Catherine Virginia Gross, 80, of Mount Pleasant and formerly of Fairfield passed away on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, at Savannah Heights in Mount Pleasant.
Catherine was born on July 8, 1946, in Fairfield, the daughter of Escoe Emery and Juanita Pearl (Bailey) Messer. She graduated from Fairfield High School in 1964. Catherine was a cook at Parsons College in Fairfield. She later worked at the Pleasant Manor Care Center in Mount Pleasant for 37 years as a CNA. She was a member of the First Assembly of God Church in Mount Pleasant.
She enjoyed crocheting, word puzzles, and watching Wheel of Fortune and Westerns. Catherine was an avid supporter of Thank You is Never Enough. Most of all she enjoyed the time spent with her family and friends and her cat Bobo.
Those thankful for sharing in her life include her children, Dwayne Woodson (Toni Sempf) of Mount Pleasant, Jacky (Angie) Woodson of Brighton and Tina Sammons (Mike Leyda) of Mount Pleasant, several grandchildren, great grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, along with nieces and nephews and cousins.
She is preceded in death by her parents, one grandson, Joshua Crowl, one stepson, Wayne Edward Woodson, a stepdaughter, Cora Pauline Thornton and her sister, Vivian Umphress.
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at the First Assembly of God Church in Mount Pleasant with Pastor Don Brown officiating. Burial will follow in the Forest Home Cemetery. Friends may call after 2 p.m. on Friday at the Murphy Funeral Home in Mount Pleasant where the family will be present from 5 to 7 that evening. Memorials may be directed to Southeast Iowa Regional Dialysis Center of Mount Pleasant and to St. Jude Children’s Hospital in her memory.
The Murphy Funeral Home of Mount Pleasant is honored to serve the family with love, comfort and dignity as we celebrate the life of Catherine.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.murphyfuneralandmonuments.com