12/20/2025
Mary Catherine Wolford Cravens, 99, of Hodgenville, passed away peacefully on December 19, 2025 surrounded by family.
She was born November 25,1926 in Louisville, Kentucky, the third of five children of the late Charles Walter and Mary Magdalene (Mayme) Wolford.
Mary Catherine was a graduate of St. Catharine’s Academy in Springfield, Kentucky. After high school, she attended Nazareth College (Spalding University) where she graduated with a Math/Chemistry Double Major. Upon graduating she became a chemist at the Colgate-Palmolive Company in Clarksville, Indiana. In 1952, she met and married Dr. Timoleon R. Cravens and moved to Hodgenville, Kentucky where she would live the remainder of her life. Mary Catherine was busy raising her four children and as the youngest went to school, she began teaching math and chemistry. She then went back to college and earned her Masters in Education and Rank 1 Certification from Western Kentucky University. Upon obtaining these she moved into the Guidance Counselor position at LaRue County High School, a role shewould hold for over 20 years.
Mary Catherine was active in the community and a lifelong member of the Hodgenville Women’s Club and Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church. She loved to knit, read, walk and play any type of card game. She was an amazing cook, who enjoyed sharing her craft with her children, cousins, and anyone who wanted to learn. Her famous Christmas cookies even earned a photo spread in the Louisville Courier-Journal. She was an avid contract bridge player who traveled to tournaments and became a Life Master. Accompanied by one of her dearest friends, Ruth Blair, she traveled to many countries across Europe. To chronicle her life, Mary Catherine wrote a book about growing up in St. Joseph, Indiana with her cousins, her experiences during World War II and her life in Hodgenville.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 35 years, Tim Cravens, brothers Walter, John L. and Maurice Wolford and sister Jo Ann Marshall; and her son-in-law, Mark W. Bothwell.
She is survived by her children, Cathy Snell and her husband Kenney, Charles Cravens and his wife Kathy, Mary Tim Griffin and her husband John, and Carol Bothwell; grandchildren Katie Jenner and her husband Joe, Joseph Cravens and his wife Kristen, John Mark Griffin and his wife Jennifer and Ellen Larson and her husband John; great-grandchildren Mary Grace and Jane Jenner, Harper and Gabe Cravens and George Larson; and many nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank the staff at RobinBrooke Senior Living for the kindness and comfort given to their Mother. In addition, we cannot express enough gratitude for the care givers that gave of themselves during her last days: Shirley, Vicky, Bonnie, Lori and Shia.
Funeral Mass for Mary Catherine will be at 3:00 pm Monday, December 22 at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Hodgenville with Father Peter Bucalo officiating. Burial will follow in Red Hill Cemetery
Visitation begins at 1 pm Monday at the church.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to the LaRue County Public Library, 215 Lincoln Drive, Hodgenville, KY 42748, or Hosparus Health, 105 Diecks Drive, Elizabethtown, KY 42701.
