Parish accountant divides her life into three acts

Intermountain Catholic

+ Enlarge

Judi Belew

SALT LAKE CITY — After 15 years, Judi Belew, Saint Catherine Newman Center accountant, is going from Act II into the field of consulting to begin Act III of her life. Her last day will be April 15.

"Ms. Judi Belew has been an incredible asset during her 15-year tenure as our accountant," said Father Carl Schlichte, pastor. "Throughout, she has graciously shared her experience of accounting in multimillion dollar corporations (what she calls her "former life") for the benefit of both the St. Catherine’s community and the larger diocesan community. In my four years as pastor, she has always gone above and beyond what her position requires of her. She is much beloved by many St. Catherine students and young adults. Please join me and the entire St. Catherine’s community in wishing our fellow parishioner every blessing as she begins her next chapter – Act III."

The first time Belew came to the Newman Center she was walking down President’s Circle at the University of Utah and saw Dominican Fathers Bartholomew Hutcherson and Denis Reilly standing in front of the church with their habits blowing in the wind, she said. Fr. Bart was wearing Birkenstock sandals and that appealed to her.

Over the years, Belew worked with about 12 priests, and has gotten to know "a whole lot more," she said. Fr. Bart "was like a Pied Piper; the students loved him. It was really one big community then."

Belew was drawn to the parish through her son and daughter-in-law, and she entered the RCIA program in 1998.

"The time was right. I call it my 40 years in the desert because it was exactly 40 years before that I had taken instructions," she said. "I knew 40 years ago that I wanted to be a Catholic, but there were people in my life who opposed it."

Belew got to know Fr. Denis and he asked her if she was looking for a job. "I told him I wasn’t but I started working here anyway."

Belew has witnessed many changes the parish has gone through over the years. "The front lawn used to flood before we renovated for the new church and we called it Lake Newman," she said. "From the time I came here it was apparent that we didn’t have enough room, so we started talking about expanding. We hired a firm to assess our ability to raise enough money and an agent said we wouldn’t be able to raise $500,000. We raised $3.2 million by the time all the pledges came in."

The parishioners received a dispensation from kneeling their first Easter in the chapel "because we would have had to kneel on an unfinished, dirty concrete floor," Belew said. "We even had one funeral before the chapel was finished. We also had some great fund-raisers, with great prizes like the first ride in the elevator, Feast with the Priests, and A Honey-Do Crew."

The money for the chapel was literally raised chair by chair, Belew said. "Patty Huber was on the staff at the time and she and I sold chairs. When we dedicated the church in 2004, we had about 37 Dominican priests come to the dedication and we had to raise the money to bring them to Utah with a campaign called Pennies for Priests. Like they say, we built it and they came. The church filled up almost instantly."

During Act I of Belew’s life, before coming to Utah, she was the vice president and chief financial officer of a textile manufacturing company in Bristow, Va. She grew up in Iowa and attended East Tennessee State University, graduating first in her class of 600, she said. "I always liked numbers and became a certified public accountant. I don’t like to be out in front, I am a behind-the-scenes type of person."

Belew lived throughout the Midwest before moving to Tennessee and Virginia for 30 years, she said. "I came to Utah to retire and to take care of grandchildren, but my life didn’t quite turn out that way."

Leaving the parish for Act III in Belew’s life will be "bittersweet," she said. "I have had a lot of good times, but I am looking forward to my next challenge."