Catherine Christina Shull

Catherine “Cathy” Christina (Ward) Shull, 74 of Odessa, Missouri passed away on October 8, 2023, surrounded by family.  Jim lost his wife of 45 years, Amanda (the love of Cathy’s life) lost her mother, Whitney lost her grandmother and Joni lost her sister. Cathy was born on July 20, 1949, in Independence, Missouri to John and Mary Ward, who have both proceeded her in death. Her paternal and maternal grandparents and many aunts and uncles have also gone before her.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., Friday, October 13, 2023, at the Ralph O. Jones Funeral Home, 306 S. 2^nd St., Odessa, MO, 64076.  A Celebration of Life will follow at 7:00 p.m. at the funeral home.  Memorials are suggested to the family in care of James Shull, a college fund for Whitney will be established.  Memories of Cathy and condolences for her family may be left at www.LedfordFamilyFH.com or on our Facebook Page. 

She was raised in Independence and went to William Chrisman High School and graduated in 1967. She still communicates with her friends from school.

She graduated from the Independence School of Cosmetology in 1968 and was a hairdresser for many years. She worked at many places and met her husband at Causco, Inc., in Independence, which produced boom trucks and cherry pickers. They married on July 14, 1978, at the Noland Road Assembly of God in Kansas City. She was the accounts payable clerk at Causco. She also worked at Lake City. Her daughter, Amanda, was the first birth by an employee in 12 years. She laughed about that saying everyone else was old. She retired from Kleinschmidts Western Store. A job she held for 10 years. She believed everyone needed to work in retail. “You learn a lot about people from working in retails”.

Cathy loved to dance, fish and travel. She taught disco dancing at Sam Wilsons in Independence for 3 years. She loved all music. Rap was her least favorite. She found it hard to dance to, which made it a waste of time. Her favorite fishing spot was Truman Lake with her family. Her dad taught her everything she knew about fishing. Even the “Be quiet, the fish can hear you. Stop talking. You will scare them away.”

She was raised and baptized in the Calvary Baptist Church in Independence. “God looked out for me. He allowed me to meet the perfect husband, give birth to an amazing daughter and to be brought up with a wonderfully sassy sister”.

She leaves behind her sister Joni (Bub) McCracken, two sisters in law, Lisa (Vince) Passantino and Mary Jo Taylor (Rob), two brothers in law, Rob Shull (Brenda) and Steve Shull (Kathy) along with many nieces and nephews.