Catalina Duarte

Catalina Duarte passed quietly from this life in the early morning of Thursday October 16th from complications due to cervical cancer.

Catalina entered the world as a New Year baby. In fact, Cati was the very first baby born in Brawley California in the year 1963. Upon her arrival parents Feliciano and Lydia Duarte were showered with gifts from the city of Brawley, including that of an orange and peach tree. Cati was the last of Felix and Lydia's four children, with older siblings Felix Jr, Raul, and Rachel.

Cati attended J.W. Oakley elementary School from K thru 6th grade, Barbara Worth middle school for 7th and 8th grades, and Brawley Union High School where she graduated in 1980. Cati was always a top student. Throughout her academic life she earned A's, being very studious and a person who loved to learn. In High School she became involved in Future Farmers of America, joined in agriculture competitions and raised farm animals. After attending High School, she attended Imperial Valley college graduating with her AA.

Cati always showed great compassion for animals, especially cats and dogs. Throughout her life Cati cared for cats, eventually dedicating part of her time to a program in San Diego designed to help stray feral cats.

In her mid-teens, Cati began working at Ben Franklin's on Brawley's main street. When that store closed its doors, Cati went to work at nearby Newberry's, where she took on a position within their fabric department. Cat also worked for Miguel Hidalgo as a T/A being especially gifted at working with the most challenging students helping to make positive changes in their lives. Upon moving to San Diego Cati took a position at Jo Ann's fabrics. These jobs working with textiles fueled her love of sewing. She was a self-taught seamstress and sewed dresses and gowns for both family and friends.

Cat always displayed a very strong work ethic. At most of the jobs she held Cati would quickly be promoted and take on higher levels of responsibility. On moving to San Diego, she began working for a women's clothing manufacturer called Surya where she worked her way up to production manager. After several years at Surya, Cati took a position with Joe Carta Reality, learning the ropes and eventually becoming Joe's right hand office manager. Cati worked for Joe for 20 years, and continued to work with him up to 2 weeks prior to her passing.

Throughout her life Cati worked towards living a life of authenticity, owning her struggles and successes. She believed that God is much greater than what most people think Him to be. One of Cat's goals was to learn one new thing each day. She embraced that goal with every fiber of her being. She would often be heard laughing and commenting to herself "that's something new I learned today." And, she was always happy to share what she learned with others.

Cati chose to live her life as a single person and always wanted to learn how to continuously operate as a self-reliant single woman, trying to learn new things on her own. She excelled at figuring things out, untying the knots of problems in both the office and in life. She was thought of as both a leader and a wise woman who people sought out for advice.

Catalina was a person worth knowing; bright, caring, kind and compassionate, now at peace, she will be missed.

Memorial service to be held on January 1st, 2026 at her home in National City.