Catharine Currie Kuleck

Cathy was born 15 October 1947 in Minneapolis, Minnesota to Robert P. Vinall and Agnes Oleson Vinall. Her father, a Veterans Administration official, was transferred to Washington, D.C., soon after Cathy’s birth.

Cathy spent her early childhood in Maryland, part of that cohort of baby boomers that overwhelmed the public education system. She, and others, were shuffled from one temporary school to another. Her world stabilized when her father was transferred to Fargo, North Dakota, to be the assistant administrator of the VA hospital there. Cathy spent her Junior High and Senior High School years at Fargo Central High School.

After high school graduation, Cathy enrolled in the North Dakota State College, studying speech and language pathology and audiology. After her freshman year she transferred across the Red River to St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, where she received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and the Certificate of Clinical Competence. Following graduation Cathy worked for Head Start, working with hearing-impaired children.

While at St. Cloud, Cathy met Kirby Charles Knight, who would become her first husband. Kirby, a Type 1 diabetic, had lost his vision and would soon lose his legs. His disabilities led to several lean years until he became a civilian personnel manager at Williams Air Force Base outside Phoenix. He excelled in that role and was once awarded Air Force Disabled Employee of the Year.

Cathy and Kirby were married for eleven years, and lived in Chandler, Arizona for the latter eight of them. Kirby was instrumental in encouraging Cathy to return to academia; she entered a doctoral program at Arizona State University at his urging.

During her studies at ASU Cathy made a breakthrough in her field of study, cognitive developmental psychology, that became the underpinning of research in that field to this day. Her work is still being cited more than forty years later.

But life for Cathy was more than work and school. From her early teenage years, she was involved in the world of canine obedience and conformation competitions, eventually becoming a nationally recognized obedience competitor. While her chosen breed for many years was the Shetland Sheepdog or Sheltie, she did raise and train a Belgian Tervuren to champion and high dog in trial. More on that later.

Unfortunately, in 1981 Kirby’s diabetes finally caught up to him; he passed suddenly. Despite her grief Cathy carried on and received her Ph.D. not long after. Her doctoral dissertation led to a paper acceptance at the American Psychological Association convention, to be held in August of 1982 in Washington D.C. In her grief, she had no interest in going to the convention and presenting her paper. However, a close friend finally convinced her to set aside her mourning long enough to travel to the convention with her.

There, on the morning of August 23, 1982, Cathy found herself at the breakfast bar of the Washington Hilton. Next to her was the only empty seat in the entire dining room. A fellow psychologist from Cleveland took that seat; they began to chat. Much to their mutual surprise, both Cathy, and her future husband Walt Kuleck, had raised and trained a Belgian Tervuren, she in Arizona and he in Michigan. At the time there were only a few hundred Tervs in the country; thus, that was a remarkable coincidence. Further conversation revealed that they were both Missouri Synod Lutherans, another somewhat “rare breed.’’ He played the violin, she the cello. After nearly a year of grief-fueled disinterest in socializing, much to her surprise she agreed to have dinner with him.

Needless to say, the relationship grew despite the distance between them. Nearly daily letters and phone calls drew them closer together. On January 2, 1983, they were married in Mayfield Heights, Ohio, leading to forty-four years of deep love and steadfast partnership. He worked with her in her field, and she in his. In 1996 Cathy joined the faculty of The Akron State University’s School of Education, becoming a full professor.

During that time Cathy and Walt formed a Piano Trio, piano, violin and cello; for eight years they enjoyed the music they could make together. Cathy never lost her interest in dogs; she and Walt were never without at least two. After her retirement from teaching they enjoyed cruises in the Caribbean and working with their dogs.

Cathy was a woman of many talents and achievements. Yet, she was the least self-assuming person you could imagine, modest almost to a fault. Everyone who knew her loved her and cherished their friendship. Alas, a lifetime of mini-strokes, unnoticed and unattended, culminated in the combination of vascular and Alzheimer's dementia that caused her brain to betray her mind. To the end, she was cheerful and determined. She passed peacefully at 2:23 AM on August 19, 2026, at the age of seventy-eight. She is survived by her husband, Walter J. Kuleck, Ph.D. Rest in peace, my love. Save me that empty seat at the Lord’s table.

Memorial Service information will be announced.