Donor Spotlight

Kathy Ford Young gives back to Ursuline Sisters who supported her

When she was 6 years old and in the first grade at Calvary Elementary School, Kathy Ford Young met her first Ursuline Sister, Mauritia Edelen. “The Sisters ran everything,” she said. “It was a very Catholic community.” Her next Ursuline teachers weren’t until later grades in her Marion County elementary school, Sister Bartholene Warren and Sister Therese Martin Mattingly. By then,

Sister Kathy knew she would follow her older sisters Mary and Virginia to Mount Saint Joseph Academy for high school. Kathy Ford Young, center, is joined by her daughter, Beth Craig, and her husband

Mauritia “My mom and dad had such high hopes for a religious Harold Ford after winning the Maple Leaf in a family of 11,” Kathy said. “They sent all four of their girls to the Award at Alumnae Weekend on Aug. 29. Academy,” including her younger sister, Dorothy. “There wasn’t a Sister among any of them,” Kathy said with a laugh.

Her father was friends with Sister Victoria Brohm, who later taught Kathy speech at the Academy. While none of the Ford girls decided to join the community, they have all remained devoted alumnae over the years. Kathy and her husband Harold Young have been significant supporters of the Ursuline Sisters for years.

“The Sisters made me feel like I could do anything,” Kathy said. “I feel like I owe the Sisters. They supported me then. I feel like I should support them now.”

Kathy’s career has included office work at the Lebanon Enterprise and Springfield Sun newspapers – proofreader, graphic artist and page layout – and then with attorneys in Lexington Sister and Lebanon. She still does legal transcription today. Victoria

Her devotion to the Ursuline Sisters and to the Alumnae Association began with her school days at the Academy.

“I had never been away from home but I never felt homesick,” she said. “My dear friends then are my dear friends still. The experiences I had I would never have had attending a public school in Marion County. We saw plays at Brescia College and I was involved in drama productions at the Academy.”

“I have friends who went to public high school, and they don’t keep in touch with their friends from those days,” Kathy said. “I think because we lived with these people 24/7, they were like my family for nine months of the year. I always wanted to go back each fall.”

Kathy graduated from the Academy in 1970, and served several years as the elected secretary of the Alumnae Association. During Alumnae Weekend 2021, she was honored with the Maple Leaf Award, honoring someone who personifies the values of their Academy education in their local community or at Mount Saint Joseph.

“I was flattered and very humbled,” she said. “I know it’s a big deal.”n

Have the Ursuline Sisters influenced your life? If you would like to learn more about ways you can support the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph, contact Carol Braden-Clarke, director of Development, at 270-229-2008 or carol.braden-clarke@maplemount.org.

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Would you like to leave a legacy and support the Ursuline Sisters? There are many ways to make a planned gift to ensure your resources can help the Ursuline Sisters continue their mission of serving God’s people. Contact Carol Braden-Clarke at 270-229-2008 to discuss this today.