Katherine Swennes

Kathee was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 6, 1943, the second of four children of Ned and Sisy Hughes. She spent her childhood surrounded by the extended Hughes family, including twelve cousins, at 4500 South Miro Street, a house known for big family dinners, basement plays, and, for many years, no air conditioning. New Orleans remained home in her heart throughout her life, and she kept its traditions alive wherever she lived through her cooking, making red beans and rice, jambalaya, étouffée, and every year for her birthday, a King Cake to mark the beginning of the Mardi Gras season.

Raised by parents who valued both education and frugality, Kathee graduated from St. Mary’s Dominican College in New Orleans in 1964 with a degree in chemistry. A devout Roman Catholic, and faced with the question of what to do upon graduation, she took to heart the words from Luke’s Gospel, “to whom much is given, much will be required” and decided to join the Peace Corps. She spent two years in Nairobi, Kenya, teaching chemistry as the country built its post-independence school system. This decision reflected her personality: a faithful, independent woman with a deep sense of duty to others.

After returning from Kenya in 1966, Kathee earned a master’s degree in education from the University of North Carolina and then moved to Lawrenceville, Virginia to teach chemistry at Saint Paul’s College, a small HBCU. It was there that she met Rob, who was at St. Paul’s teaching English. They were married on August 31, 1970, in New Orleans and moved to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, while Rob attended law school at Wake Forest University.

In 1973, Kathee and Rob moved to Arlington, Virginia in a Volkswagen bug with infant daughter Ellie in a bassinet perched on the back seat. They welcomed Kay in 1975 and Bobby in 1977. Then in 1980, Kathee embarked on her second international adventure, moving to Bremerhaven, Germany, where Rob worked for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command. It was not easy for Kathee. She was far away from her parents and siblings and living off-base in a country where she did not speak the language. But she built a strong community and formed lifelong friendships with other Americans who would become the Swennes’ extended family. In 1985, they moved to London, England, which gave Kathee great joy as it put her closer to her younger sister, Ellen, who was living in Scotland. Still, when the family finally returned to Arlington in 1987, she told Rob that the time for globetrotting was over.

Kathee was, at her core, an educator. She taught preschool in Germany and substituted at the elementary and high schools in London – much to the horror of her children, as, true to her nature, she actually taught the assigned lessons. Back in Arlington, she returned to teaching preschool at Resurrection Lutheran Church on Washington Boulevard. She spent hours preparing her class plans and was remembered fondly by the parents of her students, many of whom would stop by the neighborhood’s annual yard sale to say hello to “Mrs. Swennes” long after their children had grown. She also joined the parish community at St. Ann Catholic Church, where she volunteered teaching CCD, bagging meals, and counting the Sunday collection. She was overjoyed that her five grandchildren all lived nearby, as she loved babysitting and watching their sporting events. She spent her evenings watching the Baltimore Orioles while crocheting, sewing, or preparing activities for her preschool class.

Kathee was diagnosed with dementia in the fall of 2020. The illness marked her final years, but it did not define the fullness of her life. She was devoted to the people and communities she loved, giving far more than she received, without fanfare or expectation.

Kathee is survived by her husband, Robert Harvey Swennes II; her children, Ellie Swennes Kennedy (Bob), Kay Swennes, and Bobby Swennes (Faith); her five grandchildren, Norah and Charlie Swennes, and Michael, Meghan, and Matthew Kennedy. She is also survived by her sister, Ellen Hughes Green. She was predeceased by her parents, Edmund and Agatha Hughes; her sister, Neissy Graf; and her brother, Edmund Hughes.

A funeral Mass will be held at St. Ann Catholic Church in Arlington, Virginia, on May 8, 2026, at 11:00 a.m., followed by a celebration of life gathering at The Falls Restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kathee’s memory to the Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC) or to the Alzheimer’s Association.