—Colección de Recuerdos
“Colección de Recuerdos” is the name of the museum Cathey recently opened at Marcos Castellanos #10, catty-cornered from the Muro de los Muertos. Her goal, she says is “to honor her husband and the artisans of Mexico who brought us so much joy.” Here’s how it came about.
The story starts when Cathey and Ron married straight out of high school in the town of Pampa, near Amarillo, Texas. She was 17 and he was 18. No doubt the old folks wished them well, but their first 25 years were ones of struggle. Their son arrived early on as Cathey was putting Ron through college. And it wasn’t long before Ron received a call to go into the Baptist ministry and then he needed to be supported through seminary.
They found a church in the Canal Zone of Panama and spent four years there. When President Carter signed the Canal Zone Treaty, however, the American community hollowed out and soon the church had so little membership that Ron and Cathey moved back to Texas to live with his parents. Ron worked as a hospital chaplain and later in one of the country’s busiest emergency rooms, where the relentless trauma eventually became overwhelming. He changed careers, taking a position selling industrial equipment.
Now, Ron, you can sense as Cathey tells her tale, just really liked people and loved to get to know more about them. That must have drawn him to the ministry. It would later be warmly reciprocated by the artisans they met in Mexico. As a salesman, he by-passed the suits and gravitated to the maintenance crews who used the products and knew what they needed. He listened and learned. In a few years, he found himself with an enormous clientele and commissions that freed him and Cathey to travel, fall in love with Mexico, and take off on their collecting saga.
Ron had talked them into a booth at the Houston AG Antique Mall, where she sold Mexican folk art for 13 years. Armed with an educated eye, the Great Masters book as a guide, and an ever-growing enthusiasm, the couple sought out collections from people who were downsizing, attended countless estate and antique sales, and visited artisans throughout Mexico.
More important than the acquisitions were the relationships. Ron’s outgoing personality opened doors everywhere they traveled, while Cathey’s genuine curiosity and respect for the artists and their work deepened those friendships. They made more than 100 trips to Mexico, often returning home with remarkable pieces, and always with new friends.
Cathey also served for several years as president of Los Amigos del Arte Popular (LADAP), the U.S.-based organization that has long supported Marianne Carlson and the Feria de Maestros del Arte. The organization sponsors educational travel centered on Mexican folk art. Cathey and Ron also worked closely with Thomas Thompson and Ricardo Quirarte of Barbara’s Bazaar, where they found many exceptional pieces. Their growing connection to Lakeside eventually led them to purchase a second home in Ajijic in 2008. They divided their time between Texas and Mexico for years before spending Ron’s final year in Ajijic after his health declined. He died in 2022 after living with dementia.
Faced with selling their Houston home, Cathey could not imagine parting with the collection. An artist friend offered a solution. The respected painter Efrén Gonzales invited her to create displays in his Ajijic gallery on Marcos Castellanos. She shipped box after box from Houston and transformed the space, but she continued searching for a permanent home for the collection.
In 2025, Cathey published a book, also titled Colección de Recuerdos. The cover shows Ron’s favorite piece, an exquisite legless horse by Jorge Wilmot of Tonala, and some of his personal items—wallet, eyeglasses, binoculars—more of Cathey’s loving and generous tribute to her husband of 56 years. Over 350 photos by Antonio Velazco sample the pottery, the miniatures, the weavings, the dolls, the churches, the trees of life, the embroidery, the paintings, the masks… and tells personal tales of their acquisition. Antonio has become her right hand in dealing with the collection.
After Cathey lost Ron to dementia, she took the challenges of care and her understanding of the caretaker’s needs as an impetus to reach out to others in a similar situation. She began “Care Givers of Spouses with Dementia” which continues to meet at LCS. For a time, she owned Lift House where visitors coming to see if there was a place to have their loved ones cared for could stay free of charge.
Cathey finally found the perfect home for her museum. Purchasing the beloved family residence that now houses it was more than a real estate transaction; it was another relationship built on mutual respect, much like the many friendships she and Ron formed throughout their years of collecting. The museum is a delight. One visit could never be enough to grasp the amazing display, and Cathey will likely be on hand to increase the depth of your appreciation.
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