Cathy Lee (Legrande) Boewe

Cathy Lee (Legrande) Boewe, 72, of Rockwall, Texas passed from this life on January 10, 2026 in Dallas, Texas.

She was a gregarious, delightful soul who never met a stranger. She was easy to love.

Cathy was born at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico on October 21,1953.  As an Air Force “brat” she attended 13 different schools for K-12, including Bone Gap School and Albion Grade School -- thus ingraining in her personality an ability to make friends easily. She graduated from Edwards County Senior High in 1971. She attended Wabash Valley College.

Her parents’ Air Force career took her to Germany, England, Arizona, New Mexico and Duluth, Minnesota; landing back in Albion Illinois in1969 when her father retired from the Air Force. Edwards County was her home, having spent summers there when her father was on leave and during the multiple military moves.

In 1974 she married Stephen Boewe of West Salem, adopting Chad Boewe as her own. In 1976, Celia Boewe was born.

Cathy’s first job was at the Dairy Del while in high school. She continued to work hard and have fun at Contel Telephone Company, GTE, Albion Grade School, Champion Laboratories (16+ years), and at DalTile. She loved her connection to her co-workers; they were like family.

In 2012 she moved from Illinois to Rockwall, Texas to live near her daughter Celia and family.

In Texas, she was active in several community groups. For many years she belonged to the Rockwall Newcomers Club and was President from 2017-2018. She served in many roles with the Rowlett Reviews Book Club including President 2019-2022, Parliamentarian 2022-2023, 2nd VP 2023-2025. She was also an active member and volunteer for Friends of the Rockwall County Library. She enjoyed book groups, bunco and canasta with her friends and local community members.

Cathy loved music, especially the “oldies” of the 60’s & 70’s. She was an avid reader. Her favorite books include The art of racing in the rain, Boys in the boat and the Outlander series. She ran at least thirty five 5K-15K runs in Illinois, joined always by her father Lee and sometimes her sister. She continued her love of fitness in Texas by joining Orange Theory, delighted by her accumulation of “splat points”. She loved animals, especially dogs and cats, and always had a companion.

Gathering with Celia’s family for Sunday football, with everyone in Bears’ team sweatshirts, was a favorite family event.

Cathy truly delighted in her time with grandsons Cole and Kai, closely following their pursuits in Ice Hockey and Baseball, respectively. She was the ever present and available extra hand for driving to practices and games and pet care while the family was away including feeding Kai’s lizard. She adored her grandsons and would do anything for them.

She is survived by daughter Celia (Joe) Anderson of Heath, TX; grandsons Cole and Kai Anderson; husband Stephen Boewe of Rockwall, TX; mother Jean Legrande of Albion, IL; sisters Connie (Ed) Dunn of West Des Moines, IA; and Becky Legrande (Jennifer Johnson) of Corvallis, OR; nephew and niece Erin (Sydney) Dunn of Ankeny, IA; Kelsey Dunn of W, Des Moines, IA and aunt Linda Kelsey of Albion, IL and several cousins.

She is preceded in death by her grandparents Chet and Mildred Gray; father Lee Legrande and son Chad Boewe.

A celebration of Cathy’s life will be held at the West Salem Zion Church, in West Salem, Illinois on April 2, 2026 at 3:00 p.m.