Msgr. Robert F. Trisco, 93, died July 29. He was a professor emeritus of church history at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

Born in Chicago, Msgr. Trisco attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned a licentiate of sacred theology degree in 1955 and a doctoral degree in ecclesiastical history in 1962.

He was ordained a priest in Rome in 1954.

After ordination, Trisco began his service at the  Catholic University of America in 1959. He was a professor of church history and served as the Kelly-Quinn Distinguished Professor of Church History from 1999 until 2000, when he was granted emeritus status.

 In recognition of his many contributions to the church and in academia, Trisco was named an honorary prelate with the title of monsignor in 1992 and a protonotary apostolic supernumerary in 2005. He was named a decorated knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem in 1993 and promoted to the rank of knight commander in 1998. He was awarded an honorary doctor of humane letters degree from Belmont Abbey College in 1992 and was given the Centennial Award by the American Catholic Historical Association in 2019.

Deacon Gerald A. Fox, 94, of La Grange Park, died Aug. 1. Deacon Fox was ordained in 1993 and served at St. Barbara, Brookfield, and Divine Providence, Westchester.

Deacon Fox was general manager of a Buick dealership before being ordained a deacon.

He is survived by his wife, Mary; his children Patricia Fitch, Kathryn Fox and Fred Fox; and one granddaughter.

Deacon James Janicek, 79, died Aug. 9. He was ordained in 2005 and served at St. Michael Parish in Orland Park.

Deacon Janicek started his career repairing typewriters for IBM before moving into management, said St. Michael pastor Father Frank Kurucz. As a deacon, he enjoyed preaching and celebrating baptisms, and he was involved in parish life ministries, making all the pierogis and sauerkraut when the parish hosted a Polish night.

“He thought everyone was family,” Kurucz said.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sharon; his children, Jeffrey Janicek, Cheryl Doyle and Kimberly Janicek; and three grandchildren.

Adrian Dominican Sister Eileen (Margaret Aloysius) Meyers, 92, died June 1 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Michigan, she was in the 75th year of her religious life.

She ministered in education in Michigan, Illinois, Florida and Ohio, worked in the motherhouse offices and volunteered in New Orleans for six months following Hurricane Katrina.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught kindergarten at Queen of Angels (1948-1950) and elementary school at St. Kilian (1953-1960).

She is survived by her sisters Loretta Fraley and Dorothy Burgess.

Adrian Dominican Sister Catherine (Jane Patrice) Ahern, 93, died June 2 in La Grange.

Born in Chicago, Sister Catherine graduated from Mercy High School before entering the Adrian Dominican community. She was in her 71st year of religious life.

She ministered in education and as a counselor in Illinois, Michigan and California.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Joseph, Homewood (1955-19600, and Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette (1968-1973), and was a teacher and counselor at the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center (1974-2003).

She is survived by a brother, Eugene Ahern, and a sister, Jane Cantieri.

Adrian Dominican Sister Marie Geraldine (Barbara Jane) Brownell, 93, died June 25 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Detroit, she was in the 74th year of her religious life.

Sister Marie Geraldine ministered in education in Michigan, Florida and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Kilian (1950-1960).

She is survived by a brother, Phillip Brownell.

Adrian Dominican Sister Janet (Mary Paulette) Persyk, 93, died July 20 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Detroit, she was in the 75th year of her religious profession.

Sister Janet ministered in education and as a hospital chaplain in Michigan, Florida; and Illinois

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was a chaplain at Resurrection Medica Center (1988-1992) and St. Elizabeth Hospital (1992-1997) and offered pastoral care to the elderly at Marillac House Social Center (1998-2000).

Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Jeanne Marie (Jeanne Patricia) Suerth, 89, died July 24.

Born in Chicago, she entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in Cincinnati in 1953. She taught in elementary schools and programs for adults in Ohio and Illinois, and she oversaw the maintenance services for some of her community´s largest institutions, including the Province Center and Infirmary in Reading, Ohio. 

In 1988, Jeanne Marie started a new ministry: “Jeanne on the Scene,” a home maintenance service for seniors that provided a variety of services.

