2019 Benefit Honoree
Kathleen Clougherty Regan ’64 Celebrating a true Mayfield rock star When Kathleen Clougherty Regan ’64 visited campus recently, a brief interaction with a student gave her reason to celebrate. “I’m just walking up and this lovely student takes a moment, smiles and says ‘hi,’ ” she said. “She didn’t even know me...We made a connection!” That joyful welcome captures what Kathleen loves most about her alma mater. “The friendliness, the love—I see it in our Mayfield girls today,” she said. “And it makes me feel that I’m still at home; Mayfield is still my second home.” The first thing to know about Kathleen is that everyone calls her “Tede” (pronounced TEE-dee), a childhood nickname coined by a young cousin who could not pronounce Kathleen. Second, Tede’s father, Francis, who established Farmer John meats with his brother in 1931, initiated a lifelong Clougherty family bond to Mayfield that began with his friendship with Mother Wilfrid back in the 1950s and Tede’s acceptance to the school in 1960. “By the grace of God, Mother accepted me to Mayfield,” Tede said. “I wasn’t the best student, you know. But I look back on my high school days at Mayfield and it was the best time. I have nothing but fond memories.” We honored Tede for her lifelong connection to Mayfield and her loving resolve to carry on her family’s commitment to supporting our Catholic, Holy Child
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education and philosophy. Tede has journeyed with Mayfield for nearly 60 years, holding dear the virtues of faith, community, respect, dignity and service, which were modeled by her parents and reinforced at Mayfield. Not a building has been erected or renovated, not a fundraising campaign or major initiative has unfolded without the support of Tede and the Clougherty family. “Mayfield is in my heart,” she said. “I know my family gave so much to me, but Mayfield really influenced me. ‘Actions Not Words’ has stayed with me all these years,” she said. Her father “really hit it off with Mother Wilfrid,” she said. He was among the founding members of our Board of Trustees, establishing Mayfield as the premier all-girls, Catholic high school in the region. Like Mayfield students of today, Tede has high praise for her excellent teachers, who put her learning first. She recalled struggling in algebra, yet loving school plays, memorizing her lines with confidence. “When Mother Agnes heard me say all those lines she told me ‘Tede, if you can do that, you can memorize a formula,’ ” she recalled. “She was a fantastic teacher, so encouraging.” Among her favorite memories is the butterfly-themed prom she helped organize. “It wasn’t just a junior-senior prom like today—everyone went and it
was on campus...Butterflies everywhere!” Her commitment to service was ingrained as a Mayfield student, when she and other girls would travel to what is now Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, shuttling patients around in wheelchairs. “We learned that giving back is just what you do,” she said. Continuing her father’s service and leadership role at Mayfield, Tede served on our Board of Trustees from 20012007, sharing her wise counsel as an active alumna. During her tenure on the Board, Mayfield completed a master plan that led to the creation of new classrooms in the south wing of Strub Hall, as well as the new Sr. Barbara Mullen Library and Student Commons. Her belief in founder Cornelia Connelly’s educational mission “to meet the wants of the age” led to her generous 1996 donation to fund the Clougherty Computer Center, among the first stateof-the-art computer labs in a Catholic high school. This brings us to another Tede trait we adore. She is our biggest social media fan. Yes! Tede embraces technology and is among the first to like, love, applaud and comment on Mayfield Facebook posts. She texts, shares and sends photos, maintaining connections and the lifelong relationships she forged at Mayfield. “It’s just so fun to reconnect with the girls,” she said of her former classmates.
