Cathy Gerson, 74, passed away on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, peacefully in her sleep, with family present.

Born in New York City and raised on Long Island, Cathy always longed to spread her wings. As a college freshman, she attended Moore College of Art in Philadelphia but found it to be too structured. So in the Fall of 1971, rather than return to Philly, Cathy decided to join her older sister in Boston.

She enrolled in the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston and also double majored in education at Tufts University in nearby Medford. After receiving a working scholarship from the Museum School, Cathy moved into a loft/studio in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston, where she created ceramic sculptures, pottery and custom tiles. With her studio and scholarship in place, Cathy worked so hard that she graduated in two and a half years. Sadly, in 1976 Cathy lost her home, studio and her business when a fire destroyed the six-story factory building where her loft was located.

Cathy also became drawn into a more commercial side of ceramics as she began a production pottery line that is both practical for everyday use but also very displayable as art. She named it “gersonware” and the business was formed to create and produce pottery for stores and galleries all over the country – and continued for 30 years.

Commissions, whether pottery or tile, had been exciting departures from the steady pottery work supplied by gersonware. From extremely large urns decorating corporate hallways, to intimate custom architectural tile art installations, Cathy Gerson explored the freedom that clay allowed. In particular, she loved to sculpt tiles, to defy two dimensions and provide texture.

This recent focus on her tile creations has attracted a wide and diverse group of commissions from architectural to institutional. Inspiration that has driven kitchen back splashes, wall tile art for hospitals and corporate walls, outdoor pieces and many sizes of Gerson totems; pieces that are often infused with small found objects from Cathy’s travels. Many wall murals and totems grace hospital walls in the Boston area.

After moving to North Carolina in 2013, Cathy explored her love of antique cars by creating classic cars in sculpted, free form ceramic tiles. These tile wall pieces capture the style of the cars, from the thirties to the present. These works provide the canvas for sculpted forms with unique and personal glazes and whimsical touches. She personally designed, cut, glazed, assembled and sometimes installed her pieces.

Sadly, Cathy experienced a second life trauma when she lost her home and studio in the 2024 floods caused by Hurricane Helene. A close friend in Birchwood, Tennessee took Cathy in afterwards. This is where Cathy moved and set up a new studio.

Cathy leaves behind her husband of 50 years, Steven Lee; son, Zachary Gerson Lee; sister, Sue Whitney and her husband; cousins, Nancy Feldman and her husband, and Neal Jacobs and his wife; many in-laws of the Lee family, as well as all her friends from North Carolina, Massachusetts and elsewhere.

Cathy will be cremated and her ashes spread as she wished. No memorial is planned at this time.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to the Lupus Foundation of America. www.lupus.org

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