After 25 years of outstanding service to the Missoula Catholic Schools, Kate Deeds has retired.

Her legacy at the schools began with her own education at Sacred Heart Academy for girls. She was one of seven brothers and sisters to attend the academy and Loyola High School for boys.

In 1964, Kate graduated from the academy and spent the next 10 years working for the Northern Pacific Hospital in Missoula. She married Jim Deeds in the late 1960s and they had two children, Tom and Jen, both of whom graduated from the co-ed Loyola Sacred Heart High School.

She returned to the schools in 1982 and managed the Bargain Corner for two years before starting to work at the Loyola Sacred Heart Foundation. “She has been providing excellent service to the schools through her work here,” said Judy Geer, the foundation’s director.

In that time, Kate worked for eight different directors, including Sister Rita Mudd, and 25 different boards. Along with her husband, Jim, she was the president of the Sideliners for six years. She hosted many tournaments during her time and had a hand in almost all of the school’s fundraisers.

In 2005, she received the first-ever Shining Star award, in gratitude for all of her years of devotion to the schools.

With her retirement, she plans to travel, relax, continue her volunteer work and revisit places from her past.

“The most enjoyable part of working at the Foundation was getting to know faculty and staff at the schools, the Sideliners, fundraisers, alumni and all the hundreds of volunteers that keep the school going,” she stated.


Published in The Montana Catholic Online, Volume 25, No. 8, August 21, 2009.