In Memory of Cat. Comments are Welcome 01/31/2011
Mary Catherine Bell, fondly known as Cat, passed away January 22, 2011 at the age of 60. Cat was born in Morganton, NC to Vance Brackett and Ethel Marie Draughon. Cat spent much of her early childhood helping her grandma May, a strong, generous woman who ran a dairy farm, and “lovin’ on” all the animals. When her family moved to Florida, Cat regularly swam in the coves and played on the beaches. Working to help support her mother and sister from an early age, she planted vegetables, helped raise her sister and took care of the household. When her high school experienced a teacher shortage, Cat even taught math while she herself was still in high school. In college Cat spent time studying ceramics. She was talented and creative; however, college didn't stick. The beach was closer, and she loved to swim and surf. For a time she lived on an island in the Keys, catching fish for dinner and sleeping in a hammock. Cat started modeling at age 11. In her late teens she moved to Italy to work for Mademoiselle Milan and fell in love with the country. Cat worked as a runway model in Paris, Milan and New York as well. After Europe, Cat moved to Baltimore, MD, and continued to model. In the early mornings she rose to walk horses at the race track, a job she truly enjoyed. As a model, her work called for her to hang from the sides of helicopters and land planes in advertisements for the Army. She once made a bikini out of an underground publication called The Paper and when a photographer took her picture in it, The Paper printed it full page on the back. While in Baltimore, Cat enjoyed the music from a record store under her apartment and began dating the owner, Jonathan Bell. He raced cars, played in a band and worked as a design engineer at Black & Decker. At a time when many women wore bell-bottoms, brown clothes and ironed their hair flat, Cat, fresh from Italy, preferred bright silk tops and tucked her jeans into tall Italian leather boots. Her glamorous, traffic-stopping blonde waves, big blue eyes and red lipstick stood out; and Jonathan took notice. In the early 70s, Cat, Jonathan and close friends sold their belongings and caravanned to Oregon to “return to the land”. Settling in the Kooskia and Orofino area of rural Idaho, Cat and Jonathan bought 200 acres, built a house with no running water and raised goats, chickens, horses and dogs. Cat farmed, selling produce to local grocers, and ran a co-op, ordering organic supplies from across the U.S. Around this time, Cat had her first daughter, Anna. Cat’s grandma May, dubbed “Greatma” by Cat’s daughters, joined the Bell family in Idaho along with Cat’s mother and sister. In the summers, they spent many hours on the porch, chatting and snapping beans for canning. Cat, Jonathan and Anna moved to Kooskia for a short time and then to Grangeville, where Cat’s second daughter, Jonna, was born. Cat honed her skills in home repair and construction as she and Jonathan remodeled homes. At their house on North Street, Cat established a prolific garden where others said nothing would grow. She held cookie baking parties and leaf jumping parties and sewed clothes for her daughters and neighborhood children. With little resources she could feed a hoard. She made close friends with her neighbors and together they raised their children, swam in the rivers and shared hot coals for grilling food. Cat had many stories. Recounts of her adventures were hardly believable to new folks. Cat and her family returned to Baltimore in 1986. They stayed in Baltimore for more than four years before returning to Grangeville where, on the outskirts of town, Cat designed and built another house and barn, this time with running water. In her forties, Cat organized a town clothing bank and sent 3000 coats to Russia. She served on the PTA and became a volunteer ski patroller and ski instructor, using the speediest racing skis she could find. In the winter, Cat loved gassing her high-powered snowmobile over snow that crumbled behind her into ravines. She also rode a custom built dirt bike that was featured on the cover of a magazine. She loved sliding that motorcycle around sharp corners on dirt trails. Her favorite times were spent on cattle drives in the Idaho wilderness with her Quarter Horse Oatis and her cow dog Maggie. An accomplished rider, Cat could hang off Oatis’s side and tap the ground with her foot, before swinging to the other side to do the same. Cat had a custom saddle made for Oatis, complete with floating fiberglass and a steel girth that let him breathe and run at full speed. Cat’s love of animals and plants was clear and always available, often caring for those injured and abandoned. Forever willing to learn and teach, Cat was frequently sought for her knowledge and insight into horse care, training and riding. She had a soft spot for Arabians, Quarter Horses, Tennessee Walkers and Missouri Fox Trotters. In the early 2000s, Cat and Jonathan separated and Cat moved to Boise, ID where she became an award-winning real estate agent. The business of selling land and property was her dream job. She loved the people and talking about the business. For ten years, Cat rode in the Owyhee Mountains with Oatis. In 2009 she was joined by her partner, John Ballard, and his dog Carter. Picture Cat out in the field, with her summer-blonde hair, wearing a red top, skirt and leopard-print heels, fixing a sprinkler head and closing a deal on the phone. She was having what she considered the time of her life. Just over a year ago Cat learned she had an aggressive cancer. Determined to recover, she maintained a strong spirit through the most trying of treatments. She was sad to leave her friends, family and horses but felt at peace with her love of God. She was often fond of saying "Hug your loved ones." Cat is survived by her two daughters, Anna and Jonna, her partner, John Ballard, her sister Linda and brother, David. CommentsJocelyn Ziegenfuss 02/01/2011 10:10
What an amazing job you did to create this for your family and friends. I love your moms outlook on life and living every moment to its fullest, she is a great role model as we all need to live by this example! Sharon Ballard 02/02/2011 20:45
02/02/2011 20:53
Thank you for this beautiful tribute. Cat is family and will always be so true in our lives. She blessed me with my little home ranch and she is the wings beneath the hooves as I ride her beautiful Eagle Foothills. May we all find the love Cat shared for family and animals and life, especially life. No one knew life as dear as Sweet Cat. Watch over us special Lady! Sharon Betty Driebergen 02/14/2011 10:41
Cat was one of my favorite people and now after reading about her life I can see why. I didnot know about her past, we were just friends during her illness. She was one of a kind and I truely loved her, she was so brave and one of the most beautiful people ever...I miss her so much.....Betty D Kristine 02/17/2011 18:03
I did a real estate transaction with Cat a couple of years ago and we had a meeting one day for which she was very late. I am standing in front of the gate to the house when she comes racing in. She gets out covered in mud and dirt, hair flying and matted. There had been a fire in the foothills the night before and she had spend the entire night rounding up her neighbors horses that were in the line of the fire and taking them to safety at other farms and ranches that she had arranged for them to be moved to. My thoughts are with you. Doug & Sallie Goff & Sally White 03/03/2011 20:57
I know you already know it but your Mom was an exceptional human being. She always made you feel so important and always seemed to have time for you even in the mist of her suffering. Doug , my husband is one of the Goff boy's as Cat would say and he has known her for many years. I just had the honor of getting to know her in the last couple of years. She was trying to help Doug and I find a house. My Mom lives with us and I am her 24 hr caregiver. Every time Cat called or emailed she always asked about Mom and would let us know that she prayed for her every morning in her prayer garden. Again I say she was trying to comfort us in the mist of her own suffering. There surely is a special place for her in heaven. The last time we went looking at houses with her not long before she graduated to heaven, Cat and my Mom Sally sat in the back seat of our car and we had cut up alot of really delicious apples and they were giggling and enjoying those apples together. She always made everything so much fun. We will miss her so much. 05/29/2011 18:14
Well, I was greatly impressed with your blogs’ layout. I would greatly appreciate it if you are able to sell some ads to me. If you do agree my buying ads from you, please don’t hesitate to get touch with me at your email. Thank you! Have a nice day! Leave a Reply | In MemoryMary Cat Bell  Click image to view a slideshow of pictures of Cat. |
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