Mary Catherine Howell

Mary Catherine Howell died at the age of 68 on February 26, 2024. Until she became ill with rapidly progressive dementia, Catherine led an active and adventurous life.

As a young child, Catherine showed an early interest in business by ordering greeting cards to sell door-to-door. Unbeknownst to her parents, she then rode her bike to the bank to open an account with her earnings. After graduating from Highland Park High School, she obtained a BA in Economics from Tulane University and an MBA specializing in finance from the University of Texas at Austin. Following graduate school, she had careers in banking and in commercial and residential real estate. Aside from her time in graduate school and her first job in Chicago, she lived her life in Dallas. She held a Texas Broker’s License and was a member of CREW and ICSC.

Catherine loved the outdoors and animals. She traveled all over the world, taking beautiful photographs. Her love of wildlife was displayed through her support of the SPCA of Texas, the Nature Conservancy, and Empowers Africa, for which she served as Trustee Emeritus. She loved art and music and was a supporter of the Dallas Museum of Art and the Dallas Symphony.

Catherine was a natural athlete, enjoying soccer, skiing, golf, tennis, and hiking in the mountains with her beloved canine companions. She played forward for the Ruffians soccer team for 20 years with her sister Ruth and friends. She was a member of “Book Club” for 38 years.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Louise Lomax LeClaire and Roy Wright Howell, Jr. She is survived by her sisters, Ruth Howell (husband, Gregg Medlyn) and Barbara Howell Christopher (husband, Ian Christopher), and her niece, Jessica Coleman Christopher.

A memorial service will be held at 3:00pm on Thursday, March 7, at Highland Park United Methodist Church. Memorial donations may be made to the SPCA of Texas or to Empowers Africa (empowersafrica.org/donate/). Her family is grateful for her life, her friends, and her extraordinary caregivers.