Cathy O. Hewitt (Ourada), 71, died peacefully on Saturday, August 24, 2019. She was born Catherine Rose Ourada November 24, 1947, on the banks of Plum Creek, in Walnut Grove, to Stephen J. and Margaret I. (Titus) Ourada. The eldest of eight children, she moved with her family to Mankato in second grade where her dad had taken a job with the post office.
While living in Mankato, Cathy attended St. John the Baptist elementary school, Our Lady of Good Counsel Academy girls’ high school, and Mankato State College, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree. She went on to earn a degree in physical therapy from the Mayo Clinic, where she would spend the early part of her career. Over the years, Cathy worked at a wide variety of health care facilities, sharing her unique brand of healing through touch and talk.
In 1969 Cathy married Peter O’Brien. Together they had a daughter, Louise, and then promptly figured out that they shouldn’t be married. So, in 1985, with an 8-year-old daughter in tow, Cathy married Bob. Soon thereafter Cathy and Bob had a son, Richard, while living in South Minneapolis. There they spent a year while building a home on the shores of Beebe Lake near Hanover, Minnesota, where they would live for seven years. In 1993, Cathy and Bob moved to Duluth where they lived for almost two decades until the pull of the North Woods led them to permanently move to their homestead overlooking Caribou Lake near Lutsen.
Throughout her life, Cathy loved making and keeping personal connections.
Before social networks, Cathy was quick to offer friend suggestions, reveling in the human web that permeates this world and binds us together. She wandered the country as a travelling physical therapist, making relationships and spreading healing across Minnesota and Wisconsin; she caught a ride with Mercy Ships down to Nicaragua where she volunteered as a physical therapist for those in need; she spent time with her church community along the North Shore; and she spent as much time traveling as possible, often heading south toward the sunshine in the winters.
In July 2016, Cathy was admitted to the U of M hospital where she was diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer. During her experience with cancer, Cathy was cared for by a wide range of wonderful caregivers at the U, in Grand Marais, and at Our Lady of Peace Hospice Center in Saint Paul. In particular, Cathy’s longtime retired RN friend, Jeanne Branby, was of great help throughout this time. Cathy also spent many months staying in Saint Paul at Louise and Joel Rogness’s home where she could be close to the hospital, hear the bustle of her grandchildren, spend time with her children, and share regular evening meals with family.
Cathy was a gypsy – there is Bohemian blood in the Ourada line – so she wandered, exploring wonderment of creation. Soon after their son Richard’s birth the whole family loaded up the station wagon and took their time driving up to Alaska through the American and Canadian Rockies, where Cathy caught salmon and hiked her butt off. Being an adventurist, she found her way to all corners of the globe. She seemed to drift along at ease in life’s unpredictable currents, and she met its headwinds with grace.
Cathy is survived by her co-adventurer husband Robert L. Hewitt and two children, Louise (Joel) Rogness and Richard L Hewitt; her brother, Titus S Ourada; her sisters, Joyce (Bill) Wisbey, Mary Lichtenberg (Doug Zahnow), Gloria Kern (John); and her grandchildren, Norah, Maisie, and Elliot Rogness. She was preceded in death by her parents Stephen J. in 2003 and Margaret I. in 2004, plus three brothers, Raymond in 2011, Philip in 1993 and Dennis in 1982
A Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday, September 7 at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 219 North 6th Ave. E., Duluth, with visitation at 10 a.m., service at 11 a.m. followed with a luncheon.
Memorials in loving memory of Cathy Hewitt may be made to:
Lutsen Evangelical Lutheran Church, Memorial Fund, 5307 Hwy. 61, PO Box 145, Lutsen, MN 55612, or Our Lady of Peace Hospice, Memorial Fund, 2076 St. Anthony Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104. Electronic donations can be made at ourladyofpeacemn.org.
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