TRIBUTE
Dougie Burrows, Director of T McCleave Plumbing & Heating “The first time I met Catherine was when she called with me as a rep for Ferroli boilers. As we were chatting my phone rang (ringtone AC/DC) which started a conversation on music. It turned out we had been to many of the same gigs and our paths had crossed many times without us knowing. Shortly after this Catherine invited my wife Linda and myself on a trip to Italy for a factory visit. From that point on we became great friends and attended many events, concerts and social evenings together. We have some fantastic memories of Catherine, always smiling, always happy. I remember when she started with Vaillant, she asked me to help with a video for her Phoenix NINGA night. She came out to the job I was working on and did a question and answer video with me. Before we started filming she produced a pair of clear plastic high heel shoes and told me to roll my trousers up and put them on. At the end of this serious interview the cameraman panned down to my feet. You can imagine the state of me - but anything for a laugh! That was Catherine, always looking to lighten the mood. In the last five years she was blessed with having Davy in her life. A match made in heaven, they crammed a lifetime into those five years and I am so glad they did. When Linda and I visited Catherine in her last weeks she told us to remember the good times. That’s what I intend to do. I will miss her and her happy smiling face but will always have the greatest memories of Catherine Patterson.” Spencer Clark, Commercial Director, Vaillant Group “There are many ways I can describe Catherine, amazing, professional, funny, strong, classy, clever, determined, happy and the list goes on and on. Professionally, I have seen her grow in past years into a trusted and dependable Regional Director. Personally, I know she has so many friends in Vaillant and the wider industry, especially in Northern Ireland where she had been the face of Vaillant for over a decade. Catherine was a real character. We were lucky to have in our lives and she will be missed by so many.”
Ray Keen, National Sales Manager (Ireland), Glow-worm Vaillant “I have known Catherine for almost 20 years, with the last 14 years or so as a friend and colleague at Vaillant Group. Catherine was the ultimate professional when it came to work, caring and considerate in everything she did, which is why she attracted so many customers to Vaillant, and why so many of them became friends. Catherine was nearly always bright and cheerful and had a positive influence on all that she met. She always had words of support and encouragement, normally in my case it was “catch yourself on”, and was always there to lift you if needed. She will be sorely missed by all that knew her, as we have lost a real character from our industry; and I have lost a true friend.” Jonathan Martindale, Director of Business Development, Phoenix Natural Gas Ltd “Catherine came with a formidable reputation as a winner, someone who delivered, someone that you would want on your team. While I was aware of the high regard in which Catherine was held I don’t think we had met prior to us both taking up new roles within the gas industry in 2007. Catherine had just left Ferroli and taken on a similar post with Vaillant where she would go on to enjoy great success. In many ways this move back in 2007, that saw Catherine move from a boiler brand that she had worked very hard to establish to one that was largely starting from scratch in an already fairly established marketplace, demonstrated the ambition and self-belief that she possessed. These traits will come as no surprise to those that knew and worked with Catherine, and in some regards are not unique skills to those in the plumbing and heating industry. What made Catherine unique however was her ability to operate with drive, determination and a desire to be the best while still maintaining her humility, her ability to see the fun in life and the warm, genuine engagement she provided. One of Catherine’s last duties for Ferroli was to present an award at the 2007 Gas Industry Conference. On the same night, one of my first jobs as a young Trade Development Manager for Phoenix, was to round up all the award sponsors
gave sage advice, entertained and cooked the most amazing food. She was not only multi-talented but multi-skilled. Her love for live music, Journey and
Foreigner, took her on many an adventure. She loved The Empire,
playing air guitar (she could really play that guitar), singing (even though she couldn’t) and dancing - she would be the first onto the dance floor to get the party started at the Gala Ball. She was the ultimate rock chick. Her zest for life was second to none and she found beauty in nature, out walking with Frank and tending her garden - so much that Davy and she were in competition taking separate sides of the garden to grow their plants. She loved sunflowers and they took pride of place in her wedding bouquet and as a lovely gesture she gave her friends a packet of sunflower seeds so that we could all grow them in time for her first wedding anniversary - I’m ashamed to say I wasn’t blessed with green fingers. Catherine was, and always will be, one of the Gas Girls. Every year we would get together in the early months to celebrate our birthdays and in December we would start our festive celebrations off with Christmas lunch at Muriel’s, a wee glass of Prosecco or two and spend the afternoon tasting and rating a selection of the finest gins. She was quite the connoisseur, thank goodness we got her off the red wine! As her illness progressed we couldn’t get to our days out. She said she was going to have a wee gin one Saturday night so all the Gas Girls poured themselves a wee gin at 9pm and raised our glasses to her and sent her the pictures. In the words of Journey – ‘Don’t Stop Believin’ - Catherine never did. Her attitude throughout her illness was one of positivity and sheer determination it was only when she got to ring her remission bell following her first cancer treatment did it finally hit her what she had actually come through. So devastatingly sad for it to come back and rob her of the wonderful life she, Davy and Callum had ahead of them. Abraham Lincoln said, “It is not the years in your life that count, it’s the life in your years”. This has never been truer for Catherine as she led a life filled with adventure, wonder, music, laughter, optimism, love, fun and brought so many people together in her own inimitable way. She is and will be missed every day.”
FOLLOW US ON:
PLUMBING & HEATING MAGAZINE | 45
www.plumbingmag.com
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online