Obituary for Catherine Keefe Sholtanis Catherine (Cathy) Keefe Sholtanis, 83, beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, passed away peacefully at her home in Scarborough, Maine, on December 24, 2025.

Cathy was born in Boston on May 15, 1942, to Charles Vaughn Keefe and Mary Easson Keefe, and grew up in Stoughton, Massachusetts.  She married Richard Charles Sholtanis on August 10, 1968. A lifelong New Englander, Cathy made friends everywhere she lived, including West Wind Shores in Plymouth, Massachusetts; Eidelweiss in Madison, New Hampshire; Sokokis Pines in Tamworth, New Hampshire, and Crystal Springs in Scarborough, Maine. She kept many connections with people she knew from childhood, especially those from Hideaway Village in Bourne, Massachusetts.

Cathy was a graduate of Bridgewater State Teachers College class of 1963, and taught kindergarten and first grade for over 30 years at the Clapp School in Stoughton, Massachusetts and South Elementary School in Plymouth, Massachusetts. One of her greatest joys in life was teaching children to read, and she earned her master's degree in children's literacy from Lesley University in 1989.

Cathy faced life's hardships with courage and grace. After the death of her son in 1991, she spent nearly every weekend hiking many of the 4,000 footers in the White Mountains with her husband. They eventually retired to the area, and she continued substitute teaching in Madison, NH schools for another 20 years. She was also a volunteer children's ski instructor at King Pine Resort in Madison, and worked in guest services at Cranmore Mountain in North Conway.

Cathy served on many neighborhood and volunteer associations across New England. She became the secretary or president of nearly every group she joined, including the West Wind Shores and Eidelweiss neighborhood associations, and the Carroll County NH chapter of Altrusa. Through her volunteer work she hosted block parties and road races, established Red Cross certified swimming lessons for neighborhood children, coordinated food and book drives, and supported Special Olympics New Hampshire.

Cathy loved cooking for friends, family and neighbors, and generously shared her best recipes. She could always be counted on to organize events –reunions, birthdays, anniversaries - ensuring the family stayed together. She was also the keeper of family history, and wrote books to preserve stories and legends. She organized fun trips each year to places like the Florida Keys and annual kayak trips down the Magalloway River in Coös County, New Hampshire. Together with her husband of 56 years, she traveled to exotic locations across six continents, and came within a few hundred miles of Antarctica. Some of their favorite trips included Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Kenya, Tanzania, and New Zealand. They snorkeled in many locations, including Australia's Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii, and many of the islands in the Caribbean.

Cathy loved spending time with her daughter and son-in-law. She was especially close to her grandchildren, taking them on adventures including hiking, swimming, and Storyland. When her great-grandchildren came along, she made sure she was there for trips to farms and beaches and corn mazes, and was thrilled to pass on reading and cooking skills to the newest generation. She always had room in her heart and her home for one more child, and opened her doors wide to friends and nieces and nephews, inviting some to live in her home when they needed it most.

Cathy is survived by her sister and brother-in-law Mary & Robert Noll; beloved daughter and son-in-law Debra & Charles Dunlap; her honorary son Robert Titterington and his wife and daughter Jodie & Clover Kaufman; her grandchildren Naomi & Michael Ellette and Caleb Dunlap; her five great-grandchildren Shawn, Asher, Ariya, Rosabella, and Atticus Ellette; and many nieces and nephews, including Elizabeth & Peter Glazebrook, with whom she was especially close. She was predeceased by her husband Richard C. Sholtanis in February 2025, and her son Richard J. Sholtanis in 1991, and looked forward to a heavenly reunion.

A Celebration of Life will be held for friends and family to share stories and memories of Cathy on Saturday, January 17, 2026, from 2-5pm at Hobbs Funeral Home and Hospitality Center, 671 US Route One, Scarborough, ME, 04074.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital or Hospice of Southern Maine.