Wife who filled the world with laughter

ONE of life’s true optimists, everywhere she went, Catherine brought laughter, joy and a splash of wonderfully silly havoc.

Take the time she hurled herself off a boat, waded through waves and shimmied up a cliff just to get to an off-site work meeting on time — albeit rather damp and collapsing in a fit of giggles.

Or her days at the Palliative Care Unit at Keech Hospice, in Luton, where she received support for incurable liver cancer, but spent most of her time cheering everyone else up.

She loved cooking, country music, dancing and singing. Originally from Dublin, she moved to England with her elder sister, Anne, in 1978. Catherine was a shy, pretty girl, with long, gleaming hair.

When she applied for a junior role at Satex business supplies, the boss said: ‘Don’t offer her the job — she’ll get homesick and go back to Ireland. Irish girls always do.’ But Catherine (pictured) was made of sterner stuff. She persuaded him to give her the job, threw herself into the role and went on to become managing director.

We fell in love in 2000. She was 42, I was 54 and we were both divorced. I’d known her for decades through work, and had worshipped her from the wings.

Finally, happily, following an industry dinner at chef Anton Mosimann’s dining club in London, romance bloomed.

Four years later, we were married in the very same room.

She wore a pale blue trouser suit and looked stunning. It took my breath away when I saw her. I felt so lucky. We spent our wedding night at The Dorchester on Park Lane, and the next day returned to our new home in Dunstable. Life was wonderful. We holidayed in California, Portugal and Italy. We drove to the South of France in our black BMW convertible, and she raved about the amazing chocolate profiteroles. In 2011, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a shock, but with typical optimism and courage she fought it. Two years later, she was given the all-clear and we returned to Mosimann’s to celebrate. It was such a relief. The real blow came in 2015 when she felt a pain in her side. The cancer had reappeared in her liver. She met it head on, but this time it was incurable. She was a sensational woman and has left a very big hole in many people’s lives.