Katherine Sutton Apel, 68, of Wheelersburg, who was so loved for her giant heart, her unwavering kindness, and her indomitable spirit, stood firm for 22 years against a vigorous offensive brought on her by a rare and incurable form of breast cancer.
On Monday, July 23, 2018, Katherine died at Southern Ohio Medical Center Hospice. Cancer didn’t win that fight, though. Katherine’s hope and courage in the face of the impossible born of her faith in God and the miracles He can do kept her here long after the doctors said they couldn’t even understand why she was still alive. She was not one to let the sickness change the course of her life, so she didn’t.
She was born July 25, 1949 in Nashville, Tennessee to the late Barrett Boulware Sutton and Mary Wade Sutton, who taught her the invaluable character traits that made her who she was: integrity, loyalty, positivity, respect, and a side-splitting sense of humor.
She graduated from Hillwood High School in Nashville and went on to earn her Bachelor of Arts at Vanderbilt University. She was popular, brilliant and involved, and she had what appears to have been an idyllic experience both places before she met her soulmate and partner in life’s wild adventures, Pat Apel, with whom she would have celebrated 46 years of marriage on August 20.
Katherine was a teller for American Savings Bank before she retired, and she deeply loved her coworkers and the community she served. As a 22-year member of Christ’s Community Church in Portsmouth, she kept her faith in the forefront of her life and her family’s.
Awaiting the joyous reunion with Katherine in a future much closer than earthly perspective allows are her husband, John Patrick “Pat” Apel; her two daughters Therese Apel of Jackson, Mississippi and Mary (Justin) Montavon of West College Corner, Indiana; her son John “Jeep” (Lenea) Apel, Jr., of Asheville, North Carolina; her two grandchildren, Marshall Wade Montavon and Grace Wynn Montavon; and two brothers in Nashville, Barrett B. Sutton Jr. and William Wade Sutton. Her family feels deep grief at her loss, but also great joy at the fact that her courage and perseverance have paid off and she is now in eternity where she waits for us with a big smile on her face. She’s going to be a terrific tour guide.
A memorial service and celebration of Katherine’s beautiful life will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 26, 2018 at Christ’s Community Church with Scott Rawlings officiating. Family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. prior to the service.
Flowers and memorials are welcome, but the family would be grateful for memorial contributions to be made to SOMC Hospice, 2201 25th Street, Portsmouth, Ohio, 45662.
