Catherine Susan Smith-Pilgrim

PLATTEVILLE, WIS. - Catherine Susan Smith-Pilgrim passed away on Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, at the Agrace HospiceCare Center in Madison, Wis. following a long struggle with COPD. At the age of 68, Susan was set free from the pain and agony of this disease and is now enjoying the peace and love in her new heavenly home. Catherine Susan Brown was born in Philadelphia, Penn., on Sept. 7, 1946. Susan's parents, Francis Brown and Dorothy (Stanton) Brown, traveled throughout the country the first years of her life, as her father pursued his career in the U.S. Navy. Susan graduated from Aurora High School in Aurora, CO and shortly thereafter from cosmetology school in Denver, CO. This education launched her on a 40 year career as a hair stylist and later as an educator for Redken. Susan and her first husband, Bernard James Smith, settled in the Penn Yan, NY community in the early 1970s where they raised their three children. Penn Yan was also where Susans career grew, to her establishment of The Country Charm Salon. She also served a term as the President of the Penn Yan Chamber of Commerce. With her keen interest in business, Susan pursued and was awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Keuka College in the late 1980s. Following the untimely passing of her first husband in 1994, Susan continued her successful career in hair styling. In 1996 Jim Pilgrim was blessed to meet and eventually marry Susan, and so she became Catherine Susan Smith-Pilgrim. She is and always will be the love of his life. Susan and Jim left Penn Yan in 2005 to live and work in Illinois and also in Wisconsin. During this time period, Susan developed a deep interest in pursuing the ancestry of her family, developing numerous family trees. She also enjoyed scrapbooking, and creating lasting memories for her children and brother. Susan is survived by her husband, Jim Pilgrim of Platteville, WI; her children, David Timothy (Mary Beth) Smith of Penn Yan, NY, Richard James (Marianne) Smith of Chesapeake, VA, and Cynthia (Bryan) Legge of San Diego, CA; step-children, Christopher (Lauren) Pilgrim of Rochester, NY, Curtis (Jackie) Pilgrim of Rochester, NY, and Collin (Sayra Duffy) Pilgrim of Palmyra, NY; brother, Thomas (Diane) Brown of Richland, WA; 17 grandchildren; her uncle and aunt Mark (Elizabeth) Malcolm; and many nieces, nephews, cousins and loving friends. Susan was predeceased by her first husband in 1994, by her mother in 1995 and her father in 1996. A memorial service will be held at BLUFF POINT UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, Bluff Point, New York on Saturday, February 14, 2015 followed by internment at City Hill Cemetery in Penn Yan, NY. Arrangements have been entrusted to Weldon Funeral Home. In loving memory of Susan, donations can be made to the American Lung Association. All Faiths Funeral & Cremation Services Madison (608)442-0477 www.866allfaiths.com