Adrian Dominican Sister Cora Marie (Genevieve Anne) Campbell, 88, died May 9 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Michigan, she was in the 71st year of her religious profession.

Sister Cora Marie served over 50 years ministering in religious, elementary and secondary education in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Queen of Angels (1953-1954), St. Clare of Montefalco (1954-1955), Our Lady of the Westside (1988-1989) and Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette (theology teacher, 2006-2015; senior study monitor, 2015-2016).

She is survived by six brothers: Alex, Mark, Charles, Thomas, William and John; and two sisters: Mary Walton and Cara Meyer.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary Margaret “Penny” (Marie Albert) Smith, 86, died May 22, in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Chicago, Sister Penny made her first profession in 1961 and her perpetual profession in 1966. She graduated from Rosary College (now Dominican University) in River Forest with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and received her master’s in religious studies from Providence College in Rhode Island.

She taught high school in Milwaukee and in Freeport, Illinois, and was director of religious education at St. Thomas of Villanova Parish, Palatine. She also ministered in Alabama.

Father Jerome Joseph Maksvytis, 76, died May 27 at his home in Portage, Wisconsin, succumbing to cancer.

Born in Chicago, Father Maksvytis attended Annunciation and St. Michael schools, Quigley Preparatory Seminary North and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary; Holy Name Seminary, Madison; and St. Francis de Sales Seminary, Milwaukee, before being ordained for the Diocese of Madison in 1974.

Father Maksvytis served as associate pastor and pastor of several parishes in Wisconsin. He was named pastor emeritus of All Saints Parish in Berlin, Wisconsin, on his retirement in 2014.

He is survived by his sister, Lucille Tylutki.

Divine Word Father Joseph Bugner, 89, died May 8 in Techny. He was a missionary in Papua New Guinea for 35 years.

Born on the family farm in Prairie View, Father Bugner descended from immigrants who settled Rogers Park in 1844. One of his forefathers donated the land on which St. Henry Church is built.

A priest for 61 years and in religious vows for 69, he did pastoral ministry for a year in Washington, D.C., before beginning his first overseas assignment in Papua New Guinea.

In 1964, he was assigned to Mount Hagen, where he provided pastoral care for the area’s residents and supervised catechists in Kuli in northeast New Guinea. Father Bugner’s parish served roughly 6,000 Catholics in a 120-square-mile territory in the Wahgi River Valley.

Under Father Bugner’s leadership, schools and community facilities increased. He managed catechists who taught about 300 children in 12 outlying areas. The parish school added two grades, and the government established an additional two schools. Father Bugner also built a medical clinic for Kuli.

Father Bugner had lived in the Divine Word Residence at Techny since 1999.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Rita Clare (Patricia Ann) Kristoff, 84, died May 11 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Sister Rita Clare made her first religious profession with the School Sisters of St. Francis of Christ the King in Lemont in 1958. She transferred her vows to the Sinsinawa Dominicans in 1995.

Her ministry was dedicated to elementary education. As a Franciscan sister, she taught for 30 years, working extensively with children with learning disabilities in Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Indiana and Illinois. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Stephen School and Sacred Heart School.

 As a Dominican sister, Sister Rita Clare ministered in Illinois and taught at St. Thomas More School and St. Basil School and served as resource person and helped children with special needs at St. Thomas the Apostle School. She also served as catechist at Divine Infant Parish, Westchester.

Father Michael P. Ahlstrom, 82, died May 3. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and former pastor of St. Colette Parish in Rolling Meadows.

Born in Indianapolis, Father Ahlstrom attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1969. He also earned a master’s degree in liturgical studies at the University of Notre Dame.

He was a faculty member at Niles College of Loyola University and assistant pastor of St. Bernadette, Evergreen Park. He then served as associate pastor of St. Gertrude, Franklin Park; Mary, Seat of Wisdom, Park Ridge; and Immaculate Heart of Mary. He was appointed pastor of St. Colette Parish, a position he held from 1989 until 2003.

Father Ahlstrom served as vicar for deacons from 2004 to 2013, and served as vicar emeritus after his retirement.

