Catherine O. Nweke

Catherine O. Nweke of Austin, TX died on Monday, May 17, 2021 at the age of 76. She is survived by her beloved children, Onyemaechi, Edward, Ugochukwu, and Ekeledirichukwu; children in-law, Martin, Sopuruchi, and Ibiene; her siblings, Innocent, Gladys, Florence, and Frank; five grandchildren; and several in-laws, cousins, nephews, nieces, grand nephews, grand nieces, friends, and extended family members. She was predeceased by her beloved husband, Shedrach, sister, Nwamejiaka, and parents, Jacob and Nmonu.

Catherine was born in Rivers State, Nigeria. She met and married her husband in 1966 just before he departed for the United States for his graduate education at Michigan State University. Shortly after their marriage she became a refugee in the Biafran civil war and a survivor of the genocide of many Nigerian southerners; the war would come to define Nigeria's political history. She was rescued from the war front by Caritas Internationalis in 1969 and taken to Portugal where they facilitated a reunion with her husband in the United States. She enrolled in nursing school at Vanderbilt University where her husband was studying for his doctorate degree and discovered her passion for nutrition. She transferred to the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Public Health from where she obtained her undergraduate degree in Nutrition. She later obtained a master's degree in Nutrition from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and served as the state Nutrition officer and eventually Nutrition program director for the Rivers State government in Nigeria for several years until her retirement in 2006. She loved and lived her work. She led many collaborations with UNICEF to host several statewide nutrition campaigns and food demonstration projects to educate under-resourced and rural mothers about the power of proper nutrition in maintaining and restoring maternal and child health. She collaborated on similarly-themed events across Nigeria. She was a fierce advocate for breastfeeding and locally-sourced foods for child nutrition. She also served as a nutrition consultant to The Michelin Group's worker meal program in Port Harcourt city for several years. She was an avid believer in the power of food as medicine and dedicated her life even beyond retirement to advising people on their dietary choices. Catherine transformed the lives of many friends, family members, colleagues, and constituents. She was a committed Christian. She will be fondly remembered and missed dearly.

Services will be held privately at a later date.

In memory of Catherine Nweke, donations can be made to:

Caritas Internationalis: https://www.caritas.org/donate-now/global-action-fund/

Action Against Hunger: https://www.actionagainsthunger.org/donate/COVID19-relief-fund-GTN-2XMatch?