The Las Cruces-Nienburg Sister Cities Affiliation is mourning the passing of one of their founding members, Catherine (Cathy) Smith.

Beside her family, folk dancing and history, Cathy loved the German language and culture.  As a child, she spent several years in Germany when her father worked in that country. She was a faithful member of the Las Cruces “Freunde der deutschen Sprache” (Friends of the German Language) for 25 years.  Cathy and John, her husband, were actively involved in Mayfield High School’s German Club when their three children studied German in the Modern Language Department. They could always be counted upon to help with activities, such as the annual Mayfield German Comedy Night and the “Deutsches Fest”. Cathy liked to accompany the students and their teacher to the annual German Weekend in the Sacramento Mountains and continued to do so long after the children had graduated. Cathy was also a substitute teacher with the Las Cruces Public Schools and especially enjoyed subbing in German classes.

The Smith children went to Nienburg on the GAPP (German-American Partnership Program) student exchange in 1987, 1989 and 1993, and the family hosted students from Nienburg many times. 

In 1993, Cathy became a founding member of the “Las Cruces-Nienburg Sister Cities Affiliation” and later was the organization’s secretary until her illness did not allow her to do that task any longer. 

In 2003, Cathy's and John's daughter married a young man from Nienburg. They currently live Bonn where their two children where born.

“Cathy, wir vermissen dich sehr! Ruhe in Frieden.”             (Cathy, we miss you very much!  Rest in peace.)