Catherine Russell

Catherine Russell of Schaumburg, Illinois died March 6, 2021 in a nursing home following a long illness.

She was born in Los Angeles, California, June 14, 1948 to the late Cassie Odwazny and Frank Szalwinski and moved to Ubly as an infant. She attended school in Ubly and later moved to Ft. Wayne, Indiana where she worked for the Postal Service and later ran her own catering business.

She was very creative with ceramic and porcelain art work and painting. She loved country music and would watch all types of sports, her favorite being boxing. She established and managed an online birthday club, and would coordinate exchanging happy birthday wishes to over 100 members nationwide.

She married Jerry Booz on Valentine’s Day, 2014 and moved from Ft. Wayne to reside with him in Schaumburg. She is preceded in death by her son, Jon Grifka of Ubly, and is survived by her daughter, Pamela Grifka Turner and grandson Mitchell Turner both of Ft. Wayne.

Cathy will be laid to rest at 1:00 pm, Tuesday afternoon, March 30 at St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in Ubly.