Benedictine Sister Mary (Mary Dennis) Collins, 88, died May 2 at Mount St. Scholastica Monastery in Atchison, Kansas.

Born in Chicago, Sister Mary entered the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, Kansas, in 1957 after graduating from Mount St. Scholastica College. She taught high school for several years before beginning her doctoral studies at the Catholic University of America. After earning a doctorate in liturgical theology, she taught religious studies at Benedictine College and the University of Kansas.

In 1967, she became associate professor of religious studies at the Catholic University of America and in 1983 became chair of the religion department. After a short period in North Carolina, she returned in 1987 to the Catholic University of America, where she taught until she was elected prioress of Mount St. Scholastica Monastery in 1999. A significant figure in the broader world of Benedictine women, she was first councilor for the Federation of St. Scholastica for twelve years and a consultant or author for many of their documents.

Sister Mary was a member of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy and belonged to several professional theological organizations. She wrote, collaborated on, or edited a large number of articles and books on religion and liturgy for which she was widely known.

She is survived by her brother, John Collins.

Redemptorist Father Gan Minh Nguyen, 59, died April 14 at the rectory of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Redemptorist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.

Father Gan was born in Vietnam, one of 14 children. He was 11 years old when his family fled Vietnam and immigrated to the United States. They settled in Biloxi, Mississippi, where Father Gan became involved in the Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement in grade school.

He completed high school and earned a degree in electronic engineering technology, but decided to pursue his call to priesthood.

He professed first his vows as a Redemptorist in 1993 and perpetual vows in 1997. During his years in formation, he served in parish and youth ministry at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Chicago, and in Baton Rouge.

He was ordained a priest in 1998 in Baton Rouge, served there, and later served at a parish in Houston.

Father Gan joined the Redemptorist Mission Team at Old St. Michael’s in 2008. He enjoyed traveling across the country to preach parish missions, always allowing time to visit family members and friends living throughout the United States. Two years later, he moved to the Liguori Mission House in Missouri. Although he remained attached to the community, he served five of the next six years as a military chaplain at White Sands Missile Range in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Father Gan then served again in Houston and in Liguori, moving to Kansas City last year.

Sister of the Living Word Vianney Moore, 89, died April 22 in Chicago.

Born in California, she moved to Chicago with her family when she was 14 years old and she attended St. Gregory High School before joining the Sisters of Christian Charity.

She taught elementary school in Illinois, Minnesota, Louisiana, and Arkansas. She later joined the Sisters of the Living Word, and ministered as a director of religious education in Louisiana and Mississippi.

She spent her last years living at the Resurrection Life Center.

Deacon Joseph Tony “Butch” Valdez, 68, died April 7. He was ordained in 2014 and served at St. Martha Parish, Morton Grove.

Deacon Valdez was an accountant.

He is survived by his siblings: Father Mario, a priest; Reuben; Daphne; and Grant.

Providence Sister Rosemary (Mary Luke) Eyler, 93, died March 30 at Providence Health Care in Indiana.

Born in Indiana, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1949 and professed final vows in 1956. She earned a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College and two master’s degrees from Indiana State University in education and administration.

She ministered in education for 57 years in Indiana, Illinois, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, before retiring in 2008.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Angela (1951-1956).

Sister Rosemary is survived by a brother, Thomas Eyler, and a sister, Margaret McCafferty.

Sister of Sts. Cyril and Methodius M. Jacqueline Ziobro, 93, died in Danville, Pennsylvania, on March 30.

She entered the Sisters of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in 1948 and professed vows in 1951.

Sister Jacqueline earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She taught kindergarten through eighth grade, was a math and reading tutor and was a librarian. Her ministry teaching took her to Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Indiana, Pennsylvania and South Carolina.

After she retired, Sister Jacqueline loved to tell stories of years in ministry, especially about serving in Chicago and South Carolina.

Sister Jacqueline is survived by her sister, Gloria.

Sister of St. Joseph-Third Order of St. Francis Cecilia Zielen, 91, of Bartlett, died April 3.

From St. Fidelis Parish in Chicago, she was a member of the congregation for 73 years.

She taught biology, earth science and religious education in elementary and high schools in Illinois, helping her students participate in statewide science fairs before retiring to Clare Oaks, Bartlett.

School Sister of Notre Dame Claire Marie (Barbara Mary) Czerwiec, 85, died Dec. 23, 2023, at Christ Hospital, Oak Lawn.

Born in Chicago, she was a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame for 65 years.

