Catherine"Katy" Nye

Loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, a woman of great faith, died peacefully at home, Friday, February 6, 2026, concluding a long life of service to family, church, community and personal fulfillment. She has at last rejoined her beloved husband, Al, who died in 2019. Born April 12, 1927, in Lowell, Michigan, the youngest child of the late William and Mary (Moon) Miller.  She was “raised by the mill pond’ where her father milled Pearl Flour until the family took up farming in Elwell, Michigan. She walked to grade school and to Sunday Mass, drove a team of horses during harvest season and planted potato spuds in the spring. She moved to town and cared for a family to pay for her high school education. In 1945 she entered training at St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw as a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Nurse Cadets. “It was such a joy: my own space, learning, making friends and taking care of patients”, graduating in 1948. Fatefully, however, Katy and two of her nursing school friends were hitchhiking from Saginaw to the farm one free Sunday afternoon when new World War II veteran, Al Nye, was taking a drive and picked them up.

 Her nursing career was much cherished but very short. Married in 1948, a 72-year union followed, along with 10 offspring; JoAnn (Ralph) Rumsey, Margaret Nye (Vince Withington), David (Melinda) Nye, Gerry (Bob )Sobek, Judy (Donald) Mattox, Barbara Nye (John Bourbonnais), Diane Nye (Mike Rayden), Paul (Linda) Nye, Jim Nye (Mary Kuhn) ,Matt Nye (Jann Wenner); 27 grandchildren; and 39 great-grandchildren.  Katy and Al agreed that raising a healthy and educated family of independent thinkers and contributing citizens was their proudest accomplishment and greatest satisfaction. They became a practiced and mutually supportive parental team, settling differences privately, balancing each other’s temperaments and providing stable, confident leadership to the family. Their teamwork paid off the house mortgage in 10 years and provided a college education for all their children. Al persuaded Katy’s doubts away and travel turned out to be the family’s unexpected joy. Cross country tent camping and motor home trips became legendary, eventually to include Katy’s siblings, and leading Nyes to continue world travel to this day. As the family grew and Katy found more space in her days, she revealed a creative streak seen earlier only in making clothes, gardening and baking birthday cakes. She began painting and then created glorious quilts in her last many decades. Each of the 10 offspring has a 50th wedding anniversary memorial quilt and grandchildren were gifted with a personalized quilt as they went off to college.

 Katy was preceded in death by her daughter, Mary Nye; a grandson, Christopher Nye; and ten siblings, Della (John) Addington, Hazel Miller, Bill (Evelyn) Miller, Florence (Louis) Pung, Marion (Newman) Shaw, Harold (Lucille) Miller, Theresa (Richard) Simon, Walter (Frances) Miller, Esther (Chuck) Edwards and Gladys (Ed) Hanses.

 Katy was a woman of great faith and thanked God every day for her blessings.

 Funeral Liturgy will take place 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, February 11, 2026, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 1035 N. River Rd., Saginaw, Michigan. Rev. Fr. Peter Gaspeny will officiate with burial in Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Friends may visit at the Snow Funeral Home, 3775 N. Center Rd. (between Shattuck and McCarty), where the family will be present on Tuesday, February 10, 2026 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. and at the church on Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. until time of Mass. The Michigan TriCity Nurse Honor Guard Tribute will take place at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday followed by The Rosary at 6:00 p.m.at the funeral home.  Katy could not bear to see children suffer. In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider memorials to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Please share memories and condolences with the family at snowfuneralhome.net