Catherine Anne Senftle

On May 2nd, 2023 Catherine Anne Senftle passed away at the age of 64. Beloved wife of 37 years of her husband Patrick; loving mother of Melissa (Theodore) Gerstle, Shannan (Michael) Fratto, Thomas (Margaret) Senftle, Anita Senftle, Tess Senftle, and Luke Senftle; fun-loving grandmother (“Gramcie”) of Georgina Fratto, Anthony Fratto, Nico Fratto, Kaye Gerstle, Sophie Senftle, and Alice Senftle. She is also survived by her father Richard Gaggioli, siblings Michael (Phyllis) Gaggioli, Daniel (Breda) Gaggioli, Edward (Chrissy) Gaggioli, and Mary (John) Gentile, and many nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her mother Anita Gaggioli.

Cathy was the first born child of her wonderful parents Richard and Anita.  She was born in Lake Forest, Illinois, on August 18th, 1958.  From there she moved to Madison, Wisconsin and then to Ohio, with her parents as Richard settled into his professor career. Ultimately, Richard became a full-time professor at Marquette University and Cathy became a full-time Milwaukee girl. 

She loved Milwaukee. She watched sunrises over Atwater Beach from her window, enjoyed Real Chili, and absorbed the gentleness of the mid-west.  She was an avid concert goer at Summer Fest where she attended many concerts.

She thought she would never leave the safety of the Midwest, but ended up moving to Washington, D.C. when her father took a job to be the Dean of Engineering at Catholic University.  There she met the love of her life, Patrick, at a Catholic University party. The rest is history.

Pat and Cathy were married in August 1985 and were the proud parents of six children. They watched with pride as each child found their own way with their own mix of personality.

The hallmark of Cathy was her sweet and disarming voice. A voice that she used to calm each of her children’s worries with ease. She always knew just the right thing to say and would come up with clever and creative solutions to our problems. She was thoughtful, caring, and conscientious of everyone around her. She is remembered as the kindest soul by those who were closest to her just the same as those she only met in passing. She was our rock and will be missed.

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Visitation for Cathy will be held on May 10th from 10:30am-12pm at St. John Neumann Catholic Church, Gaithersburg, MD, where the Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 12pm.

In honor of Cathy, memorial contributions may be made to the following organizations:

EWTN, https://www.ewtn.com/giving/donate

The Dwelling Place, https://tdp-inc.org/donate-now/

Youth Leadership Foundation, https://www.helpingkids.org/donate-today