Vernon & Ruth Ann Chouteau
Vernon Chouteau, Elder Class of 1960, started the Elder tradition with family. He and his wife of over 60 years, Ruth Ann, grew up in Riverside and attended St. Vincent DePaul School on River Road. Money was very tight for their families, but growing up in the Great Depression, Vernon’s parents knew the art of stretching a dollar and a meal. The Chouteau family didn’t buy anything they wanted unless there was money left from the things they needed.
Private school was an important gift given to their children and not something easily affordable. To make ends meet, Vernon began working two jobs and Ruth Ann worked retail and, as a result, they were able to send their children to Visitation for grade school and then Mercy and Elder. Vernon taught his children some basic things when it came to work and helped his son, Rick, land his first job at a Sheet Metal factory with some simple rules: NEVER BE LATE and no shortcuts. His children learned so many lessons in those early influential part time jobs. These lessons they carried throughout their lives and careers. Vernon and Ruth Ann’s son, Rick, even earned enough to pay his tuition for his senior year at Elder. But, without a word said, his parents paid for Rick’s senior year leaving the money he saved to be used for his freshman year of college. Rick and his sister would be the first from the Chouteau family to go to college, which proved invaluable to putting them on a path toward financial freedom and independence. It is also the reason Rick was able to start the Chouteau Scholarship fund in his parents’ name.
Below are many of the lessons the Chouteau children learned from their parents:
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Private school was an important gift given to their children and not something easily affordable. To make ends meet, Vernon began working two jobs and Ruth Ann worked retail and, as a result, they were able to send their children to Visitation for grade school and then Mercy and Elder. Vernon taught his children some basic things when it came to work and helped his son, Rick, land his first job at a Sheet Metal factory with some simple rules: NEVER BE LATE and no shortcuts. His children learned so many lessons in those early influential part time jobs. These lessons they carried throughout their lives and careers. Vernon and Ruth Ann’s son, Rick, even earned enough to pay his tuition for his senior year at Elder. But, without a word said, his parents paid for Rick’s senior year leaving the money he saved to be used for his freshman year of college. Rick and his sister would be the first from the Chouteau family to go to college, which proved invaluable to putting them on a path toward financial freedom and independence. It is also the reason Rick was able to start the Chouteau Scholarship fund in his parents’ name.
Below are many of the lessons the Chouteau children learned from their parents:
- Anything worth having is worth the effort to attain it and help it flourish. The Chouteau family was not rich monetarily but were rich with love and support.
- It’s not the hours you put in, but the results you get that drive your personal brand and value. And it’s not a secret that the most successful people are those that are often working the hardest.
- Work ethic and drive beats book smarts all day long. Vernon and Ruth Ann were excellent providers because they put in the effort.
- Being on time shows respect for others time.
- You will learn more by asking great questions and listening intensely, both which require little efforts, than any other method of learning.
- Treat all people with dignity and respect. It’s the foundation of leadership.
- People gravitate to those they trust; trust is built though transparency and authenticity.
- Do what you say you’re going to do. Anything less and you’re lying to yourself.
Cincinnati’s First Catholic Diocesan High School
