[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 61 (Thursday, April 26, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Page S2809]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING MATTILOU SEXTON CATCHPOLE

  Mr. DURBIN: Mr. President, an incredible woman died late last month 
after a hard fought battle with Alzheimer's disease--a woman who gave 
her life to help and teach others. A former University of Illinois 
Springfield professor, Dr. Mattilou Sexton Catchpole, passed away at 
the age of 88.
  Mattilou was born on Halloween day in Chicago, IL, but grew up in 
Texarkana, AR. Her parents gave her a strong moral background and an 
appreciation for justice. As active participants in the Arkansas civil 
rights movement, they taught her that social justice, equitable 
educational opportunities, and equal rights for all were of the utmost 
importance.
  She enlisted in the Air Force during World War II and served as a 
medical technician stateside. While post-traumatic stress disorder was 
not categorized as a medical condition, Mattilou knew that many of the 
returning soldiers experienced hell. She soon realized that quiet 
conversations and a caring touch helped to heal the wounds that she 
couldn't see.
  Still caring for others, she first became a registered nurse and then 
a certified registered nurse anesthetist, or CRNA. While raising three 
children and suffering from sometimes debilitating back pain, she 
worked as a CRNA at the Cleveland Clinic and obtained bachelor's and 
master's degrees at Case Western Reserve University.
  She came to my hometown of Springfield, IL, to teach at the 
university in 1978, and in no time finished her doctorate in health 
education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Dr. 
Catchpole became the director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program and Nurse 
Anesthesia Completion Program in Springfield. She spent the rest of her 
life teaching at the university and writing.
  At the age of 78, Dr. Catchpole was named the 2002 Kayaker of the 
Year by the Missouri Whitewater Association. Physical fitness and the 
outdoors were very important to her. It was swimming that enabled her 
to build the strength and leave behind a full-body cast that doctors 
thought she would wear for most of her adult life because of back pain. 
In 2006, at the age of 82, Mattilou was one of 18 recipients of the 
President's Call to Service Awards for over 5,000 hours of service with 
Health Volunteers Overseas. You could always rely on Mattilou to lend a 
helping hand to someone in need or to teach a person all that she knew 
about a subject.
  I offer my deepest condolences to her family, her brother, U.A. 
Garred Sexton; her three children, Julia Ann, Nancy, and Floyd; and her 
eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Mattilou's passing 
is a deep loss for so many, but her hard work, accomplishments, and 
students will continue to carry on.

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