Sister Yvonne Hatt's dedication and service celebrated by Iron County Care And Share

Friday, Sep. 16, 2016

CEDAR CITY — Holy Cross Sister Yvonne Hatt, pastoral associate at Christ the King Parish in Cedar City, has been honored for her years of service with Iron County Care and Share. 

Sr. Yvonne served on the Care and Share Board of Directors from 1998-2016, although she said, “I was only supposed to be on the board for five years!”   

The Iron County Care and Share Board of Directors was founded in 1984 by local churches to address hunger in the community. Services now include a food bank, an emergency shelter for the homeless, and other programs to assist those in need. 

At their June 6 monthly meeting, the board members presented Sr. Yvonne with a plaque to thank her for her service.

“Sister Yvonne is a perfect example of the many people at the Care and Share who are working tirelessly to support our community. Her efforts have undoubtedly helped thousands of men, women and children when they needed help the most,” said Steven Bradbury, the board chairman.   

With her tenure as a board member completed, Sr. Hatt plans to continue helping the community. As a current committee member for the Cedar Area Interfaith Alliance and the spiritual advisor for the Diocese of Salt Lake City Southwest Deanery Council of Catholic Women, she is still very busy.

“If any of the missions or stations need some assistance, just call me! I feel good and I am not ready for retirement!” she said with a laugh.

Sr. Yvonne first encountered the Holy Cross religious order when the sisters she knew as a child would return from their missions abroad with stories of culture, adventure and elephants. 

“As a child in elementary school, I really loved their stories about elephants,” she said.

After professing vows, her first assignment was teaching Catholic school in California. After several years, she was offered a position in southern Utah.  She started out in St. George, then transferred to Cedar City. Part of the challenge for her was to travel throughout southern Utah, visiting as many parishioners as possible.  

“We did everything from teaching religious education to visiting the sick,” she said. “We went everywhere we could!”

When the opportunity for travel to Israel was offered, Sr. Hatt was happy to serve, but she jokes, “after teaching there for three years, I learned a lot, but I still did not get an opportunity to see any elephants!”

Upon her return to the United States almost 20 years ago, Sr. Yvonne was assigned again to Christ the King Parish. 

She still has a lot of plans and goals as she looks to retire. “I have a place near the beach, several hobbies and of course, there will be more time to hang out with my cat!” she said.

On Sept. 21, Iron County Care and Share will host its 5th annual “Drive out Hunger” golf tournament. Proceeds will go to providing food, shelter and services to Iron County and the neighboring community.

For information, contact Sr. Yvonne Hatt, 435-586-8298 or Iron County Care and Share, 435-586-4962  or http://www.careandshare-ut.org.