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athy Sue Brugett died suddenly on December 9th in Blowing Rock, NC. She was 71 years old. Cathy grew up in Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated from the University of Toronto with a degree in English Literature. After college she moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where she co-hosted the popular PM Magazine show on the local Fox TV station from 1979 to 1983. She also met and married Drew Peretzky, a professional photographer and videographer in Cleveland.

Cathy Brugett (Akron Beacon Journal photo)

She and Drew loved to sail and had dreams of a more adventuresome goal. They bought an unfinished steel hull boat and worked on it for four years. When they announced their plan to quit her job and close Drew’s business so they could go sailing, Cathy’s father, Jerry Brugett, said, “You’re going to do what?” That is exactly what they did. They sold everything and took off on Fiddlers Green headed to the West Indies for six months. Then they sailed to the UK in 1984 and eventually the French canal system. During this time she and Drew made video travel pieces that ran on all the PM Magazine affiliates. When they came back to Cleveland in the winter for a few months, she’d resume her TV co-hosting duties. They returned to Cleveland in 1988 and opened Gateway Communications, a video production company serving corporate clients. They retired in 2009 and moved to Oriental. Why Oriental? It was the water, of course.

Cathy and Drew sold Fiddlers Green in 2016 to a couple in the Falkland Islands. Knowing the boat’s history, the buyers bought her sight unseen. Cathy and Drew couldn’t stay land bound for long. They bought a 28-foot power boat and cruised on Tango to the Chesapeake Bay and points south.

In 2016, Cathy Brugett gazes at the vessel she and Drew Peretsky owned, Fiddlers Green, as it motors through Beaufort Inlet headed for the open Atlantic. (Drew Peretsky Photo)

Cathy was also an active volunteer with several organizations in Pamlico County. She joined the Pamlico Musical Society board in 2011 and served as the publicity chair for four years. Patty Rosencrantz remembers Cathy as a person who came on the board and brought her professional writing skills to the volunteer organization. “She was so much fun to work with.”

She was a founding board member of the group that started Neuse Neighbors Network and wrote all the training and publicity documents for them and created the NNN website. She served in that role from 2017 until the end of 2023. Jayne Demers, the first NNN President said, “During Neuse Neighbors Network’s early years, Cathy was instrumental in guiding the development of the village, gently but effectively steering the group towards viable and meaningful options. Everyone could give Cathy some rambling and mostly incoherent thoughts and she would turn them into a work of art, developing the NNN signature style of warmth, compassion, and caring.”

Cathy, onboard Tango. (Drew Peretsky Photo)

Most recently Cathy was a volunteer at HeartWorks in Bayboro. Karen Prince, Executive Director at HeartWorks said, “Always a bright, smiling presence, Cathy inspired confidence in her HeartWorks students by giving them hope, creative literacy learning opportunities and joyful positivity. Typical of her inspirational teaching methods, her latest project involved co-writing a book with a struggling young student.”

An example of her writing and the loving friendship she shared with many in Oriental is her story about Tom Lathrop that was published on TownDock.net in 2021. She was always willing to respond to requests to read letters to the editor or college application essays, looking for errors or better wording or, sometimes, complete rewrites.

And, there was always that smile.

Cathy is survived by her husband Drew Peretzky, of Arapahoe and mother Sue Brugett, of Oriental. They request that memorial donations be made to HeartWorks, 709 Main St, Bayboro, NC 28515.

There will be a celebration of Cathy’s life this spring. More details will be provided later.

Related links

• Tom Lathrop (Cathy wrote this story in 2021, marking Tom’s 90th birthday)

Posted Sunday December 28, 2025 by Keith N. Smith