Catherine Elizabeth Maxwell Chamberlain, a long-time Vineyard resident, died Dec. 28 in Virginia Beach, Va, at age 94.

Known as Cay, she was born in 1917 in Columbus, Ohio. She pursued life with a passion, always looking for the next adventure. She met her husband, the late Thomas Corwin Chamberlain, on a blind date while he was a West Point cadet and she a Delta Gamma from Ohio State. Cay traveled the world as a young officer’s wife, including assignments in Germany, Argentina during the Peron era and then Paraguay. She provided continuity during their many moves and raised five wonderful children. After many years on the Vineyard, Cay was more recently a resident at Westminster Canterbury in Virginia Beach.

Traveling was in her blood, and after years spent mothering and volunteering, she packed her bags and set off for more exotic destinations, including Katmandu, Machu Picchu, Laos and Thailand, and the trails of the Amazon River in Brazil. Sharing her love for exploration, she took her grandchildren snorkeling and spelunking in Belize, glacier kayaking in Alaska and mountain climbing in Chile. Cay kept that spirit of adventure alive for many years and was known to have gone hot-air ballooning, gliding, parasailing and white-water rafting, some of it well into her eighties.

As a volunteer on the Vineyard, she mediated at the local courthouse, tutored Brazilian workers in English, participated in the garden club, and served on the boards of the Martha’s Vineyard Historical Society (Martha’s Vineyard Museum) and the Federated Church of Edgartown. She also was an active member of the Want to Know Club. Cay was an avid patron of the arts and attended countless concerts, plays and shows over the years. She was passionate about bridge throughout her life, she liked foreign films, and she loved to read, especially books that let her explore the world. She took up croquet in later years, wearing her whites and brandishing her custom designed mallet as a member of both the Edgartown and Westminster croquet clubs.

Cay made many friends along her life’s journey, some stretching back to her days as a child in Ohio, as a military wife, and then more recently the travel companions made during her many trips and her dear friendships on Martha’s Vineyard and at Westminster Canterbury. She is preceded in death by her brother, Ralph Maxwell.

She is survived by her brother-in-law, Jesse Chamberlain; her children, Thomas Chamberlain and wife, Nancy, David Chamberlain and wife, Karin, Catherine Nesmith and husband, Vardell, Suzanne Bergman and husband, Randall, and Richard Chamberlain and wife, Lyndon; as well 11 grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and nieces and nephews.

Cay will be missed by many. Her spirit for adventure, zest for life and unquenchable curiosity is an inspiration to all who knew and loved her.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Jan. 11 at Westminster Canterbury, 3100 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach. A burial will be held at the West Point Cemetery in West Point, N.Y. on Jan. 13 at 10 a.m.

For inquiries about the services, please contact Catherine Nesmith at 757-363-1060 (h) or 757-478-1080 (cell). Memorial donations may be made to the Edgartown Public Library (58 North Water street, Edgartown, MA 02539-8146, (508-627-4221) or the Virginia Symphony Orchestra (861 Glenrock Road, Suite 200, Norfolk, VA 23502; 757-213-1417).