Catherine Papas, age 84 years, of Ringoes, NJ, died on Saturday, September 19, 2015 in Hunterdon Medical Center, Raritan Township, NJ.

Born in Philadelphia, PA, January 24, 1931, daughter of the late Constantinos and Mary Fokianou Parises, she had resided in Ringoes, NJ for the past eighteen years, having formerly lived in Newton, MA, Harwich Port, MA and Londonderry, NH.

Catherine attended the University of Pennsylvania and went on to become an administrative assistant at Boston College, the Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, PA and the Veterans Hospital in Boston, MA. She also co-managed, along with her loving husband, Peter, the Susse Chalet in Salem, NH.

A longtime member of St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church, Flemington, NJ, Catherine will be remembered for many things including being a loving, wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend; a master chef; but most of all will be remembered for her kind and gentle spirit that she possessed until she took her final breath. She always placed everyone else before herself and was truly an angel to all she knew.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, Nicholas Panis.

Catherine is survived by her husband and best friend of fifty-seven years, Peter G. Papas with whom she joined hands in marriage on October 27, 1957. She is also survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Elaine and Michael Varas of Ringoes, NJ; a son, George Papas of Las Vegas, NV; three grandchildren, Alexander and Loukas Varas and Amber Papas; her two adopted children, Tor Shekerjian and Paul Dunleavy; a sister, Angeline Laspas; a brother, Alexander Panis; a brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Theodore and Mary Papastavros; a sister-in-law, Mary Gavrilles; and many friends.

The Papas family wishes to extended a sincere thank you to the angel nurses, respiratory therapists and staff of the Intensive Care Unit at Hunterdon Medical Center for their caring and respect of Catherine as if she were their own mother.

Funeral services officiated by Father Anastasios Kousoulas will be held on Thursday, September 24, 2015 at 10:00 a.m. in St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church, 85 Voorhees Corner Road, Flemington, NJ, 08822 under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ. Interment will follow in Brigadier General William C. Doyle Memorial Cemetery, 350 Province Line Road, Wrightstown, NJ 08562. Calling hours will be Wednesday, September 23, 2015 from 5:00-8:00 p.m. in the funeral home with a Trisagion Service at 7:00 p.m.

Please visit Catherine’s permanent memorial site at www.wrightfamily.com to send a public or private message of condolence and to share stories and photos of her life.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Anna Greek Orthodox Church at the address above. For those who wish to order flowers, the family requests that you use the Papas’s longtime friends at Flemington Floral Co., 908.782.2219.