life, the late Cautie Linnane was blessed with very good health and, up to very recent times, enjoyed a good quality and independence of life. Remarkably, she had embraced the Internet – Facebook in particular – right up to the age of 94.
Back in June, she and her fellow nonagenarians of Valentia Island came together for a meeting at the home of Derarca Goldie in Chapeltown. Sadly, nonagenarian Diarmaid Ring has also passed away since that gathering.
During her earlier years, Cautie spent a period in Belfast and Devon as a child nurse. She also spent a considerable number of years residing in different coastal areas throughout Ireland in pursuance of her husband Artie‘s employment with the Irish Lights.
Then around 30 years ago they returned permanently to live in Valentia.
She was a very keen gardener and lover of animals, owning a number of cats in company with her beloved dog Cindy and, as explained by her grandson David Linnane during the Requiem Mass, her home was the social hub and gathering for her many relatives, spanning four generations.
A number of Cautie’s neighbours and friends on School Road and in the general Knightstown vicinity will testify to how frequently they observed her trimming, pruning and generally nurturing her garden, invariably accompanied by her favourite bird, the robin.
In tribute, it is only fitting to conclude with the lines from a poem by DW McConway, entitled God’s Garden.
God looked around his garden And found an empty place, He then looked down upon the earth,
And saw your tired face, He put his arms around you. And lifted you to rest, God’s garden must be beautiful, He always takes the best