CATHERINE ANNE MCLEOD

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CATHERINE ANNE MCLEOD Catherine Anne McLeod passed away at Grace Hospice on Sunday, September 15 after a nine-year battle with cancer. She is survived by her son Billy and her daughter Catea, her brother Bill (BJ) and sister-in-law Jennifer Davis, her nephew Vaughn, her mother Reta Owens and her stepfather Norman Beattie. Cathy was very close to all members of her extended family and made friends wherever she went. Predeceased by her uncles Bill Merke and Gerald Owens and by her aunt Joyce Owens, Cathy leaves to mourn her aunts Shirley Merke, Marj Oldford (Bob), and Linda Cox (Larry), her uncles Ken, John and Bill Owens (Prudy), all of their families, and uncounted friends. Cathy was born September 18, 1960 in Calgary but she was raised in Brandon, graduating from Neelin High School in 1979. After high school Cathy joined the Katimavik Youth Program, living in Quebec, Nova Scotia, and the Northwest Territories and eventually settled in Winnipeg. In 2001, as a single mother with two children, she tackled her long-held personal goal of earning her teaching degree. Part way through her studies, in 2005, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. After taking a short time off to recuperate Cathy returned to school and graduated from the University of Winnipeg with her B.A. and B.Ed degrees in 2007. Cathy was a contract and substitute teacher at schools in the Winnipeg School Division where she found her vocation in working with special needs and troubled students. Cathy loved teaching and worked for as long as she could in the face of increasing pain and debility. In June of this year cancer forced Cathy to leave her home and enter palliative care, first at Riverview Health Centre and then at Grace Hospice. In her battle with cancer it was the love of her children that kept her going. She also drew strength, comfort and support from her Catholic faith and from her many friends in the church communities of St. Mary's Cathedral and St. John Brebeuf Parish. We wish to thank Doctors L. Brandes, A. Cooke, J. Wong, E. Giesbrecht and G. Clayden and the staffs of Cancercare, Riverview Health Centre and Grace Hospice for their professional care and their personal kindness to Cathy over the years. The Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, September 20, at St. John Brebeuf Parish, 1707 John Brebeuf Place (south of Corydon Avenue between Lanark and Renfrew Streets). Celebrants will be Father Michael Koryluk and Father Mark Tarrant. Cathy's ashes will be interred at Burnside Cemetery at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, September 20. The cemetery is located on the Trans Canada Highway seven kilometers west of Portage La Prairie near the northeast corner of the intersection with Yellowhead (No.16) Highway. In lieu of flowers donations in memory of Cathy may be made to a charity of choice. Friends Funeral Service 204-339-5555

As published in Winnipeg Free Press on Sep 18, 2013