Catherine Beatrice (Drakes) Day, 79, passed away peacefully on October 2, 2026, after battling two cancers simultaneously for over a year. She was born to Thomas and Claudine Drakes on June 3, 1947, in Kansas City, Kansas. Cathy and her family spent most of her childhood years in Pacific Grove, California. The third oldest of 13 children, Cathy contributed generously with time and attention to the younger children who appreciated Cathy’s kindness and sense of humor. In her youth, Cathy enjoyed contemporary dancing and music and was the president of the Richard Chamberlin Fan Club. She graduated from Junipero Memorial High School in Monterey, CA in 1965, and after graduation joined the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael. She earned a B.A. and teaching certificate in 1971. Cathy especially enjoyed the summers she studied Religious Education and Theology at the University of San Francisco. Though her journey with the Dominican Sisters ended in 1981, she cherished the values and friendships shared with them for the rest of her life. Cathy taught in Catholic schools in the Bay Area for thirty years.
In 2001 Cathy met Lewis Day through a Catholic singles organization. Lewis and Cathy were married in St. Paul’s Church in San Francisco and made their home in St. Louis, MO, where Lewis spent most of his life. Cathy continued working but transitioned to serving as a librarian assistant until her retirement in 2019.
Cathy’s family and her faith were the most important parts of her life. Lewis and Cathy were longstanding parishioners at the Church of the Immacolata.
Cathy is survived by her husband Lewis Day; Lewis’s daughter, Kimberly Doherty (James); Lewis’s four brothers and sisters: David (Joan), Elizabeth Davinroy, Maureen Kenski (Ray), and Kevin; and Cathy’s nine brothers and sisters: Robert (Gina), Thomas (Marie), Sally, Claudia Bramkamp, Janet (David Poll), William (Vicki), Paul, Peggy Hawkinson (Todd), and Peter (Suzanne), and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her father, Thomas; mother, Claudine; sisters, Maureen Molloy (Don) and Barbara Sterns (Tom); brother, Richard; and brothers-in-law, Michael Bramkamp, Tim Day, and Dennis Davinroy.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 17, 2026, at The Church of the Immacolata, 8900 Clayton Road, Richmond Heights, MO 63117.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions may be made to Immacolata St. Vincent de Paul Society or Dominican Sisters of San Rafael.