After being graduated from West Chester University in 1963, Cathy taught for three years at the Plymouth/Whitemarsh High School in suburban Philadelphia. Cathy was also the cheerleading coach, to which she brought the most important ingredient: enthusiasm. Cathy came to realize in those years that dedicated, caring classroom teaching is very stressful. Her first foray into high school teaching came to an end in 1966 with our marriage and subsequent move to Penn State. 

Three years of my graduate school and thirteen  years of raising children brought Cathy to her second teaching job at Fannett-Metal High School in 1982. Cathy immediately produced her first school play in the spring of 1983. Except for a sabbatical leave in 1988, Cathy produced a play every one of her thirteen years at Fannett-Metal. Cathy also led student groups to a tour of France, a tour of the British Isles, a tour of Australia and New Zealand, a tour of New York City, and a few tours of French Canada. 

In 1995, we moved to our new home in Cape May Beach, NJ. This began Cathy's seven years of teaching at the Cape May County Technical High School. Cathy found a way to keep her high teaching standards in an environment in which academic courses typically don't thrive, to put things politely. Toward the end of her last year, Cathy told me that one of her students said to a third party, "I hate Mrs. McArthur, but she's the best teacher here." 

In a flash I remembered the four best teachers in my past. Mrs. Esherick, my seventh grade English teacher at Bala Cynwyd Junior High School, had a rule: one misspelling = failure. This was in 1952, before spell-checkers. With lots of weeping and grinding of teeth (and maybe some cursing), I learned how to spell. I had a triumvirate of tyrannical English teachers at Lower Merion Senior High School: Baer, Barber, and Raycroft. They were universally "hated" by the students, but they were the best teachers I ever had. Through them I learned to read literature and learned to love reading. None of these teachers ever knew what a profound effect they had on my life.

In a similar way, Cathy has reached thousands of students without her ever knowing it. Luckily she does know of many students that she has reached, but that is the slightest tip of the iceberg. 

I've heard Cathy second-guess her career choice several times. She was forced into teaching by economic circumstances and the societal limitations for women's careers back in the 1950s. I think that it was a lucky accident; Cathy has had a marvelous career. I can't think of a way she could have contributed so much to so many.