Catherine Owings

Catherine Frances Harbison was born on December 1, 1947 to James D. and Dorothy Harbison  in Kansas City, Missouri.

After spending her childhood enthusiastically rock collecting on family trips. and avidly watching Hopalong Cassidy,  the Cisco Kid and the Lone Ranger, Cathy reluctantly gave up her dreams of cowgirlhood and acquired a degree in Geology.

She also acquired a husband in the military (Larry Owings) and began a series of jobs in the government. She worked in various positions for the next 42 years, retiring in May, 2020.

As she approached retirement, Cathy and Larry began to travel, taking a cruise to visit the Hawaiian Islands before his death. She took cruises to the Caribbean, MesoAmerica, through the Panama Canal and her favorite trip – to Alaska (to see and photograph Denali).

All along the way. she met people with similar interests and hobbies. Photography, crocheting, quilting, gardening. She even was adopted into lifelong new families while traveling, coming home from one trip talking excitedly about her new second sister (Bev)

She fell ill with double pneumonia in early 2020 while planning for a new trip and spent May through August in various hospitals. She passed away August 6th, 2020. She was preceded in death by her parents, James D. and Dorothy Harbison and her brother James Michael Harbison. She is survived and missed by her sister Mary Ann Harbison.