Catherine Cook Robertson passed away Nov. 3, 2023, at Magnolia of Hinsdale, surrounded by her family, 19 days shy of her 96th birthday.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, to Ethel Beatrice and Walter Samuel Cook in 1927, Catherine's razor wit, flashing blue eyes and quick smile went with her everywhere. She was in the first graduating class of Carleton College in Ottawa, majoring in economics. With Catherine's command of history, literature and facts, her first job was with the Department of External Affairs in the Canadian Parliament, which led her to a position with the Canadian Film Board and eventually to the coveted job as a researcher for Time Magazine in New York City. On a stormy Saturday in late November 1954, while waiting for a Telex from Rome with word that the Pope's hiccups had subsided so a story could wrap and that week's edition of the magazine could be put to bed, she and a colleague ran over from their offices in Rockefeller Center to St. Bartholomew's church on Park Avenue to drop in on an afternoon dance. There, she met Walter "Leigh" Robertson who asked her for a date the next day - her birthday. Eight months later, they married.
For the next 57 years, Catherine and Leigh proceeded to build a life around their four children and their avid appreciation of bridge, tennis, books and travel. When they moved to Hinsdale in 1968, she expressed these interests as a longtime member of Village Gardeners, the American Association of University Women, Union Church of Hinsdale, three different book clubs and various tennis and bridge groups. With her off-the-cuff comments and light-hearted views, she was always a lively addition to social events. She never forgot her beloved Canada. Summer trips to lake cottages in Canada with her dear siblings and their families were annual affairs.
In 1974, inspired by the women's movement, Catherine re-entered the workforce as a real estate agent and broker. She loved keeping current on the local housing market and trends in home design. She enjoyed the process of understanding clients' needs and desires, educating them on the value of area's school system and strong sense of community while wooing them with descriptions of the charm and uniqueness of Hinsdale and its surrounding communities.
Catherine is survived by her sons, Mackenzie Robertson and Matthew Robertson; her daughters, Cathy (Chris) Wagner and Megan (Keith) Krasney; and her grandchildren, William Brice, Samuel Leigh, Katherine Grace and Owen Robertson, Christopher and Carolyn Wagner and Alexandra and Dashiell Krasney.
She was preceded in death by her sister, Mitford (Bill) Fowler; her brother, Sam (Betty) Cook; her sister-in-law Ellen (Eamon) Devline; and her husband of 57 years, Walter "Leigh" Robertson.
A celebration of life will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at Hinsdale Covenant Church, 412 S. Garfield Ave.
It will be livestreamed at http://www.youtube.com/live/yB5rSqTsnoA?feature=share.
Memorials may be made online to to Hinsdale Covenant Church at http://www.hinsdalecovenant.com/give, where gifts will be divided between the church's Chopda Initiative (Christian ministry in India for nomadic people) and the Hinsdale Covenant Preschool.
Brian Powell Funeral Directors of Hinsdale handled the arrangements.
