Catherine Mary Iacobellis, 61, of Norfolk, Virginia sadly lost her battle with colon cancer on the morning of October 21, 2020.

She was born to the late James “Jimmy Gums” and Theresa “Ducky” Broderick in Flushing, Queens, New York on September 30, 1959.

She was married to her devoted husband, Michael Iacobellis on June 9, 1979.  Together they shared a life filled with love, laughter, and lots of eye-rolling.

She is survived by her three beautiful, charismatic girls Jaime Duval, Megan Purser and Katie Fudala; her patiently understanding son-in-laws Cameron Purser and Matt Fudala; and her amazing grandchildren Parker Duval, Brody Purser and Amber Fudala.

When her children were young, she was very active in her community, organizing events for families and leading one of the local Girl Scout troops.  Cathy loved to read and passed this love on to her children. She was also an avid crocheter, crocheting blankets for all her friend’s and coworker’s babies, wanting to make sure that every baby was swaddled in warmth and love when they entered this world.  As her children grew up, she enjoyed traveling with her husband and spoiling her grandchildren.

Cathy taught those she loved to be strong, not to give up, and to find the silver lining in things even when the situation seemed uncontrollable. She also recommended not taking yourself too seriously and instilled her warped sense of humor in her children.  It is her legacy of laughter that will live on.

While this is a-nu-start for us all, every time we see a cat creeping around shoes, we experiment with new recipes in the kitchen (like turkey tetrazzini) or see karmic bodily harm come to someone (like a bottle stuck to your tongue), we will think of her and smile.

Cathy was a very private person and would smite us all if we held a public viewing or funeral (she will probably haunt us for writing something nice about her).  Family will host a Celebration of Life at a future date yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in her memory to the Cancer Care Foundation of Tidewater.