CATHLEEN ASCH

Cathleen Asch Goss, 67, of Barrington Hills, IL, passed away on July 31, 2017 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago following complications from treatment for melanoma. She is survived by her husband, Jan C. Goss; her son and daughter-in-law, Alexander “Zander” Goss and Hannah Boston of England; her siblings Jonathan Asch of Greenwich, CT, Amanda Asch Halle of Salisbury, CT, and Andrea Asch of Richmond, VT; and her stepdaughters Natalie Goss, of Indianapolis, IN, and Hannah Goss Wachs, of Sherman Oaks, CA. She was the proud aunt of six nieces and nephews and was fondly known as “Grandma Snow” to her seven step-grandchildren.

Cathleen was born June 14, 1950 in New York City to Florence Asch, née Rossman, and John Asch, who raised her in Scarsdale, NY and Greenwich, CT. She graduated from Bryn Mawr College after studying classical archaeology with the College Year in Athens (CYA) program. She later served on the board of trustees for CYA, Bryn Mawr, and the Archaeological Institute of America.

In 1976, she received an MBA from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. A job at AT&T led to her 1985 move to Indianapolis as business manager of Bell Labs’ Electronic Photographic Imaging Center (EPICenter). This trailblazing group of engineers developed the Truevision Graphics Adapter and TARGA imaging technologies—milestones in the evolution of computer graphics. In 1987, Cathleen led negotiations for an employee buyout of EPICenter from AT&T, creating TrueVision, Inc., which was sold to RasterOps, Inc., in 1992.

Cathleen, Jan, and Zander relocated to Chicagoland in 1994 so she could become head of Ameritech’s Electronic Commerce Division. From 1996 she renewed her passion for entrepreneurship by running or advising a number of startups and small businesses, notably assisting Language Analysis Systems, Inc., (LAS) management with its expansion and ultimate sale to IBM.

Though not an engineer herself, Cathleen became an expert in facilitating communication between technological visionaries, marketing departments, and production teams. She delighted in building friendships and mentoring networks with other professionals, especially with fellow members of the Belizean Grove.

Cathleen’s personal interests were as varied as her professional experience. A lifelong traveler, she took an active interest in the history of the cities in which she lived and had a great curiosity about diverse cultures, religion, and art. Her hobbies included cooking, wine, archaeology, glass collecting, and making her own beads and jewelry. Friends and family will remember her abiding love of all furry creatures, especially groundhogs.

Cathleen’s final weeks were spent surrounded by family. She was especially happy to be part of Zander and Hannah’s wedding, which was conducted in her hospital room.

In lieu of a funeral, a Celebration of Cathleen’s Life will be held at her home in Barrington Hills, Illinois on Saturday, October 14, 2017. Email cathleengossmemorial@gmail.com for details.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial donation for either of two places of spiritual significance to Cathleen: Camp Arcadia in Maine where she spent her childhood summers (click here to donate); or the Women’s Fund for the country of Georgia which she repeatedly toured in recent years (click here to donate).