Catherine (Shannon) Love, 83

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HOPKINTON – Catherine (Shannon) Love, 83, of Hopkinton, died Thursday, February 10, 2022, at her home in Hopkinton.

She was the daughter of the late James L. and Mary J. (Fahey) Shannon and wife of the late Dr. Donald Love.  She was predeceased by her first husband James L. Collins. 

Cay grew up in Cambridge and Lexington.  In her adult life, she lived in Spartanburg, SC as well as Framingham and Hopkinton. 

She was predeceased by her siblings, John and Fred Shannon.  She is survived by her siblings, Mary Shannon and Joseph Shannon of Arlington; James Shannon and wife Laura of FL and Edward Shannon and wife Annie of Cape Cod.

Cay is survived by her daughter, Christine and her husband Richard, of Framingham and grandchildren Brittany, Kelsey, Zachary and Reilly and great grandchild Skylar Edelman; as well as her son, Lawrence S. Collins.  Besides her children, she leaves her stepchildren, Dr. Evelyn Love and her husband, Dr. Bruce Karlin, Dr. Donald Love and his wife Susan Ranney, all of Hopkinton, Deborah Love and her husband, Dr. Robert Sack of New York, Dr. John Love and wife Dr. Brenda Medlin of Maine, Janet Lafleur and her husband Dr. Daniel Lafleur, and Laura Trowbridge and her husband Jamie, all of New Hampshire, Rebecca Love of Washington and Judy Love of North Carolina.

She is survived by many Love family grandchildren and great grandchildren.

She also leaves many other family members and friends who will sadly miss her.

Cay, lovingly known as Rinkey to many friends and family, attended St. John’s High School in Cambridge, MA.  One of her favorite high school pastimes was roller skating.  She also loved to dance and play piano. 

She married James Lawrence Collins in September of 1961, and they relocated to Spartanburg, South Carolina.  In 1973 they returned to Massachusetts and settled down in Framingham. James passed away in December of 1978.  Cay worked for various companies through the years, including Jana Brands Seafoods, Holbrook and Kaplan-CPA, and finally as an accounts receivable specialist for Dr. Love. 

She married Dr. Love in October of 1994 and they enjoyed many happy years together.  Memories of them sitting in their glider chairs by the window just chatting, after Don had taken yet another trip to Spag’s.  Although Spag’s closed in 2004, it was only a few months ago that my mom asked me to buy some envelopes since she had run out of the last box she had from Spag’s.

Cay loved listening to classical music, opera as well as some of her favorite vinyl recordings of John Denver and Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavorotti, Andrea Bocelli and even Engelbert Humperdinck.  She enjoyed going to the senior center and reading various scripts with the other residents.  She supported PBS, and Habitat for Humanity as well as the Humane Society.  She enjoyed both cooking and baking and was forever finding another recipe to try as she watched “The Great British Baking Show”.  She loved reading, although not as much in recent years, preferring to watch shows and movies on her iPad, such as Downton Abby and Bridgerton.  She loved watching Jeopardy but always felt the show wasn’t the same after Alex Trebek died.  She prided herself on completing crossword puzzles in pen.  Cay was an avid gardener and especially enjoyed Orchids.  She loved her cat, Cayleigh and the hummingbirds that would come to visit her feeder year after year.  

A special thank you to Kerry Cahill for your loving kindness and caring of Cay.

If by chance you wish to remember me, do it with a kind deed or word to someone who needs you.

Visiting hours will be held on Tuesday, February, 22, 2022, from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. at the Slattery Funeral Home, Inc., 40 Pleasant St., Marlborough, MA 01752.  A funeral service will be held in the funeral home following visiting hours at 10:30 a.m.