Catherine Stephens Boyce passed away on October 27, 2021 in Cedar City, Utah. She was born November 30, 1938 to Robert Rickards and LaPreal Thorley Stephens in St. George, Utah. Cate grew up in the rural environment of Cedar City, Utah. With the family still involved with sheep production, she often recounted taking care of bum lambs and the time she was given a bobcat kitten for a pet. Unfortunately, at age 15 she lost her father to a brain tumor.
She graduated from Cedar High School in 1957. She went on to earn an A.S. at the College of Southern Utah and a B.S. at Utah State University in teaching. While attending USU, Catherine was struck by a vehicle in a crosswalk and suffered severe injuries. That did not slow her down much, and she went on to finish her degree.
Her teaching career began in Las Vegas, Nevada at an elementary school near Nellis Air Force Base where a student brought an unexploded bomb to school and nearly had a jet crash into the building. During her time there she was in a severe car accident and spent time in the hospital, this left her with back problems and a severe dislike for a particular ambulance service. Seeing that life was short Cate traveled Europe, but eventually returned to Cedar City where she married Harold Wayne Boyce in 1967. They had their first child, Aaron, in 1970. Three years later they had their second, Cameron. A short time later they divorced. Even with Cate having the primary responsibility of taking care of two young boys, she managed to finish her master’s degree.
Her life had a number of setbacks, but she was driven by a passion for helping the less fortunate. Her wisdom saw that the best help you can give a person is to give them an education. Her first teaching assignment was teaching her kids to appreciate the outdoors and to leave things better than you found them with fishing, hiking and hunting. She took them to the fire station where they got little fire hats, to the sheriff’s office to get a real metal badge, and to the Nation Guard where they rode on top of an armored vehicle in a parade. She instilled in her children a belief to serve and help others. She eventually took her two boys and left Cedar City for Price, Utah where she began teaching at the Ann Self School for the disabled, later to become Castle Valley Center.
Cate focused her career on working with the most severely disabled kids and did so for 25 years until she retired in 2005. Catherine Stephens Boyce passed away on October 26th, 2021 with her two boys by her side. She is survived by her two sons Aaron (Trista) Boyce, and Cameron (Heather) Boyce, grandchildren Hagen and Karson, and numerous former students and co-workers.
A Celebration of Life will be held on November 20, 2021 from 12:00-2:00pm at the Castle Valley Center (755 North Hills Drive) in Price, Utah.