Catherine Margaret Gildea was born to Neil Gildea and Mary Jane Ivey Gildea on September 26, 1897 in Savannah, Georgia. She was baptized on October 31, 1897 at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah. At the time of her birth the family resided at 514 Brian Street in downtown Savannah on one of the beautiful squares.

On October 9, 1919, Katie married Lutheran John George Fischer at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Savannah. The stock market crash in 1929 may have been one reason we find Katie and her husband Johnnie Fischer living with her father Neil Gildea at 706 East Henry Street in 1930. By 1939 Katie and Johnnie and their children Henrietta "Reta", John "Buddy", Neil and Francis "Bootsy" reside at 656 East 33rd Street in Savannah.

Katie and her children eventually moved in with her brothers and sisters in a new home they built on the Wilmington River on Wilmington Island outside Savannah. This is where her grandchildren came to visit her, her sisters and brothers. Grandma always had an ice cold Coke to cool you down and an assortment of homemade cookies for you to take home. We waited with anticipation as she would open the pantry door under the stairs and bring out tins of cookies and/or cupcakes as we made our way to the door. There were date bars, fruit cookies, sugar cookies and macaroons! Lucky for us kids, our Dad - her son, loved the treats as much as we did. We all waved out the car windows until we cleared the property and then ate all the cookies before we got off the Island!

Grandma Kate lived in the house on Wilmington Island until she died from a brain aneurysm. Grandma's family found the humor on everything - even her death as recounted by her sister Florence "Honey": "We were sitting down at the table and Katie had a powerful sneeze and then another. I said, 'Katie, you'd better stop that or you're going to blow your brains out.' She had another sneeze and fell over into her mashed potatoes."

Grandma was taken to the hospital and she lingered for a time, but died on February 7, 1980. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Savannah and she was buried beside her husband in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah at Thunderbolt.

This was written by Kim Marie Fischer Peters and was not published in a newspaper.

Second photo: Girl on far right is Catherine Margaret "Katie" Gildea.
Third photo: sisters Florence Gildea "Honey", Sr. Mary Daria (Elizabeth Jane Gildea), Catherine Margaret "Katie" Gildea Fischer, Charles "Chuckie" Fischer.
Fourth photo: Grandma Kate sitting in her chair in the living room in the family home on Wilmington Island outside Savannah. This is one of my favorite photos as it shows Grandma in her house dress and apron.
Fifth photo: Grandma Kate's tombstone - Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia near Thunderbolt.