Mercy Sister Solina (Alice) Hicks, 105, died Sept. 23.

Born in Wisconsin, Sister Solina attended Mercy High School in Milwaukee and entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1934.

Her first assignment was as a kindergarten and first-grade teacher at St. Cecilia, Chicago.

After 10 years of teaching in Chicago Catholic schools, she earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1952 from Saint Xavier College and a master of fine arts degree in 1954 from Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan. Upon graduation, she began her life’s work as an art teacher, and always as a working artist.

Sister Solina was the original designer of the art department at Saint Xavier College’s new campus in 1954. She served as its first chair from then until 1965. She created the Saint Xavier College shield which is still in use today.

Her own work was controversial as she introduced the college community to modern art. “If the church has to deal with the modern then there has to be modern art in the church,” she said.

Always a progressive, Sister Solina’s later experiences included teaching art at an alternative school for Mexican Americans in California. She also spent time on a Navajo reservation in Arizona.

At 105 years old, Sister Solina was the oldest Sister of Mercy in the West Midwest Community.

Divine Word Father Stanley Plutz, 92, vice postulator for the canonization of St. Arnold Janssen and longtime missionary in the Philippines, died Sept. 23 in Techny.

Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Father Plutz entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1940 and professed religious vows in 1946.

In 1953, he was ordained to the priesthood and left for his first overseas assignment in the Philippines in 1954.

In 1999, Father Plutz became the vice postulator for the sainthood cause of Father Arnold Janssen, founder of the Society of the Divine Word.

Upon returning to the United States in 2000, he was assigned to the U.S. Southern Province and continued to promote devotion to St. Arnold, who was canonized in 2003.

During his 46 years as a missionary in the Philippines, Father Plutz served as a teacher and spiritual director.

Father Plutz had been living at Techny since 2013.

Adrian Dominican Sister Virginia (Joan Patricia) O’Reilly, 91, died Sept. 24 in Adrian, Michigan.

Sister Virginia was born in Detroit and was in the 75th year of her religious life.

Sister Virginia ministered in Illinois, Florida, Georgia and Michigan.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Rita Elementary School (1944-1946), Aquinas High School (1960-1964) and Illinois Institute of Technology (1967-1968).

Sister Virginia is survived by a sister, Patricia Rush.

Deacon Philip White, 73, died Aug. 28 in Wisconsin. He was ordained in 1980 and served at St. Eulalia, Maywood, and Mercy Home for Boys and Girls.

Deacon White, formerly of Westchester, was born in Ireland and attended University College Dublin, where he met his wife of 43 years, Lucy Power.

The couple immigrated to Chicago in 1974 and Deacon White taught religion at Immaculate Heart of Mary High School in Westchester.

He is survived by his wife, Lucy; daughters Rachel White and Maureen White; son Brendan White; and three grandchildren.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Prudence Ludwig died Aug. 16, her 96th birthday, in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.

Born in Montana, Sister Prudence made her first religious profession in 1945 and her final profession in 1948. She served in Illinois, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Nebraska, California and Colorado.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Prudence taught at St. Philip Benizi (1945-1949), Visitation (1957-1958) and St. Brendan (1960-1967 and 1978-1979).

She is survived by a sister, Barbara Corboy.

Sister of Providence Jean Anne (Robert Marie) Maher, 85, died Aug. 23 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Chicago, she attended St. Agnes School and Providence High School. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence in 1951 and professed final vows in 1955. 

Sister Jean Anne ministered in Indiana, Illinois, California, Maryland, Massachusetts and Washington, D.C.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Andrew (1965-1967); St. Mark (1967-1970); St. David (1970-1971, 1979-1980); St. Sylvester (1975-1976); St. Angela (1976-1978); Chicago Urban Skills Institute (1980-1984); St. Priscilla (1984-1985); St. Beatrice, Schiller Park (1992-1993); Holy Family (1993-1994); and St. Stanislaus Kostka (1994-1996); and was a pastoral associate at St. Mark (1996-1999) and St. Simeon, Bellwood (1999-2003).

Sister Jean Anne is survived by a sister, Celeste Sammet.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary (Marie Florian) Wolff, 100, died Sept. 3 in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.

