Katkavich, Monica Helena de Boer
Monica de Boer Katkavich, 90, of Farmington, CT, passed away peacefully on July 8th, 2021. Her unmistakable joy and spirit were transmitted to all who knew her. She was a loving mother, a proud grandmother, a special and caring friend to so many, and a selfless philanthropist. Monica was born in The Hague, Netherlands, and was one of fifteen siblings. She was the seventh child of nine born to Joseph de Boer and Antoinette Veugelers de Boer. Her mother died when she was eleven years old. Her father later married Magdalena Ruding, and together they had six children. Her whole life, Monica was deeply connected to her siblings and other relatives in The Netherlands.
She worked first as a Montessori school teacher and then trained as a nurse at the Saint Ignatius Hospital in Breda, Netherlands. Monica left the Netherlands for the United States in the mid-1960s and married an American, John Leonard Katkavich, whom she met while he was traveling in The Netherlands. They first settled briefly in Hartford, and then later in Rocky Hill. Monica and John had one son, Jonas Floris Katkavich. The couple ultimately divorced in 1979. John later died in 1991.
Post-divorce, Monica renewed her nursing training and became licensed as a registered nurse. She had additional training in psychiatric nursing in Hartford at The Institute of Living and then worked for the State of Connecticut at the Connecticut Valley Hospital (CVH) in Middletown, where she attended to patients recovering from substance abuse. She remained at CVH for many years and ultimately retired from there.
Monica surrounded herself with a core of amazing longlasting friendships which she maintained meticulously
for more than fifty years with phone calls, cards, visits, and thoughtful beautifully wrapped gifts. She loved and was beloved within that large circle of friends, most of whom she met during her life in Rocky Hill. She later lived for several years at Weaver's Mill in Manchester, and then at Peachtree Village in Avon.
In retirement, she kept herself busy doting on friends and family, taking road trips with friends, shopping for bargains, and volunteering at both the Lutz Children's Museum and the Manchester Historical Society. She also enjoyed choir singing at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Ann in Avon. In her final years, she was cared for at Middlewoods of Farmington.
Her greatest joys were her son, Jonas, his wife, Katherine Gladstone Windsor, and their children - her two grandsons - Jack Katkavich and Henry Katkavich. In addition to her son and his family, Monica is survived by her brother, Phillip deBoer; her sisters, Fee Preston, Isabella Smeele, and Cecilia van der Zeeuw; and her
brother, Floris de Boer. Monica was predeceased by her parents, her ex-husband, her stepmother, and her siblings, Paul, Tonny, Ria, Winnie, Joep, Liesbeth, Ursula, Jan, and Frans de Boer. Additionally, she was predeceased by her stepson, John Allen Katkavich. Finally, Monica remained close to her stepdaughter, Pamela Katkavich, who passed on February 9th, 2022. While she lived more than half of her life in the United States, she never became a US citizen and continued to show a deep and abiding love for her native country and her enormous family in The Netherlands. A final example of this devotion was her wish to have her remains return there and be placed in a de Boer family grave in The Hague, the city of her birth. This will take place in late August 2022. An additional memorial gathering for her American family and friends win take place in September 2022.
Happy Mother's Day! We all miss you so much!