Cathie Marx Obituary (1963

(Susan) Cathie Marx, 58, of Normal, passed away peacefully at home on October 24, 2022, after a long illness. She is the daughter of Raymond and Ruth (Cohen) Silvers. She was born in Lynbrook, New York on December 28, 1963. She was raised in Queens, New York and graduated from Bayside High School in 1981. She earned her bachelor's degree in K - 12 music education from VanderCook College in Chicago. Cathie learned to play all band and orchestra instruments, but her main instruments were guitar, clarinet, saxophone, and cello. Cathie married David Thomas Marx in Kenosha, Wisconsin on September 5, 1987, and they lived in Chicago and in Palos Hills, Illinois until 1991, when they moved to Carbondale, Illinois. Cathie was an assistant band director at St. Nicholas of Tolentine school in Chicago for several years with Leo Henning. She taught K-12 music in two different school districts for three years before turning to giving private music lessons in Marion, Illinois until retiring from teaching in 1999 when daughter Rachel Justine Marx was born. Cathie homeschooled Rachel Pre-K through high school graduation. The Marx family moved to Normal, Illinois in June 2003. Cathie was a fan and friend of John Denver. She attended over 100 concerts, volunteered for John's Windstar Foundation and Windstar Chicago Connection, and served as co-president of The Higher We Fly John Denver Club. She loved many kinds of music and enjoyed dancing in the annual Twin Cities Ballet production of The Nutcracker, as well as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella ballets, for over 10 years. She was actively involved with Girl Scouts her whole life as a scout, volunteer, and as an employee of the Central Illinois Council. She also played clarinet in the Bloomington-Normal Community Band for three years. Cathie was also an avid sheltie owner all of her life and fostered over 400 dogs for the Central Illinois Sheltie Rescue. Other favorites included Star Wars and Harry Potter movies, the Rocky Mountains, the 1960s Dark Shadows TV series, browsing yard sales, and chocolate. Cathie is survived by her husband David, daughter Rachel of Newhall, California, brother Wayne of Flushing, New York, and sister-in-law Heidi of Kenosha, Wisconsin. She is preceded in death by her parents.