Catherine Martin Silvey

Catherine “Katy” Martin Silvey, 63, passed away in the early morning hours of June 15, 2025 alongside her sister and daughter in Prescott, Arizona. Katy was born on May 8, 1962 to Ron and Sandy (Epperson) Martin in Salinas, California.

Katy attended Sacred Heart School, Notre Dame High School, and Hartnell College in Salinas before transferring to California State University Stanislaus and, later, San Jose State University. She built incredible inroads for Salinas Valley business and tourism through her work at the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce and, later, the California Welcome Center Salinas, which she helped establish. Katy harbored vast knowledge of and great pride for the place she called home. Though she spent many of her final years living in Prescott, she always dreamed of returning to the Salinas Valley.

Katy was the type of person whose personality and infectious laugh filled the entire room. She was a larger than life character — goofy and whimsical and loved to make people laugh. She touched the lives of many with her amazing warmth, creativity, curiosity, sense of humor, and contagious outgoing nature. She was a kind friend and possessed an uncanny ability to connect with just about anyone. She was a talented writer and poet and volunteered as an editor for a local Prescott newspaper in her later years. She was also a lifelong animal lover and leaves behind her beloved Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix named Walter.

Katy is survived by her daughter Sarah Miller (Chapel Hill, North Carolina), sister Kaaren Martin Smith (Pleasant Hill, California), nieces Katie Smith (Wappingers Falls, New York) and Morgan Smith (Livermore, California), and her partner Gene Bach (Prescott, Arizona). She has joined her father Ron Martin, mother Sandy Martin, daughter Casey Martin, and late husband Barry Silvey on the heavenly side. We are grateful she is finally at peace, and her memory will remain with all who had the privilege of knowing her.

A celebration of life will be held in Salinas later this summer, and details will be updated when available in her Struve & Laporte obituary https://www.struveandlaporte.com/obituaries/Catherine-Martin-Silvey?obId=42987317#/obituaryInfo and on Facebook.

In lieu of flowers, please feel free to make a donation to the SPCA Monterey County in Catherine “Katy” Martin Silvey’s honor, an organization that she felt strongly about due to her love of animals.