Cara Halbur

Cara F. Halbur, age 16, died peacefully on July 17, 2010 at her home in Litchfield surrounded by her family after a 14 year battle with brain tumors. A Mass of Christian Funeral will be held at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at the Church of St. Philip in Litchfield with Father Joseph Steinbeisser celebrating. Visitation will be held from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM on Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at the church of St. Philip and will continue one hour prior to the service at church. A parish prayer service will be held at 7:30 PM on Tuesday at the church and a rosary will be prayed by the Catholic Aid at 9:45 AM on Wednesday. Private family interment will take place at a later date in the Calvary Catholic Cemetery. Cara Frances Halbur was born on December 30, 1993 in Litchfield to Gary and Jean (Ohland) Halbur. She was baptized into the Catholic faith at St. Philip's Church on March 12, 1994. She was a delightful and inquisitive infant and toddler. In the summer of 1996, at the age of two, it was discovered that she had a brain tumor. After surgery, Cara recovered quickly and continued to grow and flourish. She attended St. Philip's School. At the end of her 1st grade year, the tumor recurred. She received her 1st Eucharist and was confirmed in the Catholic faith before her 2nd surgery. Following surgery, she endured 14 months of chemotherapy. She rarely missed school other than the Friday afternoons when she received treatment. She graduated from St. Philip's School in 2005. She had her 3rd surgery followed by 6 weeks of radiation the summer before she entered the Litchfield Middle School. As she was preparing to leave the Middle School, she underwent her 4th surgery. Recovery from this surgery was difficult as she was left with right side weakness and she needed to enter the world of rehabilitation. She worked hard and loved her therapists, but hated the exercises and limitations imposed on her. The summer before she started her sophomore year at Litchfield High School, she had her final surgery where it was determined that her tumor had become very aggressive. She fought back with more chemotherapy, but all treatment was stopped when the tumor continued to progress. Cara was a prolific reader who read the end of books first to make sure that they ended happy. She railed against required reading in school that ended tragically. She loved theatre and participated in Litchfield Youth Community Theatre and Litchfield High School Musical productions. Cara enjoyed gardening. She loved to grow herbs and flowers. Sunflowers were her favorite flower. Cara was an old soul who reluctantly embraced technology and agreed to have a cell phone only so that she had means to easily contact her parents. Cara was a good student who loved to learn. Her favorite subject was History. She loved to hear stories about how things were in the past. She loved jigsaw puzzles, board games and had a great fondness for children. She loved helping them and children loved her. It was her dream to become a preschool or special education teacher so that she could continue to help and be with children. Cara is survived by her parents, her sister, Rachel, her paternal grandparents, Ralph and Geraldine (Pierret) Halbur of rural Jasper, MN, her maternal grandparents, Lawrence and Margaret (Ludowese) Ohland of rural Stewart, MN, 13 paternal aunts and uncles, 8 maternal aunts and uncles, 18 paternal cousins, 10 maternal cousins and her dear true friends, Leah Hansen, Rachael Michaud and Elle Dinius. We rejoice that she is with Jesus in the gardens of Heaven and look forward to the day when she greets us there.