Father William J. Finnegan, 92, died July 13. He was the former pastor of Our Lady of the Woods Parish, Orland Park.

Born in Chicago, Father Finnegan attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1957.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Joachim, St. Margaret of Scotland and Sacred Heart Parish in Palos Hills. He was a Knights of Columbus chaplain.

Adrian Dominican Sister Barbara J. (James Denise) Carroll, 91, died April 7 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Detroit, she was in the 74th year of her religious profession.

Sister Barbara ministered in education, as a religious education director and as a pastoral minister in Indiana, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Kilian (1951-1959) and Santa Maria del Popolo, Mundelein (1965-1967).

She is survived by a brother, John Carroll.

Providence Sister Margaret (Margaret Bernard) Heese, 91, died July 21 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born in Texas, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1947 and professed final vows in 1955.

In her 76 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered in teaching and parish work in Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas and California. In 2001 she returned to the motherhouse and served her sisters with her expertise as a seamstress. 

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Sylvester (1950-1954) and St. Andrew (1955-1958).

Sister Margaret is survived by two sisters, Mary Rose Skrobarczyk and Carolyn Heman, and a brother, James Heese.

Salesian Father Thomas M. Provenzano, 56, died unexpectedly on July 21 in Port Chester, New York.

Father Provenzano had served twice for a total of 11 years at St. John Bosco Parish. Born in Bronxville, New York, he had been a Salesian for 29 years and a priest for 21 years.

He ministered as a priest in New Jersey before coming to St. John Bosco in Chicago as parochial vicar. In 2007, he returned to New York and served there and in New Jersey until 2013, when he returned to St. John Bosco as pastor, a post he held until 2019.

Father Provenzano is survived by his brothers Joseph, Anthony and Salvatore.

Divine Word Brother Lawrence (Aaron) Camilleri, 83, a skilled aviator and missionary in Papua New Guinea, died July 22 in Techny.

Born in Michigan, Brother Larry entered the Society of the Divine Word at the age of 14 in 1954. He professed vows in 1961.

He completed mechanical aviation training in Cahokia, Illinois, as well as aircraft mechanic and private and commercial pilot licenses. He served as a pilot and aircraft mechanic for the Society of the Divine Word-owned and operated Divine Word Airways (DWA) in Madang, Papua New Guinea.

Being able to maintain a plane was a matter of survival for bush pilots who often traveled to remote territories inaccessible by roads.

While in Papua New Guinea, he flew single-engine planes, twin-engine planes and helicopters to deliver critically ill patients to hospitals, missionaries to their destinations and goods to the missions. An instrument-rated commercial pilot, Brother Larry eventually became DWA’s managing director and chief pilot.

According to the late Divine Word Father Patrick Fincutter, a fellow pilot in Papua New Guinea, by the time Brother Larry left Papua New Guinea in 1990, he had registered 14,000 flight hours, the third highest ranking among SVD pilots worldwide.

When Divine Word Airways closed, Brother Larry returned to the United States and used his skills for the Missouri-based Wings of Hope, a charitable organization that provided aircraft and pilots to assist medical, humanitarian and missionary programs in isolated parts of the world. His travels took him to the Galapagos Islands, Guatemala, Honduras, Liberia, Monrovia and Tanzania and for a time, he served as Wings of Hope field director in Belize.

He also volunteered for Earth Angel Aviators, another Missouri-based non-profit organization, transporting medical patients throughout the Midwestern United States.

Father Michael S. Michelini, 78, died July 5. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and former pastor of St. Adalbert Parish.

Father Michelini was born in Chicago and attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1971.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Aloysius and St. Agnes of Bohemia parishes. From 1981 to 2012, he served as pastor of St. Aloysius, St. Fidelis and then St. Adalbert. He retired in 2015.

Father Michael Furlan, a good friend of Father Michelini, said Father Michelini was a very charismatic and special person. Furlan recalled his charming presence and how “he really lived life and he would walk into a room and the place would just light up.”

“He was willing to go just about any place to help people, or minister to people,” said Father Mark Canavan, one of Father Michelini’s classmates.

