Reyes was born Catalina Zepeda Heredia in Guanaceví, Durango, Mexico, on 30 April 1907, to parents José Angel Zepeda and Natividad Heredia. She had one sister, Maria Cruz. In Mexico, she met Cruz Reyes (born 1899), whom she married in 1925, at the age of 18. The couple had six children.

In 1965, she moved to the United States with her husband and children. She regularly traveled back to Mexico to visit her extended family in Durango. She was a devoted Catholic. One of her favorite hobbies was gardening. Her husband died in February 1991, after 65 years of marriage.

Reyes died in Dallas, Texas, USA, on 15 February 2018, at the age of 110. She was survived by six children, 27 grandchildren, 59 great-grandchildren, 39 great-great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-great grandchild (six generations in total).