Katherine C (Cummings) Catlin

Katherine Catlin, of Hingham, passionate painter and innovative creator of Building the Profit Spiral and the High-Growth CEO Forums, passed away Thursday, November 2, 2017.  She was 69.  She is survived by her husband, Avery “Chip” Catlin, her sister, Nancy Malin, her two sons Jack and Reed, Reed’s wife Laura LaBonte and Jack’s girlfriend Marissa Tayaba.

Born in Huntington, WV and raised in Lewiston, NY as the oldest daughter of Jean and John Cummings, Katherine majored in dramatic arts at Sweet Briar College in central Virginia where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa.  Soon after, she settled in the Boston area where she obtained a masters in education from Lesley University.  She taught 3rd grade in Hull, MA for five years before having her children and pursuing a career in management consulting.

In 1989, she founded The Catlin Group (currently known as Catlin & Cookman Group) and created Building the Profit Spiral, now a proven, growth-planning process that guides CEOs in producing winning growth strategies.  Always focusing on the CEO’s unique role, she later created High-Growth CEO Forums, where CEOs meet regularly in small groups to grapple with critical business challenges, exchange ideas, and develop best practices for growth.  Katherine wrote two books, Leading at the Speed of Growth and Building the Awesome Organization.

In later years she embraced painting; transforming the normal, everyday natural landscape, personal portrait or inanimate object into a vibrant and colorful, sometimes abstract, expression of her boundless creativity.  An integral member of the South Shore art community, Katherine could be found at various outdoor locations in the surrounding area either painting at an easel in the moment or snapping a photo in order to reinterpret the scene later. 

Broad in her cultural pursuits, she was constantly attempting to get her diverse group of invaluable friends to join her at the theatre, the ballet, Symphony Hall, or the Museum of Fine Arts.  She had a contagious, unending desire to be a part of whatever was going on and a sincerely genuine interest in other people.

Energy, intellect, and inquiry coupled with an outgoing personality, she was a woman who loved life, embracing every adventure with thoughtful planning but little caution.  Her courage was truly remarkable although she would just describe it as living life.

To know Katherine was to love her as she was an adoring and devoted wife, loving sister, caring and supportive mother, incredible aunt and a dear, loyal friend.  She was a bright and vital woman who adored her family and was forever inspiring them to have fun, surround themselves with great people, laugh out loud as much as possible and always remember to look good doing it.

All are invited to attend a memorial service to honor her life on Saturday, November 18, 2017 at House of Prayer Lutheran Church, 916 Main Street, Hingham at 11am followed by a reception at South Shore Country Club, 274 South St, Hingham from 12-4pm. 

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