Adrian Dominican Sister Jeanette (Anesa Mari) Jabour, 91, died May 24 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Detroit, she was in her 73rd year of religious life.

Sister Jeanette ministered in education and as an administrator of a home for the elderly, social worker and director of community relations in Illinois, Arizona, Ohio and Michigan.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Rita School (1951-1955).

Felician Sister Mary Kathleen (Claudette) La Plume, 84, died June 12 in Mother of Good Counsel Convent.

Born in Chicago, she attended St. Margaret Mary School and Mother of Good Counsel High School. She entered the Felician Sisters in 1956 and professed her final vows in 1964. She ministered in elementary schools as a teacher and librarian in Illinois. She also served as a pastoral minister and liturgist at St. John the Evangelist Parish, Streamwood, and in parishes in the Diocese of Joliet.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at St. Turibius (1959-1960); Our Lady of Ransom, Niles (1964-1968); St. Stanislaus, Posen (1968-1973); St. Linus, Oak Lawn (1974-1976); and St. Hubert, Hoffman Estates (1976-1985).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary (Mary Ania) Schlehuber, 95, died June 22 in Footville, Wisconsin.

Born in Peoria, Sister Mary made her first religious profession in 1948 and her perpetual profession in 1951. She was a teacher and chaplain who served in Illinois, Wisconsin and California.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary taught at St. Jarlath (1952-1953); St. Vincent Ferrer, River Forest (1953-1957); St. Sabina, Chicago (1960-1967); and St. Louis de Montfort, Oak Lawn (1969-1973).

She is survived by a sister, Claire Reilly.

Conventual Franciscan Father Joseph William Bayne, Jr., 66, died June 23 in Chicago.

Father Joe, as he was known, was born in Baltimore and attended Archbishop Curley High School there before joining the Franciscan community in 1975. He professed simple vows in 1976 and solemn vows in 1981 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1985.

He served in parishes in Pennsylvania before beginning a 29-year ministry in Buffalo, New York, at the Franciscan Center, a transitional housing program for runaway and homeless young men from western New York. While there, he served for 13 years as Chaplain of Erie County Emergency Services and the Buffalo Fire Department.

In 2018, Father Joseph was assigned briefly to a parish in Massachusetts before becoming the associate director of formation at the Conventual Franciscans’ postulancy house in Chicago.

He is survived by his mother, Jean Bayne, and his brother, George Bayne.

Providence Sister Mary Roger (Mary Francis) Madden, 102, died June 24 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born in Decatur, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1940 and professed final vows in 1949. In her 83 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered as a teacher for 40 years in schools in Indiana, Illinois, California and Washington, D.C. Beginning in 1986, she served as congregation historian, and then as pilgrimage coordinator at Providence Center and coordinator of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. Beginning in 2017, she committed herself totally to the ministry of prayer.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Our Lady of Mercy (1943-1945); St. Agnes (1950-1952); St. Leo (1958-1961); and Marywood, Evanston (1965-1968).

Divine Word Father William (Gordian) Halvey, 95, died July 4 in Techny. He had served in Papua New Guinea as a brother and as a priest, and took on duties there and in the United States from being a postmaster and office worker to teacher, pastor and retreat center director.

Born in Chicago, he attended St. Mel High School before entering the U.S. Army, serving for a year in Japan with U.S. occupation troops. He then attended Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, for two years begore entering the Divine Word Brothers Candidate School. He professed first vows in 1954 and perpetual vows in 1960.

After an assignment as postmaster in Techny, he was sent to Papua New Guinea. He went to seminary in Australia and was ordained to the priesthood in Techny in 1976, before returning to Papua New Guinea.

In 1985, he returned to the United States and taught high school in Spokane, Washington, before serving as director of the St. Augustine Retreat Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, for 11 years. In 2003, he became chaplain to the cloistered Benedictine Sisters at San Beneto Monastery in Dayton, Wyoming, assisting at the local parish on weekends, before moving to the Divine Word community in Bordentown, N.J., In 2007, he moved to Techny to retire full time.