Born in Nebraska, Sister Mary made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa in 1938, and her final profession in 1941. She taught for 69 years, 10 while also serving as principal, and created and ran a reading program for 10 years. Sister Mary served in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California and Colorado.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary taught at St. Philip Benizi (1938-1939); Visitation (1939-1947); St. Philip the Apostle, Northfield (1959-1964); and Trinity High School, River Forest (1981-1988).

She is survived by two brothers, F. Patrick Wolff and Benedictine Abbot Theodore Wolff.

Adrian Dominican Sister Mary Ellen (Ann Edward) Brodeur, 90, died Sept. 10 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Detroit, she was in the 72nd year of her religious profession.

Sister Mary Ellen ministered in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Carthage (1955-1961).

Father Thomas J. Purtell, 83, died Aug. 24. He was pastor emeritus of St. John Fisher Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father Purtell attended Our Lady of Victory School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1961.

He was assistant pastor at St. Joseph, Homewood; Our Lady of Lourdes (Keeler Street); and St. Benedict, Blue Island. He was named pastor of St. John Fisher Parish in 1984, and he remained there until he retired in 2003.

Father Daniel Brady, pastor emeritus of St. Cecilia Parish in Mount Prospect, knew Father Purtell for almost 70 years and remembers his classmate as “a very good friend, a marvelous storyteller and wonderful priest.”

Deacon Anthony Llorens, 85, died Aug. 25. He was a member of the first class of permanent deacons in the archdiocese, ordained in 1972, and served at Providence-St. Mel and St. Martin de Porres parishes.

Deacon Llorens owned a company that made grinding wheels for the aeronautics industry, according to his daughter, Julie Richardson. 

As a deacon, he led classes for people participating in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults. He was active in the Westside Catholic Cluster, which gave him its first Bishop Dempsey Award; and the Black Catholic Deacons of Chicago. He received the Augustus Tolton Award from the Archdiocese of Chicago’s Office for Black Catholics.

He was the deacon who sang the prayers of the faithful at Pope St. John Paul II’s 1979 Mass in Grant Park, Richardson said. 

He served as president of the Providence-St. Mel school board, was a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society and was an honorary member of the Knights of St. Peter Claver.

He and his wife of 66 years, Mathilda, had 10 children: Anthony, Magdalena, Michael, John, Arnold, Ronald, Julie, Martin, Antoinette and Sophia. They had 24 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren.

Felician Sister Mary Sebastian (Helen) Dzwierzynski, 100, died Aug. 14 in Our Lady of the Angels Convent.

Sister Mary Sebastian was born in Chicago, where she attended St. John of God and Hamline elementary schools and Good Counsel High School. She entered the Felician Sisters’ postulancy in 1942 and professed her final vows in 1950. She ministered for almost 25 years as a teacher in elementary schools in Illinois and Wisconsin. Later, she cared for the aged in Illinois and Wisconsin. She also served as a housekeeper at the Cardinal’s Residence.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at Sts. Peter and Paul (1944-1946), Sacred Heart (1948-1959), St. Bruno (1959-1960), St. Bronislava (1964-1968), St. Andrew Home in Niles (1983-1986), and the Cardinal’s Residence (1986-1994).

Jesuit Father Earl A. Weis, 95, died Aug. 15 in Clarkston, Michigan. He had served as a professor of theology at Loyola University Chicago for almost 40 years.

\Father Weis, who was a Jesuit for nearly 77 years and a priest for 64 years, also served as chair of the theology department at Loyola University Chicago from 1971 to 1980.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, he entered the Society of Jesus in 1941. In addition to teaching, he was a staff editor of the New Catholic Encyclopedia (1963-1966) and editor of Corpus Instrumentorum (1966-1970).

Father Michael A. Olivero, 70, retired pastor of St. Cecilia Parish, Mount Prospect, died Aug. 4.

Born in Chicago, Father Olivero attended St. John Berchmans School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary North and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1974.

Father Olivero was associate pastor at Queen of the Rosary, Elk Grove Village; St. Cecilia, Mount Prospect; and St. Cyprian, River Grove. In 1993, he was appointed pastor of St. Stephen Protomartyr, Des Plaines, and served in that role until 2005, when he became pastor of St. Cecilia. He retired on June 30.

