Mary Catania

Mary Eielene Catania passed away early in the morning on Monday, March 2nd, 2026. She is survived by her husband, Philip Catania, daughter, Gina Dillard (married to Donald), grandchildren, Devin Dillard (married to Julie) and Amanda Dillard (married to Tim), great-grandchildren, Zoe, Wylder, Declan, and Olivia, and her siblings Nick D'Angelo and Tonyea Kane. Mary lost her battle with scleroderma and passed surrounded by her family in Colorado.

Mary was the youngest of three children born to Tony and Florence D'Angelo. She was born in Los Angeles, California on April 24, 1947. Mary surrounded herself with family and friends from a very young age. She was sweet-natured and empathetic, loving, and kind. She hardly ever fought with anyone. She placed a high value on maintaining relationships with family. Her relationship with her parents and her siblings, Tonyea and Nick, was very strong and she continued that tradition with her own family. She was very close with her daughter and grandchildren.

Mary met the love of her life, Phil, in late 1967 and they got married April 27, 1968 just three days after she turned 21. They spent the last 58 years together, building a life and family filled with love. They built businesses and homes together, traveled the world, went to musicals and shows, enjoyed cruises and time with their family. Mary and Phil built a life most of us dream and hope for.

Mary spent most of her life in California, only moving to Colorado to be with her daughter and grandkids in 2024. She loved being around her great-grandchildren and attended as many of their sports activities and concerts as she could. She went by "Bees" to her great-grandchildren – short for "Bisnonna," which means great-grandmother in Italian.

Mary's creative abilities were not just a strength of hers, but also something she loved to do. She won blue-ribbons for her creations and sold many hand-made treasures as the Crafty Bee we loved so much. She made invitations for many of our big events, including our weddings and baby showers. She had a beautiful eye for details and loved showcasing and selling her art at craft shows big and small.

Mary loved to stay up late, working on her creations in the craft rooms Phil built for her or with her friends. She would work until it was morning. She loved being up late, especially when she could gamble or play cards. There's very few people who have played cards with her who haven't lost to her at one point or another. She was quiet and observant, which made her such a good card player.

Mary also loved her sweets- especially ice cream. She loved all kinds of flavors and in all countries she visited. She was known for her tacos (with bread and butter pickles inside), which she would fry up for hours in order to feed everyone. More family favorite were her chicken salad, macaroni salad, and pasta sauce.

Mary did not love to be the center of attention very often, but she is the core of so many joyous memories for our family. She always put us first, doing everything she could to make sure we were all happy. The trips our family took together will forever be in our memory; however, I think most of us will forever remember Mary as she was at hers and Phil's River House. We will remember her floating next to the boat in the middle of the Colorado River, laughing at the sky, drink in her hand, surrounded by her favorite people in the world.

Mary may be gone, but she will stay with us forever in our hearts and our memories. Everything she and Phil built together will live on in their daughter and grandchildren.

A celebration of life in Mary’s honor will be held at the Highland Meadows Grill (6300 Highland Meadows Pkwy, Windsor, CO 80550) on Saturday, March 28th at 1pm.