DeEtte Wilson Cauthen

CAUTHEN DeEtte Wilson Cauthen, 86, resident of Hickory, NC, passed away on Saturday, May 14, 2011, surrounded by her family, at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center from heart failure following surgery. Born Mary 26, 1924, in New Orleans, LA, she was the daughter of Eugene Campbell Wilson and Jack Wilson of Black River, LA. She was raised in New Orleans where she met her husband, Cmdr. Columbus Frank Cauthen (USN), who preceded her in death. Sisters Irma Panzeca and Wilma Wilson also preceded her in passing. She leaves five children and their spouses, George B. Cauthen and Mary Denis Cauthen (Columbia, SC), Frank and Paula Cauthen (Highlands Ranch, Colorado), Jean Cauthen and Tom Stolz (Charlotte, NC), Jackie and Allen Finley (Hickory, NC) and Caroline Cauthen (Durham, NC). Her surviving grandchildren are Barbara Cauthen, Frank Cauthen, Phillip Cauthen and Madeline Finley. She also leaves several nieces and nephews: Ann Nickerson, Jack Panzeca, Angela Panzeca, Wilma Pretus, Thomas Cauthen, and Randy Cauthen. Ms. Cauthen and husband, Cmdr. Frank Cauthen, began their married life stationed in Tsingtao, China. They also lived in New Orleans, LA; Naples, Italy; Newport News, VA; Alexandria, VA; and Kinston, NC. After her husband's retirement from the Navy, the family lived in the Carolinas where Ms. Cauthen continued her 35-year career as a volunteer Red Cross Swimming Instructor (WSI). In public lakes and pools, she recruited and trained other volunteers (often Boy or Girl Scout Groups) to assist in teaching thousands of children and adults how to swim. She was also active as a Scout and PTA leader. She won many awards in her capacity as a volunteer. In Kinston, NC, she continued to work with children as a reading lab teacher's aide at Northwest Elementary School. After moving to Hickory, NC, to be closer to family, she continued to pursue her passion for traveling that she had acquired during her husband's military career. She also loved the camaraderie and good health that she found in her aquarobics class at the Catawba County YMCA. Although DeEtte Cauthen's family life took her across the globe, she embodied the essential spirit of her New Orleans birthplace in her life, laughter and love. On May 18, at 2:00 pm, a memorial service and celebration of her life will be held at the home of Jackie and Allen Finley: 4385 2nd Street Lane NW, Hickory, NC 28601. Interment will be held at a later date at the family cemetery in McBee, SC. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the YMCA Pool Program, Adrian L. Shuford Jr., YMCA, 1104 Conover Blvd., Conover, NC 28613; or to the Catawba Valley Chapter of the Amerian Red Cross, PO Box 1329, Hickory, NC 28603.