She served in Wisconsin and Illinois as an elementary school teacher, formation directress, pastoral associate, pastoral minister and counselor, in provincial leadership, and as a psychotherapist and spiritual director for more than 65 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Margaret of Scotland School, was a pastoral psychotherapist at the Institute for Living in Winnetka and was a pastoral counselor and spiritual director at St. Alexander Parish, Palos Heights

She is survived by her sisters Nancy Czerwiec and Carole Kuberski.

Little Sister of the Poor Clotilde de la Passion (Irene Mary Jardim), 83, died March 8 at St. Joseph’s Home for the Elderly in Palatine.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, she moved to Oakland, California, with her family. She became familiar with the Little Sisters of the Poor during her high school years by volunteering in their Marian Aides program.

She entered the Little Sisters of the Poor as a postulant shortly after graduating from high school, and made her first profession of vows in 1961. She made her final profession in 1965.

During her life as a Little Sister of the Poor, she completed studies in nursing and served as a nurse in several of their homes for the elderly, often as the director of nursing.

Sr. Clotilde is survived by her brother, George Jardim, and her sister, Judy Jardim.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary Ellen (Marie Alphonse) Gevelinger, 80, died March 13 at her home in Madison, Wisconsin.

Born in Wisconsin, she made her first religious profession in 1963 and her perpetual profession in 1968. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin from Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest; a master’s degree in religious studies from Mundelein College; a master’s degree in educational administration from St. Xavier College (now Saint Xavier University); and a doctorate in education leadership from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Sister Mary Ellen taught at Queen of Peace High School, Burbank; and Trinity High School, River Forest; was dean of students at St. Thomas the Apostle High School and Unity Catholic High School; and was executive assistant to the president at Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest. She also ministered in Minnesota and Wisconsin, and was vicaress (2000-2006) and then prioress (2011-2016) of the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary Lois (Thomaselle) Carey, 93, died March 19 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Wisconsin, Sister Mary Lois made her first religious profession in 1951 and her perpetual profession of vows in 1954. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest; a master’s degree in education and elementary administration from Loras College, Dubuque, Iowa; and a master’s degree in applied theology from the School of Applied Theology, Berkley, California.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Thomas the Apostle and St. Sabina. She taught and was a principal at other schools in Illinois and in New York, Iowa and California.

She also ministered in Michigan and Washington.

She is survived by a brother, Mark Carey.

Father Terrence A. McCarthy, 85, died Feb. 24. He was pastor emeritus of Immaculate Conception Parish in Highland Park, now Christ Our Hope Parish.

Born in Calumet City, Father McCarthy attended Mendel Catholic High School and Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He enlisted in the U.S. Army and served in the army’s security agency from 1965 to 1967, before entering the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

He was ordained in 1974.

Father McCarthy served as associate pastor of St. James, Highwood; and St. Marcelline, Schaumburg. He served as pastor of St. Anastasia Parish, Waukegan; and Immaculate Conception before being named pastor emeritus in 2008.

Father John Hurley, a classmate, said Father McCarthy was the oldest of his class. “He was well loved in all the parishes he served and was respected by all priests,” Hurley said. “He was known as a man of prayer and a powerful example, a man of inspiration.”

Father. Daniel R. Fallon, 74, died March 9. He was the former pastor of St. Cornelius Parish, now St. Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish.

Born in Chicago, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1976. He also earned a master of divinity degree at DePaul University.

Father Fallon was assistant pastor of St. Isaac Jogues, Niles, and associate pastor of St. Pascal, St. William and Our Lady, Mother of the Church, where he also served as pastor from 1996 to 2008. He was then pastor of St. Cornelius, where he served until his retirement in 2020.

Father Kenneth Fleck, former pastor of St. George, Tinley Park, remembered his classmate as a beacon of devotion to his parishioners. “With a quiet but serious demeanor, he served those entrusted to his care,” Fleck said. “His sermons were heartfelt reflections on our faith and their relevance to everyday life. He saw his priesthood as a vocation, not a job. In so doing, he touched countless lives leaving behind a legacy of compassion, kindness and faith.”

Deacon Patrick Pierce Sheehan, 82, died Feb. 26. He was ordained in 2000 and ministered at St. James Parish, Arlington Heights, where he was an active member for more than 50 years.

Deacon Sheehan was born in Chicago and was a Chicago Public School teacher for more than 20 years, and he also worked for the Mount Prospect Park District for more than 25 years.

He enjoyed golf and was a member of the St. James Men’s Twilight League, as well as being a member of the Knights of Columbus Holy Rosary Council.

Deacon Sheehan is survived by his wife Margaret Sheehan; his daughters Rose Ann, Nancy and Margi Sheehan; and his grandchildren.

