Catherine Tillinghast was born September 9, 1938, in Ruston, Louisiana. She passed on February 23, 2025, in Rogers, Arkansas, of natural causes. She lived an adventurous life, practiced consistent devotion to her family (both human and animal), and served as an inspiration to many young women (and perceptive men). She was known for her kind and generous spirit. Her loving parents were Elsie and Captain John Kendall.
She grew up in the country, in Clay, La., reading, making up stories, and playing in the woods with her brothers Johnny, David, Jim, and many cousins. Her aptitude and ease in nature earned her the nickname Jane (of Tarzan and Jane). She loved her ponies, Babe and Dickie, and later told her children many stories of their adventures.
She earned her undergraduate degree from LA Tech, where she met her husband and partner in many escapades to come, David Tillinghast. With her keen mind, Catherine was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship upon graduation, and elected to pursue a Masters in English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
After college, she and David homesteaded in British Columbia, Canada, where they built and lived in a log cabin on Horsefly Lake. When their first child, David (Brownie), was imminent, they returned to the U.S., and their next three children, Katie, Daniel, and Richard were born in the respective college towns they lived in as David pursued his PhD.
Eventually settling in Columbia, then Clemson, S.C., Catherine and her family enjoyed many fine years of child rearing, camping, traveling, gardening, art, baseball, and smalltown college life. They spent most summers, and several Christmases, at a second log cabin in the Arkansas Ozarks she and David had built in 1967.
The family’s beloved cabin is 20 by 30 feet split cedar with no electricity or running water, tucked in the woods a stone’s throw from Beaver Lake (which was just filling in ‘67). The family often remarked it was “like living in the 1800s with a car.” Memories of white bass fishing, family holidays, caving, archaeological digging, and observing nature piled up. In 1983, Catherine and David took Daniel and Richard out of school to live in the cabin for one full year.
In 1988, the death of her son Daniel prompted Catherine to move permanently to the Ozarks, settling first into the old family cabin. It was a tough time, but within a year she was the owner and operator of Red Bud Riding Stables, her lifelong passion for horses finally coming to fruition.
Katie joined her a year later, and they sweated out their grief and built a life around their horses. Her herd reflected her own rambunctious personality, but a deep mutual love and respect enabled her and Katie and their equine partners to compile an incredible safety record over the next 25 years. They worked hard, laughed often, and remembered to embrace the meaning of life at the end of the day. Catherine lived her dream; she loved and took care of her horses, and they loved and took care of her. The family remained close, and David, Brownie, and Richard all helped out at the farm and stables through the years.
Catherine settled into a beautiful piece of property outside Grandview, Ark., near the Kings River, where she lived out her years, enjoying six grandchildren, a herd of aging horses, many beloved dogs and cats, and various animals Katie rescued, including Dipper, their skunk. Her beloved Bay Horse, Scooter, Apple, and so many more lay in rest on her farm where her ashes will be spread by her family.
Catherine is survived by David, Brownie, Katie, and Richard, daughters-in-law Ashley and Tova, grandchildren London, Rae, Auden, Chehalem, June, and Renfrow, nephew Dee, nieces Cathy and Jean, and many admiring friends. She outlived all her horses.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Good Shepherd Humane Society of Eureka Springs, AR, 6486 Hwy 62 W, Eureka Springs, AR 72632 (479) 253-9188
Online condolences and memories can be shared via the Benton County Funeral Home website.