Catherine A. Dyer

Catherine Ann Dyer, (nee Hassel) age 95, of Olmsted Township and formerly of Avon and Lorain, Ohio, lived from 1929 until November 19, 2024, passing after long illnesses. Having attended Seton Hill University, she completed her Bachelors and Masters degrees in Counseling and Education at Western Reserve University, now Case Western Reserve University. After a college Summer of modelling and sales, Catherine (Cay) followed her father in education, who retired from the School Board in Avon, Ohio after faithfully serving 28 years and who was an accredited mechanic by profession. She built her educational career by teaching all ages from elementary to adult through various school assignments including Coordinator of Family Life Education for Lorain City Public Schools. Notably, she served Head Start in its first year, 1965, where she began her subtle yet continuous advocacy for women and others who were underserved. Cay became a Guidance Counselor at North Olmsted High School where she performed many years. She retired her educational career from Bowling Green State University, Firelands campus, as Student Services Director in 1988. In both positions, she published and collaborated socially forward works in the form of the time. She also served as a professional speaker. Post retirement, Catherine continued her public service as a counselor with Epilepsy Foundation of Northeast Ohio. Wishing to remain active, she acquired a Real Estate License and later demonstrated retail products as a paid hobby. Her survivors include her children, LeRoy (Janet) Dyer, Naomi Witter, and Kimberlee (Jonathan) Andrews as well as seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. She is predeceased by her grandparents, Louis E. Hassel and Christina (nee Nagel) Hassel. Per family lore, her mother, Naomi (nee Van Kaenel) Hassel, contracted Typhus and passed in 1932 having cared for another family, all of whom survived. Also predeceasing are her father, Aloysius Nicholaus Hassel, 1899-1972; her husband, Carl Dyer, d 1998; her long-time companion, Robert Elliott, d 2023; as well as an infant son, Bruce, d 1951. Other predecessors include many uncles, aunts and cousins. Family will receive friends in the Bogner Family Funeral Home, 36625 Center Ridge Road, North Ridgeville on Monday from 4:00-7:00 p.m. and on Tuesday at 9:15 a.m. for a prayer service preceding a 10:00 a.m. Mass of Christian Burial at St. Clarence Church, 30106 Lorain Road, North Olmsted 44070. Rev. Neil Kookoothe will officiate. Interment will be in Ridge Hill Memorial Park, Amherst.

Catherine A. Dyer

January 25, 1929 - November 19, 2024