January 24, 1927 – August 3,2022
When asked by a Base Legal Officer to cook him eggs and bacon for breakfast, little did Catherine ‘Cass’ Mary Cirafisi know it was the beginning of a lifetime of love and adventure that would impact thousands of lives.
If Cass (also known as, Miss Cass and Mama Cass) knew you, you felt the warmth of her smile and the focus of her attention. She loved people and loved to learn what made each person special. She was a mother to many, and her home was always a refuge and gathering place for people from near and far.
Cass could prepare a meal for a crowd not because she loved to cook but because she loved people! She was always eager to share her space, to hear your story, to support your goals, to draw you near and to keep you in her heart.
Catherine Mary Cirafisi, 95, was born January 24, 1927 in Norristown, PA, the daughter of Charles (Calogero) Cirafisi and Lillian Bondi Cirafisi. She passed away Wednesday, August 3, 2022. Family members were by her side.
Cass enjoyed times with her family and friends, tennis, bridge, volunteering, raising money for community causes and boating on the Mama Cass with her husband Bruce and children Lillian, Bruce, Charles, Ben, and Tom.
A graduate of Norristown High School, where she was an accomplished athlete, afterwards, she accepted a civil servant position with the Pentagon as the secretary to the General of the mapping division. When the assignments took the General around the US, she continued to serve him in a civil servant position. After a long tenure in Colorado, they were relocated to Orlando where she met and married the love of her life, Base Legal Officer, Bruce W. Kirbo. While in Orlando she became the Orlando City tennis champion. Soon after their marriage they established their home in Bainbridge, GA.
Cass embraced Bainbridge from the day she arrived. She leaves behind a strong dynamic legacy of community impact and service.
Funeral Services will be held at 3:00 p.m. Saturday, August 6, 2022 at First Christian Church in Bainbridge Georgia. At the family’s request Dick Ivey will be officiating. Interment will follow at Oak City Cemetery with her grandchildren serving as active pallbearers.
A time of visitation will be held from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, August 5, 2022 at the Chapel of Ivey Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to Decatur County YMCA, 1818 E. Shotwell Street, Bainbridge, GA 39819.
Survivors include her children, Lillian Kirbo Ansley and her husband, Gene, of Atlanta, GA, Bruce W. Kirbo, Jr. and his wife, Nancy, of Bainbridge, GA, Charles G. Kirbo and his wife, Becky, of San Antonio, TX, Ben J. Kirbo and his wife, Jennifer, of Tallahassee, FL, and Thomas H. Kirbo and his wife, Vickie, of Atlanta, GA; 17 Grandchildren; and 9 great-grandchildren. Cass was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Bruce Wheat Kirbo; her son, Robert David Kirbo; her sister, Josephine Cirafisi Schroyer; and her brother, Gerald A. Cirafisi.
On-line condolences may be made at www.iveyfuneral.com
