Mary Cardaras Staggs

I met Cathy in downtown LA, when I was in my late 20s. She was pretty, bright, and personable. We were "foodies" before the word was coined, and Cathy loved going to new restaurants, especially, good "hole in the wall" places. We particularly loved to go to Cameron's Seafood on Colorado in Pasadena (I have a photo of us there). Trader Joe's was a favorite place for her to grocery shop. We went to movies and ran together at Lacy Park after work sometimes. I regret that I lost track of her when she left the LA Times to pursue teaching. I looked her up some years back, when I started thinking about true friends with whom I would like to reconnect, and "devastated" and "numb" were the words that come closest to my feelings on finding she was gone. She loved life, she could downhill ski, she loved nature and animals, and she went for the gusto in life. I remember asking her if she could be any animal, what would it be, and she said " a dolphin, because they are playful." She was a loyal friend and sensitive to the feelings of others. 💔