Maria Elena Cata

Maria Elena Cata, 93, passed away peacefully on June 24, 2025. Maria Elena was born on April 13, 1932 in Havana, Cuba. She was the daughter of Eladio and Margarita Rivero and the younger sister of Virginia Cabazon. Her childhood was very simple but it was filled with the love of family, especially two special aunts, Madrina and Dora. Maria Elena’s formative years in Cuba were the origin of her deep and abiding faith that carried her throughout her long and beautiful life. She attended a vocational high school as she needed to begin working upon graduation. After high school she received an Associate’s degree from Havana Business University. The university had many American customs, and this is where she honed her exceptional written and oral English skills. She worked for the Cuban Telephone Company from the age of 18 to 30. Her young adult years centered on her faith, family, friends and a new appreciation for the arts, especially ballet, which she enjoyed throughout her life. In 1960, in the middle of political turmoil, she met Dr. Ceferino Cata, a 34-year-old pediatrician. They had a brief courtship and married on November 11, 1961. They had a long and beautiful 54-year marriage until Ceferino passed away on January 29, 2016. After the wedding, Maria Elena and Ceferino moved into a friend’s duplex, where she had all four of her children, Ceferino in 1962; Margarita (Maggie) in 1963, Maria Elena (Rubia) in 1965 and Carlos in 1967. These were difficult years for them as the political landscape was shifting, and freedoms were being taken away. They were granted permission to leave Cuba in 1968 as part of President Johnson’s Freedom Flights. Ceferino was not able to go with her as physicians needed special permission to leave the country, so Maria Elena boarded a flight to Miami on October 4, 1968 with four children under the age of six. The courage and faith she showed that day is truly remarkable. She was reunited with her husband just two months later and after a brief time in Boston with Maria Elena’s sister and mother, they settled in Dayton, Ohio. The Catas ended up in the Midwest because Cuban friends had helped Ceferino secure a position at the Dayton Mental Health Center. Maria Elena and Ceferino were living the American dream while holding onto their Cuban culture. They passed on their native language and Cuban traditions to their children and yet, at the same time, they were so proud to become US citizens in 1974. Maria Elena’s profound faith and strong marriage is what got her through the unimaginable loss of both daughters much too soon. Rubia passed away on November 3, 1983 after a short battle with lymphoma and Maggie passed away on September 22, 1992, from the same cancer. The amazing thing about Maria Elena was that she carried that grief with her for the rest of her life, but she never let the darkness overcome the light she found in the present. Her faith, family and large network of friends became central to her identity. Her service to the communities of St. Charles Borromeo, the Christ Child Society and a community in Cuba directed by the Jesuit order, were the driving forces in her life. Those that knew Maria Elena were captivated by her beauty (and perfectly smooth skin), strength, resilience, faith and unapologetic authenticity. She stayed up to date on current events and enjoyed following a variety of sports, especially the Cincinnati Reds and the Dayton Flyers. She had a very active sweet tooth and a deep appreciation for all things chocolate. She had a razor-sharp memory until the very end as demonstrated by her ability to repeat Patrick Henry’s, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”, speech at the age of 91 (she learned it when she was a teenager). She seemed to collect friends throughout all stages of life and across multiple generations. From water aerobics and church activities, she drew people to her with her warmth, positive outlook and expressive opinions. These friends were so good to her over the years - loving and helping her as if she were their own mother. The three pillars of Maria Elena’s life were faith, family and education. The pillar of faith helped her through the toughest of times, the education pillar drove her to personally seek knowledge and insist that her children received the best education possible, but the family pillar was where she found her purpose. She beamed with pride when mentioning the accomplishments of her children and she was extremely engaged in the upbringing of all six grandchildren as well as the five great grandchildren she was blessed with in the last six years. Each of her grandchildren have great stories to tell about phone calls, texts or Instagram DM’s they received from Grandma Cata in recent years. Maria Elena is survived by her beloved sons, Drs. Ceferino (Anne) Cata, and Carlos (Cynthia) Cata. The joy of her life was reflected in the laughter and accomplishments of her six cherished grandchildren, Michael (Sarah) Cata, Emily (Ryan) Grad, Andrew (Kate Kelly) Cata, Elena, Ian and Nathan Cata and five great grandchildren, Gabriel, Theo and Julian Cata and Olivia and Blair Grad. She is also survived by Ceferino’s two beloved sisters, Tere Gil and Ecilda Cata.

We will come together to honor her remarkable life at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Kettering, Ohio on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, starting with a visitation at 9:30am followed by a Mass at 10:30am. The day will culminate with a graveside service at Calvary Cemetery in Kettering.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in memory of Maria Elena to the Margarita M. Cata, M.D., Memorial Scholarship at the University of Dayton which provides need-based scholarships to female pre-medicine students. Donations can be made on-line at your.udayton.edu/tribute or by mailing a check to UD Advancement, 300 College Park, Dayton, OH 45469-7056. In the memo line, please reference Margarita M. Cata, M.D., Memorial Scholarship.