Edith Catherine (Caster) Mccullough
1931 — 2021
Edith Catherine (Caster) Mccullough, of Sonora, passed away peacefully Wednesday Morning, April 14, 2021, at the age of 89. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Dearl E. Mccullough; their children, Sue Mccullough, of Oakland, Ester Mccullough, of Winnemucca, Nevada, Judy Mccullough, of Oroville, and Dan Mccullough, of Gray, Georgia; her grandchildren, Kenton and Alec Barks, Rachel Mccullough, Blake, Megan and Kasey Mccullough; and her two sisters, Mary Agnes Gilbert and Betty Louise Zipper, of Dallas, Texas.
Edith was born Aug. 7, 1931, to Gailen George and Mary Cathrine Caster, of Dallas, Texas. She was the second of three girls growing up on a small dairy farm during the Great Depression.
She was resourceful, independent and determined. Edith had a keen mind, adventurous spirit and mischievous nature. Her Catholic education convinced her that service to others was important and that she was capable of anything. Her thirst for knowledge drove her to be the first from her family to complete college, graduating with degrees in chemistry and biology, from Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio, Texas. She continued her education and became a physical therapist through the University of Texas Medical school in Galveston in 1955. At the age of 25, she bought a VW Bug and struck out on her own, taking her first job as a physical therapist working with handicapped children at the Shriner’s Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, for a stipend and lodging. Edith and her best friend, Jean Bell, of Galveston, traveled around the country in the VW Bug and had numerous adventures. She accepted a physical therapy position at the Magic Valley hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho, because there was skiing in the area. There she met her husband, Dearl, a struggling forestry student and ski ranger. Edith managed to get Dearl through college, start her family and move from national forest to national forest, settling in Sonora in 1974. Edith worked as a physical therapist in the locations they lived, including Tuolumne General Hospital in Sonora.
Edith had great compassion and volunteered for Interfaith, helped the homeless, and gave to numerous charities. She has been a long-term member of the Moose Lodge in Soulsbyville and a parishioner of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, where her services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 21. A vigil will be held at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Terzich and Wilson Funeral Home in Sonora. She will be remembered and missed as our beloved wife, mother, sister, grandmother, and friend.