A sad passing: Widow spent her final years fighting for coastal property rights in Mexico
Kathern "Kat" C. Haning, a widow who led an ultimately futile protest against the Mexican government for forcing Americans out of beachfront homes
they had built and leased, has died. She was 75.
Mrs. Haning died of cancer Aug. 27 at her home in lakeside, far from the retirement place she originally chose.
In 1986, Mrs. Haning and her husband, John, moved from San Diego to Punta Banda, about 100 miles south of the border, attracted by the idea of
spending their golden years in a quiet community shared with other Americans. They believed their long-term leases on homes they had built
circumvented Mexico's ban on foreigners owning coastal property.
But in October 2000, after her husband had died, Mrs.
Haning and more than 200 other homeowners, mostly Americans, were evicted. Authorities said the residents' business deals weren't with the legally
recognized owners of the coastal property.
Mrs. Haning tried to draw attention to the evictees' plight with protests at the border, court petitions and pleas to the U.S. government.
"Where are we getting? Nowhere," she said in a 2002 interview in The San Diego UnionTribune.
"She always seemed to want to fight for what was right, and this wasn't right," said her son Craig Ovadia.
Before the evictions, Mrs.
Haning had raised money to buy school clothes for Mexican children and organized a food drive for school lunches. "My mom felt that no one should go
hungry and tried to make a difference," said another son, Warren Ovadia.
The various protests accomplished nothing for Mrs. Haning, who lost her life savings in the seizure, Warren Ovadia said. "It broke her heart plain and
simple," he said.
Before moving to Mexico, Mrs. Haning had worked for Grossmont Bank, first as a teller and later in its human resources office.
She learned sign language for college credit and practiced it as a volunteer at the Home of Guiding Hands, an East County social-service agency for
people with developmental disabilities.
She was born May 13, 1934, and was a native of Hutchinson, Kan. She moved to New York City by herself at 18, craving big-city life after growing up in
a community with little excitement, Craig Ovadia said.
Her first husband's work then took her to western Massachusetts and Cincinnati. After a divorce, Mrs. Haning and two sons moved to San Diego in 1974.
Survivors include her three sons, Mark Ovadia of Campo, Craig Ovadia of Iakeside and Warren Ovadia of El Cajon.
Services will be private.
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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