During his career in ministry, Father Ahlstrom also served as associate director of the Office for Divine Worship; instructor and chairman of the board of the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein; instructor in medical ethics at Little Company of Mary School of Nursing; priest presenter for Engaged Encounter and Marriage Encounter; pastor in residence and liturgy instructor at Mundelein Seminary; board member of Chicago Studies; member of the Annual Catholic Appeal board; and member of Catholic Charities’ Parish Outreach Committee.

Deacon James Norman, current vicar for deacons, worked with Father Ahlstrom for the past two years. “It was clear that he valued and loved the diaconate community: deacons, their wives and families. He was always there when needed to celebrate a Mass, lead a prayer, coach and mentor. He left us a legacy of love and support.”

Deacon David Brencic, assistant director of the Office of the Diaconate, also was a friend and colleague of Father Ahlstrom. “He was really loved by the deacons and wives, and it was mutual,” Brencic said. “I remember him saying at several gatherings of deacons and wives, ‘My main job is to love you.’ He was a true shepherd and generous servant.”

Felician Sister Mary Alvina (La Verne) Gill, 93, died April 18 at Mother of Good Counsel Convent.

Born in Chicago, she attended Sts. Peter and Paul School and St. Joseph High School. She entered the Felician Sisters in 1949 and professed her final vows in 1951.

She ministered for a brief time as an elementary school teacher in Illinois. She also served in the ministry of nursing at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee and at St. Mary’s Hospital in Centralia, and served as the assistant administrator at St. Andrew Life Center in Niles.

In her later years, she ministered in a variety of roles in the provincial house.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at St. Wenceslaus (1951-1953), Sacred Heart (1953-1956), St. Joseph (1956-1957) and St. Andrew Life Center (1986-2014).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Elaine Ann Taylor, 84, died April 23 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Ohio, Sister Elaine made her first religious profession in 1961 and her perpetual profession of vows in 1967.

Her ministry was dedicated to teaching the arts. She ministered in Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Elaine taught art at St. Thomas the Apostle School, art and religion at St. Benedict High School, and art at Trinity High School, River Forest.

She is survived by two sisters, Jane Kantowicz and Mary Taylor.

Little Sister of the Poor Genevieve of St. Margaret Mary (baptized Catherine Anne Roche), 82, died April 24 at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Palatine, where she lived since 2006. 

Born the sixth of 13 children in California, she was inspired by an older sister who entered the Little Sisters of the Poor. She made her first vows in 1963 and her final vows in 1967.

For most of her religious life, she was a “begging sister,” visiting produce markets, businesses, parishes and benefactors, where she spread her great devotion to St. Joseph knowing with confidence that God would provide for the needs of the home, the residents and Little Sisters.

She is survived by her sisters, Little Sister of the Poor Elisabeth Anne de Notre Dame, Alice Roche, Dorothy Kennedy and Barbara Hopkins.

Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Teresita (Helen Louise) Weind, 81, died April 28 in Cincinnati.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, to a Baptist family, Sister Teresita entered full community with the Catholic Church at the age of 12. She attended Catholic schools and met Catholic sisters, inspiring her to enter the Sisters of Mary of the Presentation in 1960. She made first vows in 1963 and final vows in 1968. She transferred her vows to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1973 and made her final commitment to the congregation in 1976.

She served two terms in the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur’s general leadership, and was the 19th superior general of the congregation.

Sister Teresita was also a founding member of the National Black Sisters Conference, where she served on the board and on many committees. She represented the NBSSC also on the board of the National Office of Black Catholics. She was also a leader in Women of Color, formed by SNDdeN General Government Group in the late 1980s, to promote anti-racism and cross-cultural efforts within the congregation.

She had also served in provincial leadership.

Sister Teresita earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing in North Dakota, and in 1972, a master’s degree in religious studies from Mundelein College. She ministered in Illinois, Michigan, North Dakota and Ohio.

She ministered in the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1970 to 1991. During those years, she moved from nursing to pastoral ministry and changed religious communities.

From 1973 to 1979, Sister Teresita was the director of liturgical formation for Black Parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago. She then joined the pastoral team at the recently merged St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy Parish in Oak Park, while giving retreats and workshops across the country. She was also one of the founders of Mary’s Pence, a funding source for women who wish to create social change, start community initiatives and foster collaboration.