Divine Word Father Dennis Flynn, 90, died Feb. 25 in Techny. He was a missionary to the Philippines, where he was born, for 40 years.

His father died during the 1942 Bataan Death March, in which Japanese soldiers forced Filipino and American prisoners to walk 65 miles in torturous conditions. Before his death, his American father wrote to his Filipino mother, telling her that if something happened to him that he wanted their four children to be raised in the United States.

His mother was able to move the family to Portland, Oregon, in 1948, and then to New Jersey to be closer to their father’s family.

Father Flynn professed vows in 1954 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1961.

Tagalog was his first language, so his assignment to the Philippines was a natural choice. For the first 20 years of his priesthood, Father Flynn provided pastoral care for the indigenous Mangyan people in Mindoro in the Central Philippines.

In the early 1980s, Father Flynn worked with the indigenous population of Australia before being transferred back to the United States. He returned to the Philippines for the last 20 years of his missionary ministry before retiring to Techny in 2020.

Providence Sister Grace Marie Meehan, 93, died March 2 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born in Chicago, she attended St. Andrew and St. Sebastian schools. She entered the Sisters of Providence in 1948 and professed final vows in 1955. 

She ministered for 22 years in schools in Indiana, Illinois, Oklahoma and California. In 1972, she became a member of the Congregation Renewal Team, and in 1976, she was appointed the administrator of the congregation infirmary.

After five years, she studied to become a registered nurse and then served in health care positions. After retiring in 2016, she served as a volunteer service in the Chicago area and in New Mexico.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was a nurse (1986-2005) and coordinator of volunteers (2005-2016) at St. Francis Hospital, Evanston, and a volunteer at Alexian Brothers Hospital, Elk Grove Village (2017-2019).

Father Daniel A. Smilanic, 76, died Feb. 20. He was former judicial vicar and vicar for Canonical Services for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Born in Chicago, Father Smilanic attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, Xavier University in Cincinnati, Loyola University Chicago and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein before being ordained in 1973.

In addition to his master’s degree in divinity, Smilanic had a licentiate and a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Gall Parish and associate pastor of Mary, Seat of Wisdom Parish, Park Ridge, and St. Wenceslaus Parish. He had served in the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Chicago since 1984, first as a judge and later as vicar. Father Smilanic also served as the president of the Canon Law Society of America.

Auxiliary Bishop Jeffrey Grob, a former colleague, described Father Smilanic as a thoughtful canonist.

“He had a deep respect for canon law, especially when it came to the rights of individuals,” Bishop Grob said. “He was very respected throughout the United States.”

He added that Father Smilanic worked as an advocate for priests as a canonical advisor, and was very active in church leadership.

“He had a great laugh and a wonderful sense of humor. A good man,” Bishop Grob said.

Passionist Father Kenneth O’Malley, 87, died Jan. 23 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Father Kenneth entered the Passionist seminary after high school and was ordained in Louisville in 1964.

He taught and was librarian at the Passionist Preparatory Seminary in Warrenton, Missouri, before joining the library staff at Catholic Theological Union in 1969. He soon became head librarian, a post he held until 1999. During those years, he frequently assisted in nearby parishes on weekends, preached retreats as time permitted and served for 12 years as superior of the local Passionist community.

Father Kenneth then served as local superior of the Passionist community in Houston. In 2011, he moved to Louisville to join the senior members of his community.

Father Kenneth is survived by a brother, Dennis Anthony.

Sister of St. Joseph Michele (Marguerite) Elfering, 95, died at Ascension Living Resurrection Village Chicago on Feb. 9.

Born in Wisconsin, Sister Michele attended Barat College in Lake Forest for one year before entering the Sisters of St. Joseph. She continued her studies at Loyola University Chicago and Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee,

Sister Michele taught at Divine Infant, Westchester; St. Francis Xavier and St. Joseph Military Academy, La Grange; and St. Anthony. She was principal of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Melrose Park; St. Hugh, Lyons; and St. John Fisher. She received a Distinguished Teacher Award from the National Catholic Education Association in 1999.

After retiring from teaching, Sister Michele served as a grade-level coordinator and moderated the Rainbows program and student liturgy teams.  She belonged to the Sisters of St. Joseph Peace and Justice Commission, Network and Eighth Day Center for Justice.

From 1988 to 1992, Sister Michele served her congregation as vice president. Sister Michele also found time to teach religious education classes, form “Community with Seniors” at St. Mary’s Parish, Riverside; teach English as a Second Language, deliver food to the poor and volunteer one night a month at a homeless shelter.

