SOURCE: The Cincinnati Post (East Central Neighbors)
2 Nov 1995
Page 8
By: Joe Minster
Post contributor
Cincinnati's "queen of the bowling lanes" is no longer with us.
Death has taken Catherine BURLING at the age of 88 after she dominated the sport of bowling in this area for many years.
"She'll be missed by many who were touched by her during her career that saw her gain a place in the WIBC (Women's International Bowling Congress) Hall of Fame, the Ohio State Hall of Fame and the Greater Cincinnati Hall of Game," said her friend of more than half a century, Doris Day of West Chester, Ohio.
Miss BURLING, longtime instructor at Stone Bowing Lanes in Norwood and part-owner of that establishment in the late 1950s and 1960s, died Oct. 22 at the home of her nephew, Bill GRAY, in Elkins, W. Va., where she had been living since April.
Services were held last week at the Nurre Funeral Home in Pleasant Ridge, with burial in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Montgomery.
"She was a remarkable woman," said DAY.
"Catherine bowled in the WIBC tournament for 50 years, with her last appearance in 1986 in Orange County, Calif. She bowled in the Ohio State Women's Tournament for 57 years and in the Greater Cincinnati city tournament for 58 years."
Burling's Tommy Doll's Five - with Lora and Dora McMILLAN, Marge REDMOND and Elsie FLAIG (BURLING's longtime doubles partner) captured the 1934 WIBC scratch team title in Indianapolis, one of countless championships BURLING won or shared.
A resident of Norwood for more than four decades, BURLING was a six-time Ohio state all-events winner and 16-time Greater Cincinnati all-events champion. Four times she swept top honors locally in all-events, singles, doubles and team play.
One of the highights of her career came in 1949, when she was runner-up to another of bowling's all-time greats, Marian LADEWIG, in the National Invitational Tournament in Chicago in a match decided by a few pins.
Others among BURLING's legion of friends were Hall of Famers Hank HETZ, who she taught to bowl starting in 1940; Pat BURNS, current president of the Greater Cincinnati Women's Bowling Association; Pat MURRAY of Westwood and Sam COLEMAN, the Queen City's ambassador of bowling, who also has achieved national recognition.
"She was a great lady, not only in bowling but as a person," said HETZ, who also had known BURLING for more than half a century. "Catherine was a tremendous competitor and she was one of my favorite people, just as she was to so many more with whom she came into contact.
"She was a grecious person who taught bowling to so many during her career, and she was loved by all who were fortunate enough to know her," HETZ added.
BURNS called BURLING "the Babe Ruth of bowling" after she bowled with her on her title-winning teams, just as MURRAY and DAY did.
"It was an honor to bowl with her," said BURNS, who added, "I looked up to
Catherine. She was my idol and definitely was one of the best team bowlers I ever knew." averaging as high as 198 in days when conditons often were difficult and equipment not nearly as sophisticated as it is today.
MURRAY, herself a standout bowler for many years, called BURLING "the greatest woman bowler ever to come out of Cincinnati," adding that "she was a great competitor and an outstanding spare shooter."
COLEMAN, who worked with BURLING when he managed Stone Lanes in the early 1950s and she was serving as instructor, had nothing but praise for her.
"She was a class lady and a super bowler who was at her best under pressure," said COLEMAN, himself a member of many halls of fame.
"She'll be missed by all the people she reached out to and the huge number she helped in the sport of bowling. Her contributions to the game were tremendous and never will be forgotten."
NOTE: There is a picture of Catherine with this article
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SOURCE: Social Security Death Index
CATHERINE R BURLING
Born: 03 May 1907
Died: 22 Oct 1995
Last Residence: 26241 (Elkins, Randolph, WV)
SSN: 269-10-1332 Issued: Ohio
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