Person:Catherine Covell (1)

Born in family farm house.

Obituary: Catherine Maria Covell, 89, of Angola, Indiana passed away Monday, March 12, 2012 at Northern Lakes Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Angola, Indiana. She was born on September 8, 1922 to Jesse O. and Margaret Beck Covell on the family farm in Scott Township near Angola, Indiana. She was the eldest daughter in the family of five girls and five boys. She was a 1940 graduate of Scott Center High School and worked her way through Tri-State College in the Secretarial Department. For ten months after graduation in 1942, she worked for her father in the county auditor’s office. Catherine took the Civil Service Exam and was hired by the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. During her two-year employment there, she attended a conference in Atlantic City, N.J., of the Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Later this organization became part of the United Nations. On Capitol Hill she had a long and distinguished career as a secretary. She worked for two years for U.S. Senator Raymond E. Willis of Indiana (also from Angola); 12 years for U.S. Senator William E. Jenner of Indiana; four years for U.S. Senator Homer S. Capehart of Indiana; 12 years for U.S. Congressman Charles E. Chamberlain of Michigan; and six months for U.S. Senator Robert P. Griffin of Michigan. She continued working for the law firm of Webster, Chamberlain & Bean for 13 years, and then for the Construction Industry Manufacturers Association for six years. In Washington she belonged to the National City Christian Church, singing in the choir for over 50 years. She served as president of the choir, president of the young people’s department, and President of Alpha C.E. Catherine happily belonged to many clubs and organizations. She was a member of the Capitol Hill Club, Congressional Staff Club, Senate Staff Club, Civil War Round Table, Smithsonian Resident Associates, U.S. Department of Agriculture Travel Club, and the U.S. Department of State Travel Club. She also was a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Republican Women of Capitol Hill, Republican Women’s Federal Forum, League of Republican Women, a member and past-president of the Steuben County Republican Women; Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the Daughters of the American Revolution Pokagon Chapter, Steuben County Women’s Club and the Angola Women of the Moose. Her work in the nation’s capital spanned the administrations of eleven Presidents: Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton. Catherine attended most of their inaugurations and several inaugural balls. She frequented teas and functions given by the White House, meeting First Ladies Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhower, Jaqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Patricia Nixon, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, and Barbara Bush. She attended parties at the Vice President’s Mansion when Mrs. Bush and Mrs. Quayle were there. She met Shirley Temple Black, and continued her father’s friendship, begun in World War I, with General and Mrs. Lewis B. Hershey. After retiring from the Civil Service in 1993, Catherine resumed her busy schedule in Steuben County with the Covell and Beck families nearby. She was active in the Republican Women’s Club, D.A.R., Scott Center Alumni Association, and bridge club. She planned the yearly summer family reunion at the farm she loved so much, sending out special invitations through 2011. She was a faithful member and the treasurer of the North Scott Christian Church. She was also awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award from Tri-State University. Catherine was devoted to her extended family. Whenever a friend or relative visited Washington, D.C. she took great delight in taking in all the attractions with them. She loved the National Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Museums, Arlington National Cemetery, Kennedy Center, National Archives, Capitol Building, Washington Monument, Mount Vernon, Lincoln Memorial and the White House. A nod of her head to the capitol guard would get them into the gallery to listen what was going on in Congress. Going to outdoor Marine Band concerts in the summer was one of her favorite things to do. And if you visited the White House with her, she often filled in some facts that the tour guides didn’t know. She was always more than generous to her churches, the organizations to which she belonged and to her family. She enjoyed celebrating weddings and new babies in the family. Throughout her long life, she was a positive, cheerful, and interesting conversationalist, keeping everyone updated on the goings-on in Washington. She could always be counted on to give presentations about her career in Washington for clubs and her great-niece and nephews’ classrooms. Catherine leaves behind three sisters: Rosalind Beard, Madeline Porter, and Lilah Sellers, all of Angola; a brother, Alvin (Marilyn) Covell of Frankton, Indiana; 29 nieces and nephews, and many great-nieces and nephews. Four brothers, William, Walter, Lyman and Robert; one sister, Elsie; one niece and one nephew preceded her in death. Services will be held at 11:00 AM, Saturday, March 17, 2012 at the Weicht Funeral Home, Angola, Indiana with Pastor David Wilson officiating. Burial will be in Jones Chapel Cemetery, Steuben County, Indiana. Visitation will be from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Friday, March 16, 2012 at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to the donor’s choice.