Cathy Sutton

 Raised in the Catholic ghetto of Louisville, Kentucky, I now look back on our lives in the pre-Vatican II church of saints, indulgences, and May processions as a world that few would believe. In addition I grew up in a neighborhood with no other children; so I sought refuge in school and the neighborhood public library. These childhood habits worked out well for me; twenty-two years later I received a Ph.D. in English literature from Indiana University.

 Returning to Louisville after graduate school, I taught for fifteen years in two different Independent Schools where I developed my philosophy of education: teach to the top of the class and then work like hell to get everyone there. Many students surprised themselves by their abilities—and so did I.

 I began a career in college administration and teaching in the early 1990s at Bellarmine University in Louisville. My job was to shepherd the freshmen through their first year through the creation of academic services and advising. I also held a position in the English department at Bellarmine and taught part time in the Humanities department at the University of Louisville.

I retired at the end of the 2020 academic year, escaping after two months of teaching classes online. In June of that year we moved to Portland in time to oversee our grandsons during their online school. They usually did their work without a fuss; our main role involved keeping them in their own rooms until the school day ended.

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In regard to my personal life, I married Tom Kolb at such a young age that we celebrated our fiftieth anniversary some years ago. We had a large family of one son—Daniel Eagle who is a member of Trinity and a past vestry member. Our grandsons, Max and Desmond are acolytes, and Dezi and his mother belong to the Altar Guild for the Family Service.

Because Daniel and Rose, his wife, were enthusiastic members of Trinity, we had no doubt about what church we would join when we moved to Portland in 2020. As I have said to several Trinity members, I have found this church to be unusually welcoming. On the first Sunday I attended Trinity in person in 2021, Barbara Bracken invited me to join the Music Commission. Since then I have been accepted as a verger, a member of the kitchen crew on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a member of the annual fund committee.

 Being invited to join the Vestry is an honor I had not anticipated, but I want to do more for Trinity and my fellow parishioners than warm the pew. I am seventy-six; I still have a lot of energy and sense of urgency about a great deal I do, so I hope and pray I can make a contribution.