Catherine (DeMara) McDuffie died July 5, 2024, at age 84 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She was a beloved wife and mother. Catherine was born in Tresco, Pennsylvania, 31 Dec, 1939, to Nick and Josephine DeMara. In her early teens Catherine moved with her family to Bristol, PA. She earned a B.S. in Education from Mansfield State Teachers College in Pennsylvania, and after several years of teaching junior high, she earned a M.Ed. from Rutgers University in New Jersey. She married Harold McDuffie on June 29, 1968, and moved with him to Fayetteville, where she lived for the remainder of her life. She continued to teach in Northwest Arkansas for another 24 years, retiring from Springdale High School in 1994 after 31 years of contracted teaching positions.
Catherine is survived by her daughter Justine and by her husband Harold, both of whom reside in Fayetteville, and by her younger brother, Philip DeMara of Lumberton, New Jersey. Another brother, Nicholas DeMara, Jr., of California, pre-deceased her.
Catherine was a devout Catholic, and until her health began to fail seriously a few years ago, she regularly attended St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fayetteville. Unfortunately, she was afflicted in middle age by scleroderma, an auto-immune disease, later in life by heart disease, and in her eighties by glaucoma, which subsequently took her vision completely. She bore these afflictions with grace. Catherine was a warm, personable woman who made friends and kept them for life. She loved flowers and gardening and spent many happy hours kneeling in dirt, digging, planting and pruning. She was a member the Master Gardeners, and many of her close friendships after retiring from teaching were made and nurtured in the happy company of fellow gardeners.
A rosary will be 10:30 AM Friday, July 12, 2024 at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Fayetteville.
A Memorial Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 11:00 AM with inurnment in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Fayetteville.
Cremation arrangements by Beard’s Funeral Chapel.
I fondly remember Catherine’s kind guiding nature and support during my first year at SHS. She was a beloved teacher among her students and peers. What an honor to have worked with her and Harold, a true power couple in the SHS English department! Praying for her family’s comfort and peace, Mary Margaret Gray
My memories of Mrs. McDuffie as a teacher are special to me. I have thought of her often in my life, and been thankful for the love of reading and proper writing she instilled in her students. Christ comfort and Grace to her family.
Mrs. McDuffie was my favorite English teacher! I have so many fond memories of her. I am grateful that I was able to introduce my children to her a few years ago. Sending love and prayers to her family.
A wonderful teacher and better yet, such a terrific colleague and human being!
So many lives have been blessed by her presence.
I am so saddened by the loss of my dear friend of over fifty-something years. We taught together at Springdale High School, brought up our daughters together and watched them become friends, and remained friends during my 18-year teaching time in the U.K. She welcomed me back in 2006 as though I had just been on an extended visit there, and we took up where we had left off. During her period of ill health over the last several years, I watched her struggle but never give up in living her life as best she could for her family and friends. She will be missed greatly.
I am so sorry of Catherine’s passing. And, I’m also sorry I could not attend her funeral as I was out of the country. Besides teaching with her at Springdale High for 20 years, she got me involved with washing the linens at St. Thomas Aquinas back in the ‘80s. And, we did it for many years before moving to St. Joseph’s Church. She was so energetic and a friend to everyone. She impacted so many lives. I’m sorry for your loss and she will be in my prayers.