Catherine Ann Bunger

Catherine Ann Bunger (“Cathy”), born February 26, 1940, passed away peacefully on November 16, 2025 in Tacoma, the city where she, her parents, and her grandparents all held deep roots.

Cathy grew up with her two siblings in a house beside a gulch in the Fern Hill neighborhood of Tacoma. She graduated from St. Leo’s Girls High School in 1958 and furthered her education at Knapp Business College, launching her secretarial career. She later put that career on hold to be a loving and attentive mother to her three children alongside her husband, John.

Cathy was physically diminutive, and her family liked to say she was “small but mighty” and “good things come in little packages.” She was a dynamo, a go-getter and a leader who over the years played many roles. At her parish church of St. Ann (now Pope St. John XXIII), she was on the Parish Council and Lazarus Committee. She was a bingo caller, Eucharistic Minister, a lector, and also helped organize the annual yard sales. She sat on the St. Ann school board and during the 1970s was known to St. Ann kids as The Hot Dog Lady, organizing highly anticipated monthly lunches of hot dogs and cupcakes. She sat on the board of Catholic Community Services and volunteered at St. Joseph Hospital, which led to paid positions, culminating in her role as executive assistant. She later worked as a secretary at St. Patrick Church. She was a member of Young Ladies’ Institute and Park Avenue Safe Streets.

She enjoyed hobbies ranging from gardening to puzzles to crocheting. Her family will treasure the many beautiful handmade afghans she made. Cathy was an animal lover who throughout her life was never without either a rescue dog or cat. (Katy Kitty misses Cathy terribly but will do her best to take care of Cathy’s husband, John, and keep him on his toes with her demands.)

One of her greatest joys was spending summers with family and friends at the Gig Harbor beach cabin purchased by her mother Josephine (Delaney) Sleet in 1953 when Cathy was 13 years old. While Cathy was fervently and faithfully devoted to the Catholic church, she would sometimes say, while sitting on the deck enjoying the peaceful views of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, seagulls, and harbor seals, that the family beach house was also her “church.” To her family, Cathy’s spirit will forever be alive there.

Cathy is survived by her beloved husband of 60 years, John Bunger, daughters Mary Jo (Paul) May and Ann (Jay) Arney of Seattle, son Tom Bunger (Michelle Thompson) of Wheaton, IL, and granddaughter Harriet Arney of Seattle. She is predeceased by her brother George Sleet and Margaret (Sleet) Starkovich.

On Tuesday, December 2, a celebration of her life will be held at Pope St. John XXIII in Tacoma. The rosary will be said at 10:00 with a funeral Mass at 11:00 a.m., followed by a reception in the church hall and interment at Calvary Cemetery. Flowers may be sent to Gaffney Funeral Home to be brought to the church. Donations may be made to the Tacoma Historical Society, Catholic Community Services, and Tacoma Humane Society.