Cathleen Banks Smith Hartness died peacefully at her home on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, following a courageous battle with Lewy Body Dementia, on offset of Parkinson's Disease.

Cathie was born to Jim and Helen (Banks) Smith on October 27, 1944 in Bakersfield, California. She attended Lowell Elementary School, transferring to Wayside after the great 1952 Kern County earthquake. Cathie was a proud Driller from Bakersfield High School, but attending the University of California at Santa Barbara changed the trajectory of her life. In 1962, she was in the first class of the UC Education Abroad Program where, as a Spanish major studying in Spain, she discovered a lifelong love of travel. Following graduation, Cathie returned to Spain, which turned out to be most fortuitous when a group of US Army men visited Madrid while on leave from their base in Germany. She caught the eye of the most rambunctious one in the group, and married Bob Hartness on November 21, 1968. The newlyweds moved to Winston-Salem, welcomed a daughter in 1970, and together lived life to the fullest for the next 54 years.

Cathie and Bob shared a deep love of adventure, travel, tennis, food and wine, and the outdoors. They spent many winters skiing the slopes of Colorado, and their summers in the mountains of North Carolina, hiking, gardening, and enjoying time with friends. Their travels took them all over the world, from Africa to Argentina to Vietnam and hundreds of stops in between. Cathie had the greenest of thumbs and could grow most anything. She was also an excellent cook and brought her travels with her to Winston-Salem through international cuisine. She was known for her dinner parties, where the guests would rave about their meal, even though many often commented that they never really knew what they were eating and could rarely pronounce any of the dishes.

Cathie is survived by her devoted husband Bob, her daughter Sally Hartness Fochtmann and son-in-law Curt, and her two fav orite astonishments , her grandsons Gus and Banks Fochtmann, all of Charlotte, NC. She is also survived by her brothers Jeff (Jan) Smith of Bakersfield, CA, and  Joe (Kelly) Smith of Blaine, WA, her sister Sara (Robin) Ablin of Bakersfield, CA, and numerous nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held May 18, 2023 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Forsyth Country Club in Winston-Salem, NC. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the National Parkinson's Foundation or the University of California Education Abroad Program.

John Kennedy, Funeral Director is assisting the Hartness family with funeral arrangements. Online condolences may be made at www.jkennedyfsl.com.