04 Mar 2011 Turning hard times into inspiration

While Cleveland worked as a farmhand in Hamburg (Ashley County), Katie stayed home with their children, so money was tight, to put it mildly. But that didn’t stop Katie from propelling her kids toward success. All of Katie’s surviving 10 children (one died in infancy of SIDS) have attended college. Ranging in age from 38 to 21, the Moseby kids accepted their mom’s insistence that they “could do anything.” She says she “wanted them to have a good life and not to have to struggle.” The Mosebys went to college on scholarships, grants, loans and hard work.

Cleveland Jr., the oldest, has attended college off and on and has served four years in the military. He’s currently in the National Guard and works for Ben E. Keith in Little Rock.

Katie’s oldest daughter, Tamela, attended college in Little Rock but decided at the time it wasn’t right for her. She recently returned to college and works for a nursing home in Conway.

Georgia has a degree in family and consumer sciences from the University of Central Arkansas and works for Arkansas Hospice. Gabby, who lives in Atlanta, also went to UCA but then completed her respiratory therapy degree at Pulaski Technical College.

Another son, Lesley, studied at UCA and now works for Kimberly-Clark in Maumelle. C.J., another daughter, graduated from Oral Roberts University, through which she did a study abroad program in Australia. She now works for a nonprofit in Northwest Arkansas.

Katie’s youngest son, Kevin, was in the inaugural class of the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences, graduating in 1995. After earning his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, he went on to earn a master’s degree from University of California, Berkeley. He’s currently completing his dissertation as a Dissertation Fellow in residence at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Additionally, Kevin has studied at the University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University.

The three youngest are girls. Katie refers to them as her “babies.” Christian graduated from the University of Arkansas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She’s now attending Kingston University in London and interning with Country Living magazine. She is set to graduate in the fall with a master’s in publishing. Katie, her mom’s namesake, also graduated from the Arkansas School for Math and Sciences, and studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Last year, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in communication. She is also attending Kingston University in London and will earn a master’s in human rights.

The youngest of the bunch, Mary, is finishing up her last semester at the University of Arkansas Community College in Morrilton, after which she plans to transfer to UCA or Mississippi State. 

According to Katie, being out of school for the summer was no excuse for the kids to get lax about learning. She says they were always going to the library. And though the kids all worked during the summers once they were old enough, they did not work during school because focusing on their studies and extracurricular activities was of utmost importance.

While the kids were little, Katie taught them not to discuss the condition of their home, but one of them let it slip at church that the floors of their mobile home were falling in. One day, a crew from their Hamburg church showed up to repair the floors. During the repairs, they discovered that the family had no water heater, so they installed one.

A few years later, a devastating fire burned their home to the ground. Again, the family received unrequested generosity from not only the church, but the whole community. Although Katie never expected such an outpouring of generosity, she received it as care from God, explaining, “God always showed up.”

Once the kids started moving away from Hamburg and several migrated to Central Arkansas, Katie and Cleveland moved to Conway to be closer to at least some of them. Because she needed an income after her husband lost his battle to cancer in 2007, Katie sought work through New Life Church, where she attends regularly. Now she works part-time there in the preschool and also in the Sunday nursery. She loves her new calling, and despite the tough roads she’s traveled, Katie maintains a kind heart, treasuring life and the blessings she’s been given.