Catherine (Cardoza) Ferro joined her angels in Heaven on Saturday, December 16 after a brief illness. She was 98 years old.
Catherine was born on November 27, 1925 in Gustine, California to Manuel and Luzia (Lucy) Cardoza. She was the 5th of 8 children in her first-generation immigrant Portuguese family that owned and operated a small dairy farm. When Catherine was 15, her father was killed in a farm accident and the family had to pull together to keep the farm running. She helped her mother care for her siblings, using her natural skills as a teacher to help with homework and domestic duties.
Despite her family’s struggles, Catherine was the first in her family to graduate high school. There she met and fell in love with William “Bill” Ferro, they were married in April of 1946. They were lifelong residents of Los Baños, raising four children (Lissa, Lynn, Don and Sandy) together; their first child, William, sadly died in infancy. Catherine was a devoted homemaker who always put her family first. She remained close with her siblings and their families throughout her life, counting nieces and nephews as surrogate children. She was an excellent seamstress and helped her community through 4H and Our Lady of Fatima leadership, projects and lessons, again using her natural gifts as a teacher. She was also an accomplished entrepreneur later in her life, successfully starting and running a local meat and locker business with Bill in their 50s.
Catherine’s life delight were babies and children. She had 7 grandchildren (including 3 of her late sister’s grandkids she loved as her own) whom she adored, cared for and supported in all of their activities and passions. She enjoyed being called “GG” by her 11 great-grandchildren, who quickly learned that the lower kitchen cabinet had licorice and the freezer always had Drumsticks or ice cream.
Catherine/Grandma/GG will be lovingly remembered at a rosary and mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church (1621 Center Avenue, Los Baños 93635) on Friday, December 29, 2023 at 10am, followed by internment at Los Baños Cemetery and a hearty celebration of her long and rich life at España’s (1460 E. Pacheco Blvd. Los Baños 93635).
