Cathleen Dugan Riley, age 97, passed away on Aug. 24. She graduated from Smith College as a member of the class of 1944, and she earned her master’s degree in Linguistics from Columbia University in 1945. Cathy worked as a fashion model for Conover Agency in New York City, joined the USO near the end of World War II, and served the Troops from Alaska to Brazil.

Her passions were horticulture and travel. She was a member of Hortulus Garden Club of Greenwich and the Garden Club of New Haven, while her most significant work was on behalf of the American Daffodil Society where Cathy was a renowned judge and decorated for her many successful hybrids. She traveled to more than 76 countries and in later life often by herself.

Cathy lived for many years in Greenwich and then moved to Madison in 1983. She spent the last 13 years at Evergreen Woods in North Branford. She leaves behind two sons and a daughter, William Ross Proctor, Richard D. Proctor, and Kate P. Brooks, nine grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Due to COVID, a memorial will be scheduled at a later date. The Hawley Lincoln Memorial, Guilford, is in charge of arrangements.