LAYTON -- Ask Kathie Lee Dalton about her health and she talks about one of the last musicals she attended, "The Wedding Singer" at Layton High School.
Drama teacher Dennis Ferrin "did a wonderful job," Dalton said about the musical she attended in March.
The Davis School board member has fought a battle tougher than high school boundary changes or the district's budget.
The 69-year-old Dalton, a resident of Layton, sat in her recliner and briefly talked about the surgery that cut her body almost in half to remove a large sarcoma that was near her kidney "and nibbling on my colon."
The surgery was in 2007 shortly before the dedication of Syracuse High School.
"No one expected me to be there, but I was there," Dalton said.
When asked what specific cancer it is, Dalton said simply, "I don't know. It has a long name."
Dalton underwent chemotherapy and radiation, but did not let those medical procedures slow her down.
"She hasn't missed a beat," said Marian Storey, the president of the district's school board.
"We thought it would slow (Dalton) down, but she's been a very effective school board member," Storey said.
After schools opened on Aug. 23, Dalton visited seven schools in one week. The four-term board member is up for re-election. As part of her school board duties she attends as many high school and junior high plays, musicals and concerts as possible throughout the district every year.
The only concession Dalton has made regarding her health has been giving up driving herself to meetings, schools and other functions.
Her husband, retired Air Force Col. Donald Michael Dalton, has been her chauffeur since her surgery. He also helps her get inside the buildings, then reads while waiting for the meetings to end.
"I have problems with my knees, so I either have to use a walker or a wheelchair so I don't tip over," Dalton said.
When asked when he decided to accompany her to functions, Michael Dalton said succinctly, "In 1963, when we met."
The two were married in 1964 and this month are celebrating 46 years of marriage.
"Michael is so attentive," Storey said.
Dalton would only say about her cancer that "I have health."
She worries her constituents and others may think she may be unable to do her job as a school board member. "I can still sit through meetings," Dalton said. "I can still take notes and I can still listen."
Listening is something she learned early after getting elected as a board member 16 years ago.
She recalls answering the phone after returning home from a heated high school boundary meeting before Syracuse High School opened.
"I let the man, who was upset, talk about 45 minutes," Dalton said. "I then asked him, what he wanted me to do. He said, 'Listen. You listened.' "
Davis School Superintendent Bryan Bowles said Dalton has contributed to the district by letting those who have a concern, "talk to them as long as they want to discuss the matter and then she will follow up on it."
Bowles said Dalton is passionate about children and education.
"She is concerned that all kids are represented, not just those who are high academic performers," Bowles said. "She is a champion for kids who have shown remarkable progress and have found successes in one way or another."
Dalton's passion for education began when she entered college. She had wanted to teach music in secondary schools, but learned after graduating from Brigham Young University that jobs for married women in Utah were limited at that time.
Her husband joined the Air Force and, after traveling the world, they ended up back in Utah.
Dalton started as a substitute teacher, then went on to teach third-grade at Syracuse Elementary.
A year later she was sent to South Clearfield Elementary. She taught there for a number of years before going into private education.
Dalton said she plans to keep working for kids as long as she can.
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