Cletus Wolfe was named after the third Roman Catholic pope. He grew up on a dairy farm—one of five boys. He remembers, “I grew up in a strict Catholic family. I was in the middle so I got to help Mom with the house chores. My father was a hardworking man with really strong moral values, and we all learned the value of a good day’s work.” But life was not only work. “We took time to play ball before chores and had sleigh rides and toboggan rides on Saturday and Sunday in the winter months.”

He remembers wearing a suit for the first time for his first communion and answering questions asked by the bishop for confirmation. But, he says, “I don’t ever remember reading out of the Bible. We had a really nice one with a family tree in the middle.” In spite of that, he had a desire to be a priest, and after eighth grade he told his father about his wish. His aunt was a nun, so his family sent him to Holy Cross Seminary for four years of high school to prepare him for further study and the priesthood.

During those years, Cletus says, “The fire died,” and he no longer wanted to be a priest. He never remembered studying the Bible, even at Holy Cross. He confesses, “Seeds of doubt started to enter my mind way back then. But as a Catholic you don’t question things that are happening around you. You just accept what the priest or bishop tells you.”

He came home to the family dairy farm and went to the University of Wisconsin–River Falls. Through 4-H, he met a Lutheran girl. Their paths crossed as they competed, showing and judging cattle. Her name was Geri Lynn Passow; her family had a dairy farm nearby. The families knew each other, but the first time Cletus asked Geri for a date, her family thought she was too young for a first-year student at the university.

Once Geri showed a cow that Cletus wanted to buy. When he asked if she would sell the cow, Geri said it was not for sale. But Cletus says, with a twinkle in his eye, that he remembered that if he married Geri he would get her and the cow.

They were married in the Lutheran church, but they each remained loyal to their own religious beliefs. Cletus remembers that Geri argued with his priest about interfaith marriage and confession to a priest. Permission from the bishop to marry did not arrive until the day before the wedding, but they had decided to marry with or without permission.