Catherine Driscoll; rode out hurricane on raft
By Nicole A. Haley, Globe Correspondent | July 11, 2005
Catherine (Moore) Driscoll was an 8-year-old vacationing with her family on Napatree Point in Watch Hill, R.I., when the hurricane of 1938 ripped apart their three-story summer home. The family rode turbulent waves on a makeshift raft for hours before reaching the shore of Barn Island in Connecticut.
''It was a horrendous storm, and their survival was miraculous," said her husband of 45 years, William Driscoll. ''She always showed a pattern of helping other people. She realized that she was given a chance at life after having almost lost it in the hurricane."
Mrs. Driscoll, a former occupational therapist at McLean Hospital in Belmont who devoted her free time to civic organizations and volunteering, died at her Jaffrey, N.H., home Friday of cancer. She was 75.
Mrs. Driscoll's account of the hurricane was documented in several books and featured in an episode of ''American Experience" on PBS and ''Great Storms," a History Channel documentary. When the storm struck, Mrs. Driscoll said, she turned to her mother and said, ''If I'm going to die, I want to die with my rosary."
At his own peril, her father retrieved it from her bedroom and the family fled to the third floor as the water rose. The house was destroyed, and the family clung to a piece of the bedroom floor and two pipes as they drifted at sea.
The scene was in stark contrast to her comfortable upbringing.
Born in Westerly, R.I., she was described by family and friends as strong-willed and independent. She graduated from Westover School in Middlebury, Conn., in 1948 and from Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill in 1950. She also earned a bachelor of science degree from Tufts University in 1954.
''She decided on having a career even though there was a lot of pressure to get married in those days," said her son Sean of Jaffrey, N.H.
After college, Mrs. Driscoll worked at McLean Hospital, where she helped psychiatric patients strengthen their motor skill control with projects such as pottery. She also worked as a claims adjuster for Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. before meeting her future husband in 1959.
''I met her in June and married her in September," her husband said. ''She was a very definite person, and we both decided this was just right."
The couple moved to Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., and Mrs. Driscoll served on the board of Phelps Memorial Hospital in Tarrytown. She was a member of the Westchester Junior League and the League of Women Voters.
After moving to Jaffrey in 1990, she served as president of the Friends of the Library and vice president of the Jaffrey Women's Club. She also volunteered for the Meals on Wheels program.
''She came from a well-situated family, and she didn't have to do all the things that she did," her husband said. ''But that was her nature -- to be involved."
In addition to her civic activities, Mrs. Driscoll liked to stay active by horseback riding, playing tennis, and playing in a women's curling league.
Nancy Soderberg of Nantucket, a longtime friend, described Mrs. Driscoll as a ''sparkling and elegant" woman with an indestructible spirit.
Soderberg's husband, Lars, and Mrs. Driscoll's husband were childhood friends. When Mrs. Driscoll came into the picture, the two couples became practically inseparable.
''We shared so many wonderful times. We would spend New Year's Eve together," Nancy Soderberg said. Even while Mrs. Driscoll spent years struggling with cancer, Nancy Soderberg said, she never complained. A woman who took pleasure in gardening and reading, Mrs. Driscoll always looked for the bright side, Soderberg said.
''When she became ill, she said, 'I'm going to concentrate on enjoying the blue skies, my garden, and walking in my woods,' " Soderberg said.
Carol Horgan of Cape Cod met Mrs. Driscoll in 1953 when the two young women were vacationing in Europe. They traveled to Ireland together and remained close. Horgan said she admired her friend's compassion for others and her inner strength.
''She was sick for a long time, but she was never a martyr in any way," she said. ''You always are fortunate to know someone like that, and you just hope you can be as strong."
In addition to her husband and son, Mrs. Driscoll leaves four other sons, Nicholas McMaster of Mechanicsburg, Penn., William of New York, N.Y., Geoffrey of Jaffrey, N.H., and David of Birmingham, Ala.; a brother, Geoffrey Moore of Brooklyn, Penn.; and four grandchildren.
A Mass will be said tomorrow at 11 a.m. in St. Patrick's Church in Jaffrey. Burial will be in Old Burial Ground in Jaffrey.
