Catherine Lester Kelly

Catherine was born in Portland, Oregon during May 1922. She was an honor graduate of St. Mary's Academy in Portland and later graduated with a B.A. Degree in Nursing from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. It was at Gonzaga University where she met her husband, Joseph, who was attending the University as a member of the United States Navy's V-12 Program.

Following her December 1945 marriage at Holy Redeemer Church in Portland, she worked as a registered nurse in the local hospital in Coronado, California and in San Francisco; retiring after the birth of her first child. When her children were grown, she returned to active nursing at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. and later at the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Health Service Unit at FBI Headquarters. After retiring from active nursing, she maintained her interest and dedication to the profession by volunteering at Hospice and local hospitals, including eight years in the Emergency Room at North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, Georgia.

Catherine was a loving wife and wonderful mother to her six children. She was a devout Catholic and daily communicant at her local parish churches in Roswell, Georgia, including St. Andrews, St. Brigid and St. Peter Chanel. She is survived by three siblings, five children, twelve grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.