Catherine J. Redmond Younge

Catherine Joan (Redmond) Younge, a resident of Delmar Gardens West Convalescence Center in St Louis, MO., passed away on Sept. 1. She was 85 years old.

She was the last surviving daughter of the late John Henry Redmond Sr. and Emma Jean (Hutchinson) Redmond. She is survived by a brother Eugene B, Redmond. Graveside service will be held at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, at St. Charles Memorial Gardens, 3590 West Clay Street, St. Charles, Mo. A Remembrance Gathering will follow in East St. Louis, Illinois at the Clyde C. Jordan Senior Citizen Building from 2-6 pm.

Born and raised in East St. Louis, Illinois, Catherine Younge attended local schools, graduating from Lincoln Senior High School. At Lincoln, she was active with the drill team. While raising two children—a son and a daughter—she attended State Community College in ESL, later obtaining her B. A. Degree in English from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. A few years ago, her daughter, Marla Clark, passed away. However, she is survived by a son-in-law Mark Clark, her son Vernon, and three granddaughters.

During the 1960's she was active in cultural and literary arts activism, helping to found Black River Writers Press in East St. Louis. The Press hosted a number of book celebrations. Her work with BRWP, alongside EBR, her nephew Donahue Redmond and Sherman L. Fowler, helped to jump start the bi-state Black Arts and Black Power Movements.

Catherine Younge was preceded in death by her daughter Marla Younge Clark and grandmother Rosa Ann Quinn, who raised her after her mom died in 1947. Older siblings who have also passed on include John Henry Redmond Jr., Ethel Mae Redmond, Rosa (Redmond) Clark, Burnett Darnay Redmond, Lenore Anita (Redmond) Spencer, Alma Grace (Redmond) Foley, Vanessa Arlington Redmond, and Myrtle Redmond, a daughter fathered by John Henry Redmond Sr. with his first wife.

Catherine Redmond Younge is also survived by several nephews, nieces and cousins in the Bi-State area.