Catton, Alta Pearl
Alta Pearl Catton was born on Dec. 16, 1916 on the Silverdale Stock Farm near Hanley. The sixth of nine children of Brooksbank and Lila Alta Catton, she spent almost her whole life in and around Hanley.
She went to school at Crescent View and Hanley schools then helped out on the family farm until she married Russ Richardson on Mar. 24, 1941 and moved to his farm near Strong Siding.
In 1944 they moved into town and remodeled a barn into a very comfortable, modern home where they lived and raised three strong, independent children. Alta was a full-time homemaker during these years, cooking and cleaning (her house was always spotless). She loved gardening and spending time in the yard. In later years she especially loved crocheting and won many awards at the local fairs for her precise work.
In 1957 the family moved to Hemet, California for a year, where Russ took on a building project to complete 15 small rental homes.
Alta and Russ divorced in 1970 and in the fall of 1972 Alta traveled all the way to Australia to spend a year with her son Ron and wife.
She moved into the seniors housing units in Hanley as soon as they were completed in the late seventies and lived there for more than 30 years.
Failing health forced her to move into Oliver Lodge in Saskatoon in 2010, but her health continued to deteriorate until she passed quietly on Dec 9, 2012, just one week short of her 96th birthday. A memorial service was held in Hanley on Dec. 14.
Alta is survived by her youngest sister Arlene and by her three children, Ron with wife Libby, daughter Linda, and son Don, as well as eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
