Catherine Con Obituary

Catherine C. Con, 67, passed away on Friday, September 20, 2024, after a three-year battle with ovarian cancer. Born in Taichung, Taiwan, Catherine was the daughter of the late Yi-Nan Chang, director of the language school at the US Embassy in Taipei, and Jia-Miau Chang, an accountant in Taiwan's Department of Education. Catherine attended Fu Jen Catholic University in Taipei, where she received her B.A. in English Literature. In 1979, she left Taiwan to pursue her graduate degree at Louisiana State University, where she received an M.S. in Computer Information Systems. But the best part of graduate school was meeting her husband, Alex Con, when Alex asked her to dance at the wedding of a mutual friend. That first dance led to many more dances, including several in the kitchen during their forty-one joyful years of marriage.
After marrying in the LSU chapel in 1983, the Cons settled in New Orleans, a city that Catherine loved. Catherine's first job was in the US Navy, followed by others at GNC and Dillard's. In addition to her work in computers, Catherine was passionate and shrewd about real estate. She loved doing research, negotiating, and looking at properties. She single-handedly owned and managed ten properties in New Orleans. In 1987, the Cons welcomed their first daughter, Catherine Flora, and in 1990, their second daughter, Elizabeth. The Cons lived in New Orleans for ten years. Catherine and Alex deeply enjoyed city life together, especially delicious food, art, and music-a theme that would continue throughout their marriage and family life. In 1994, the Con family decided to uproot and move to Greenville, SC after Alex had a career change. Catherine sold all of her New Orleans properties and started anew in Greenville. In addition, she worked for a while as a computer contractor, then landed a job at the Greenville County offices, and then worked at MetLife for a while before deciding to become a full-time mother. During that time, Catherine pursued volunteering as editor of the Upstate International and Pelham Falls newsletters, and together with her daughters she taught Mandarin at Little Lingoes language school and volunteered at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church, where she was treasurer of the women's guild for a time.
Around 2003, Catherine decided to reinvent herself and become a teacher. After taking a few courses in education, she found herself as an adjunct professor at USC Upstate, teaching computer science and statistics. The role suited her perfectly as someone who was invigorated by introducing people to new skills and concepts and being in front of the classroom. Although she could appear quiet when you first met her, Catherine had a quirky sense of humor and relished being in front of a crowd.
In addition to all of these pursuits, Catherine was an incredibly accomplished, award-winning writer whose stories are published both online and in-print, including most notably a piece of flash fiction in the New York Times. Her stories contained thoughtful and often heart-wrenching reflections on the immigrant experience, often inspired by her own life. "A Tale of Two Paintings" appeared in Emrys Journal and was nominated for the prestigious 2020 PEN America / Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers. Catherine also received first place in the Lighthouse March fiction contest, was a finalist for the Anne C. Barnhill Prize for Creative Nonfiction, and was selected for "2020 Local Authors" by the Greenville County Library. Catherine's work appears in Tint Journal, The Bare Life Review, The Petigru Review, HerStry, Shards, Emrys Journal Online, National Women's History Museum, Catfish Stew, Change Seven, Longridge Review, Limit Experience Journal, On The Run, Light House Weekly, and Black Fork Review. She also served as Director of Information Technology on the Board of Directors for the South Carolina Writer's Association.
An artist and scholar by nature, Catherine imbued in her daughters a lifelong love of learning, the arts, and other cultures. She often took them to explore Greenville's growing arts scene and was herself a gifted watercolor artist. Catherine and Alex were season ticket holders at the Greenville Symphony Orchestra and members at the Greenville County Museum of Art, and frequented many concerts, plays, and museum events. Catherine was multilingual in Mandarin, Taiwanese, English, and Cantonese, and also spoke Spanish, and took seriously her beginner studies of French and Japanese. In the past several years, the Cons were fortunate to take trips abroad together and loved exploring new places as a family. Catherine particularly loved traveling to Sweden, Japan and Paris.
Catherine had a rich inner life that she cultivated through meditation and prayer, scrupulous reading, Bible studies through St. Mary Magdalene church, and her writing practice. She faced her illness with courage, dignity, and a complete lack of self-pity, which allowed her to spend time with her family and travel to visit her beloved granddaughter even while she was undergoing treatment.
In addition to her devoted husband of forty-one years, Catherine is survived by her daughters, Catherine Morse (Peter), Elizabeth Con Linehan (James), and her granddaughter, Libby Morse. Her friends in Greenville and other places would be too numerous to list here, but they loved her deeply and will miss her. Her family and friends are grateful that her spirit lives on in her written words and the cherished memories they have of her.
The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 in the Thomas McAfee Funeral Homes, Southeast Chapel with visitation to follow.
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