Catherine Hickner / 1948-2009

Published 9:27 am Monday, August 3, 2009

Catherine Hickner, formerly of Niles, died at the age of 61 in St. Luke’s Medical Center in Phoenix, Ariz. on Saturday July 18, 2009, from complications of an acute illness.

Mass and memorial services will take place at St. Joseph Chapel at Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Ind. on Saturday, Aug. 8 at 12:30 p.m.

Catherine was born Jan. 28, 1948, in Hartford Conn.to Mary and George Hickner of Andre Place, Notre Dame, Ind. She was the first of 13 children.

She is survived by her parents; her daughter, Clare Martin Hickner, 14; her four sisters and their husbands: Martha (John Floberg) of Minneapolis Minn., Rosemary (Gerald LeClair) of Tempe Ariz., Ann (Brian Jagla) of South Bend, Ind. and Patricia (Jojo Cayetano) of Pacifica, Calif.; her eight brothers and their wives: Peter (Carol) of Seattle Wash., John (Valerie) of Chicago Ill., Jim and Joe (Gail) of South Bend, Ind., Paul (Paula) of Lexington, Ky., Tom (Amy) of Victoria, Texas, Bob (Meg) of Greenville, N.C. and George Jr. (Jackie) of Mesa, Ariz.

Catherine attended Niles High School in Niles, Michigan and graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in French in 1969. She taught for two years at Ballard Junior High School in Niles before returning to the University of Michigan to obtain a Masters Degree in linguistics. She then moved to Barcelona, Spain where she taught English for eight years.
When she returned to the United States she obtained another Masters Degree in Speech Pathology from New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. She then moved to New York where she worked for 22 years as an administrative assistant and coordinator of continuing medical education at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Institute in New York City before retiring in Tempe, Ariz.

Catherine had a love for opera, languages (she spoke French and Spanish fluently), international cuisine (especially Greek) and above all, her amazing daughter, Clare. Catherine was considered a ‘second mother’ by her younger brothers and sisters.
She had a beautiful speaking voice and singing voice, full and resonating. She was an excellent swimmer. She had the most wonderful sense of humor and zest for life. Catherine was kind and respectful to all living things, and, at the end of the day, she gave more to this earth than she took from it.

Memorials in Catherine’s honor should be made payable to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center with the notation “In memory of Catherine Hickner” and mailed to: Hugh B. Kelly, Annual Giving Officer, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 633 Third Avenue, 28th Floor, New York, NY, 10017.