Msgr. John Pollard, retired pastor of Queen of All Saints Basilica, remembers his classmate as a good and faithful priest. “He spent all his years in the priesthood in parishes dedicating himself to the people of the archdiocese,” said Msgr. Pollard. “He was a very fine liturgist and preacher, always present to his people who were always and foremost in his mind.”

Father John J. Powers, 93, died Aug. 10. He was pastor emeritus of St. Jude the Apostle, South Holland.

Born in Chicago, Father Powers attended St. Robert Bellarmine School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1951.

Father Powers was assistant pastor at Ascension, Harvey; Ascension, Oak Park; St. Mary, Riverside; and Holy Ghost, South Holland. In 1978, he was appointed pastor of St. Jude the Apostle, where he served until retirement in 1995.

Father George J. Kane, pastor emeritus of Church of the Holy Spirit, Schaumburg, remembers his classmate as “kind, compassionate, joyous and absolutely dependable. All through these years this is how he lived his life as a priest.”

BVM Sister Mary Enid Lodding, 91, died July 27 in Dubuque, Iowa. 

Sister Mary Enid was born in Chicago and entered the BVM congregation in 1944 from St. Joseph Parish.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary Enid taught at St. Agatha and was a pastoral associate at Our Lady of the Wayside, Arlington Heights.

She also taught in Rock Island and East Moline, Illinois, and in Iowa, Tennessee, Washington and Oregon. She was a pastoral minister in Iowa and director of religious education in Addison, Illinois. 

Adrian Dominican Sister Jean Charles (Elizabeth Ann) Birney, 94, died Aug. 3 in Adrian, Michigan. Born in Michigan, she was in the 76th year of her religious life. 

She ministered in Michigan, Illinois and Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught St. Celestine, Elmwood Park (1942); St. Philip Neri (1948-1952); and St. Edmund, Oak Park (1957-1958).

Sister Jean Charles is survived by a half-brother, Charles Birney Jr., and two half-sisters, Charlene Sundquist and Patricia Lane.

Sister of St. Joseph-Third Order of St. Francis Mary Anthony Leno, 86, died Aug. 7.

Born in Chicago, she had been in religious life for 69 years.

She ministered in Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago, including more than 40 years teaching Spanish at Lourdes High School. After retirement, she composed prayers at Clare Oaks in Bartlett.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Kathleen (Marie Amy) Brady, 69, died Aug. 10 in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.

Born in Milwaukee, Sister Kathleen made her first religious profession in 1968 and her final profession in 1973. She was an educator, chaplain and family caregiver in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Washington, Montana and Colorado. 

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Kathleen taught at Epiphany (1974-1980) and Immaculate Conception (1980-1981) and was principal at St. Pius (1981-1983). 

Jesuit Father Thomas Widner, 76, died Aug. 13 in Indianapolis. He had been a priest for 49 years and a Jesuit for 33.

Born in Indiana, he did seminary studies at St. Mary’s College in Kentucky and Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis before being ordained in 1969 for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. 

He ministered as an archdiocesan priest in Indianapolis for 15 years, teaching high school English, serving as an associate pastor and co-pastor and working as editor-in-chief of the archdiocesan newspaper, the Criterion.

He entered the Jesuits in 1985 and served as an assistant editor and writer for America Magazine. He was the editor of the New World, as the Archdiocese of Chicago newspaper was known, from 1992 to 1995.

He later was a publications assistant at Company Magazine while serving as director of the Chicago Province communication office, worked in retreat ministry and as the Secretary for Communications at the USA Jesuit Conference.

Father Widner moved back to Indianapolis in 2004, where he served as vice president for mission and identity at Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School and rector of the Jesuit community (2004-2010). In 2010, he became the director of spiritual formation at Bishop Bruté Seminary, where he worked until his death.

Father John J. McDonnell, 71, died July 23. He had been the pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father McDonnell (also known as Father JJ), attended St. Cornelius School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary North, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1973. 

Fourteen years into his priesthood, Father McDonnell joined the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome to pursue his doctorate in sacred theology.
Father McDonnell was assistant pastor at St. Louise de Marillac, LaGrange Park, and associate pastor at Holy Name Cathedral Parish. 

He taught Christian anthropology and ecclesiology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary; was the administrative secretary for Cardinal Francis George from 1997 through 2003; and served as pastor of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish from 2003 until retirement in 2017.