Bernice “Lorraine” was born on Thursday, February 12, 1942 in Hamilton to Lewis Henry and Bernice Viola (Boniface) Simmons. An interesting story is told that it wasn’t until Lorraine was married that she even knew her first name was really Bernice, the same as her Mom’s. Lorraine was the third of eight children; William (1938), Charles (1939), Lorraine, Clifford, Wendy, Daniel “Danny” (1951), Irene, and Leonard (1960). The Simmons family lived in the area of Hamilton Beach, on Brighton Street, before later calling Lagoon Avenue home. Lorraine attended Bell Cairn Public School, 467 Beach Boulevard. As for high school, Lorraine admits that she simply went in one door and out the other. 🙂

Once out of school, and as the oldest daughter, Lorraine needed to help her Mom and stayed home to do so. She began cooking for a large family when she was only twelve years old. In 1960 she made the great escape and married William Floyd. They resided in Hamilton and together they welcomed Ellen (1960), Bobbi Ann (1962), Patricia (1965) and Monica (1967). Sadly, in 1969 William went out to get milk and never returned, leaving Lorraine alone with four young daughters and no support.

Later that year, friends set Lorraine up on a blind date with a young man by the name of Donald Ralph Catto. Together the two dined at Diamond Jim’s located on King Street in Hamilton and as they say the rest is history. It is interesting to note that both Don and Lorraine worked at Canadian Canners during the same time period (1958-59) but never knew each other. At the time Lorraine worked on the line and Don loaded crates.  They were married at Tara United Church on October 9, 1971. Their nuptials were presided over by The Rev. Ralph Jackson. Together, they successfully blended their families together and Lorraine welcomed Don’s children, Kerry (1964) and Philip (1967), as her own. Their family resided at 42 Yonge St. in Tara and was made complete with the arrival of Lewis in 1974. That same year (six days before Christmas in 1974) the family moved to Arkwright, across from the body shop. This remained their family home until 2017, when they decided to downsize.

Lorraine remained very busy at home with her large, young family. Once Lewis, the youngest, went off to school Lorraine picked apples for Maple Lane Orchard. In her limited free time, Lorraine volunteered with the Rebekahs and Don did the same with the Oddfellows.

Lorraine loved to crochet A LOT! Her specialty was tablecloths and over the years she donated many of her creations to worthwhile causes.  She also did a tremendous amount of canning, with dill pickles and jams being staples. In fact, Lorraine did so much canning that the family never bought pickles, jams or relish! Yet another funny story is how Lorraine never entered her creations into local fall fairs, however on one occasion gave one of her precious recipes to a friend who ended up winning first prize with it. LOL. Lorraine also served some of her peaches to a member of the Royal Family. When Princess Anne was staying in Owen Sound at the Holiday Inn, she requested homemade peaches instead of store bought, so Lorraine was the lucky one that was called upon to deliver a jar of peaches! Lorraine was an excellent baker, with her Christmas baking including Christmas cake, her rum balls (which were in fact FULL of rum), and gumdrop cake being superb. She loved to collect carnival glass and she knitted slippers for the children. Lorraine also enjoyed painting scenes on the window at Christmas, all free hand. She also enjoyed bowling and was good at it. She won several prizes over the years, one of which was a set of steak knives which she still owned and used to this day!

Lorraine’s favourite colour was red and her favourite season was fall. She enjoyed watching game shows such as Jeopardy, the Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, and $25,000 Pyramid, always playing along trying to guess the answer before the contestant on the show. Lorraine liked playing games such as Trivial Pursuit, Jenga, Boggle, and Yahtzee, although Don didn’t like playing Yahtzee with Lorraine because she always won! She did the crossword puzzle in the Owen Sound Sun Times daily, and could often do it in thirty minutes, and no ever ever tried to help her as that was hers! It is in her later retirement years that Lorraine had the time to read. She enjoyed reading Danielle Steele and murder mysteries. Lorraine was an amazing singer, however she never sang for an audience. She liked singing to Patsy Cline, and enjoyed old-time country as her dad played the guitar, fiddle, and mouth organ and her brother was in a band. As Lorraine would be doing housework, when no one was watching, or so she thought, she would often use a broom or something else in the house as a microphone! She also could yodel, however she would deny that up and down. She was so smart with numbers, that she didn’t even need a calculator.

Lorraine is best described as one who kept both her house and her kids in order! She was a straight shooter and would always speak her truth. Lorraine was also a natural lie detector, especially with her children. As she got older, her children helped her to be less shy about saying ‘ I love you’; it wasn’t a phrase she heard growing up herself.  Those three words rolled off her tongue with ease in the last twenty years, and all of them knew it and felt it. Lorraine wasn’t one to show affection over the top, however when she had the moment one on one with the ones she loved, she always made sure to express her love to them. Together, Lorraine and Don built a foundation on love and support. They celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in 2021.

In 2017, the Catto’s called Owen Sound home, living on the 5^th floor that lasted for only one year and four months. In April of 2019, Lorraine and Don settled in Hanover where there was only one floor and much easier for both of them. Lorraine’s health declined over the last several months, and she passed away at Hanover & District Hospital on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at the age of 82.

Beloved wife of Donald. Loving mother of Ellen (Vaughan) Bloomfield of Brampton, Bobbi Ann (Andy) Lail of London, Kerry (Reg) Huehn of Fergus, Patricia Catto of Saskatchewan, Monica Catto of Mississauga, Philip Catto of Hanover, and Lewis (Sarah) Catto of Tara. Cherished grandmother of 14 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Dear sister of Charles (Donna) Simmons of Guelph, Clifford Simmons of London, and Irene Kelly of Hamilton. Lorraine will be missed by the Catto family and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her granddaughter Hilary Granger, her brothers William, Danny and Leonard Simmons, her sister Wendy Vine, and her parents Lewis and Bernice (Boniface) Simmons.

A memorial graveside service will be held at Hillcrest Cemetery, Tara, on Thursday, August 8, 2024, at 1 p.m. with reception to follow at Tara United Church.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to the Tara United Church, Saugeen Hospice Inc., or to the Hanover & District Hospital Foundation would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.