Travels with Cathy

CATHY MITCHELL was born in Washington DC in 1942. Widowed with two daughters at an early age she went to Georgetown Law where she made law review. She practiced employee benefits law for the United Mine Workers pension fund for ten years until she found she could have more fun being her own boss and owning and operating a Wild Bird store. She sold her first one in Washington and bought another in Rockville, MD. We met March 31, 2000 and married December 28, 2004. Although we traveled extensively (see preface where she made all the trips except the one called “Moments” and the “Visit to the Family Pavarino and the Ledro Valley of Northern Italy”) we did not travel in East Block countries.

But that was about to change. In early 2014 we discussed a three part plan. I wanted to go to Ukraine. My international work assignments had been around the border of Ukraine: Moldova; Bulgaria; Romania; and Slovakia. And most had been for improving the local governments of those countries. Ukraine is big---bigger than France, Germany or Spain. Ukraine had the reputation of being the breadbasket of Europe. It was once a nuclear power and gave up its weapons in exchange for border guarantees by Russia and the U.S. Before the Chernobyl melt down it had the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe. AND it had just completed a successful revolution, ousting a corrupt President. I had to go.

Figure 3 Catherine Hilmer Mitchell In sickness and in health. Photo taken by Karen Long four days before Cathy died peacefully of Metastatic Uveal Melanoma on September 10, 2014

Cathy understood the importance of Ukraine but had no desire to go there. She wanted to go to Prague. I had been there in 1969, agreed it was a beautiful city and was happy to go again. I had been in Prague on the first anniversary of the Soviet suppression of the “Silent Spring” of Alexander Dubcek, a kinder, gentler version of communism. The buildings around Wenceslas Square were still pockmarked from the bullets of Soviet tanks. Students had decorated the square with white ribbons.

I have a daughter in Northern Italy, near Milan. So we agreed on Kyiv, Prague and Milan/Pavia. Unfortunately Cathy’s six year battle with Metastatic Uveal Melanoma ended when she died on September 10, 2014. So now it was up to me to make the trip for her.

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