Divine Word Father Robert Fisher, 87, one of the first Divine Word missionaries to work in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana, died Feb. 9 in Techny.

Born in Arkansas, he entered Divine Word Seminary in 1951, professed vows in 1957 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1965.

He earned a licentiate in sacred theology from Gregorian University in Rome and a doctorate in liturgy from the Pontifical Anteneo of Saint Anselmo.

He taught at St. Augustine Seminary in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, before being sent to the Philippines, where he also was seminary teacher. After three years there, he went to the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana, where he and three other missionaries attended to the pastoral and administrative needs of 20 mission outstations and several schools.

He also taught at St. Peter’s Seminary in Cape Coast, Ghana, and fulfilled pastoral roles at several parishes. He also served as a dean and attaché at the nunciature.

In 1984, Father Fisher returned to the United States, teaching at Xavier University in New Orleans and teaching and serving as Catholic chaplain at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas, while serving as a pastor.

In 2005, he became director of St. Augustine’s Retreat Center in Bay St. Louis. When Hurricane Katrina flooded the property, Father Fisher was forced to swim for his life. While the building there was being restored, Father Fisher once again ministered in Texas.

He retired to Techny in retirement in 2017.

He is survived his siblings James L. Fisher, John Fisher, Kay King, JoAnn VanPelt and Frank Kasper.

Sister of the Living Word Joanne Fedewa, 93, died Feb. 13.

Originally from Michigan, Sister Joanne taught in Catholic schools in Minnesota, Chicago, Louisiana, Michigan and Arkansas. She also served as a novice directress at parishes in New Jersey, Illinois and Michigan, and was a was pastoral coordinator at Christ the King Parish in Flint, Michigan. She was a coordinator of spiritual life at the St. Juliana Center and volunteered at St. Joseph Home for the Elderly in Palatine.

She is survived by her brother, Father Matt Fedewa.

Missionaries of Africa Father William Francis Moroney, born in 1935, died Feb. 17 in Nairobi, Kenya.

A Chicago native, Father Moroney attended Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary before entering the Society of Missionaries of Africa in 1958. His priestly formation then took him to New York and Carthage, Tunisia, before he was ordained in 1961.

Post-ordination, he pursued further studies in sociology at Loyola University Chicago before serving as a teacher and pastor in Tanzania. He returned to Chicago to serve as the community superior of the Missionaries of Africa in Chicago from 1972 to 1976 before returning to Tanzania for another 17 years.

In 1994, he was elected superior of the Missionaries of Africa in the USA and played a crucial role in the merging of the USA and Canadian provinces into the North American Province. Following service in France from 2000 to 2006, he returned to East Africa. Upon retirement in 2023, he chose to spend his remaining years in East Africa.

He is survived by his sister, Marilyn Ginnane.

Sinsinawa Domincan Sister Mary Kent Pearson, 89, died Feb. 19 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Pontiac, Illinois, Sister Mary Kent made her first profession in 1954, and her perpetual profession in 1957.

She was a teacher, administrator, religious educator and pastoral minister in Wisconsin, Illinois, Colorado, Minnesota and Iowa. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Philip the Apostle, Northfield; St. Thomas the Apostle;  and St. Sabina.

She is survived by a brother, Duane Pearson.

Father John J. Doyle, 79, died Feb. 6. He was the former associate pastor of Infant Jesus of Prague Parish in Flossmoor.

Born in Evergreen Park, Father Doyle attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1970.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Margaret Mary Parish and as associate pastor of Queen of Martyrs, Evergreen Park; St. Albert the Great, Burbank; St. George, Tinley Park; St. Alphonsus, Lemont and Infant Jesus of Prague Parish in Flossmoor. He retired in 2014.

Father James Kehoe, pastor emeritus at St. Joan of Arc in Skokie and a classmate of Father Doyle, had been friends with Father Doyle for more than 60 years.

“He was a wonderful priest, always caring and concerned about other people even when he had health issues,” Kehoe said.

Jesuit Father George Lane, 89, died Nov. 12, 2023, in Clarkston, Michigan.

Born in Evanston, he graduated from Loyola Academy and attended Loyola University Chicago for two years before entering the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus in 1954. He was ordained a priest in 1967 and professed final vows in 1974.

Father Lane taught English at St. Ignatius College Prep (1961-1964). After ordination, he ministered at Loyola Press for almost 50 years. He held many positions, including: editorial director and associate director of the press (1969-1989); director, president and publisher (1989-2014).

He was also the superior of the Woodlawn Jesuit Community from 2003 to 2012.

In 2015, Father Lane moved to the Colombiere Center in Michigan.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Father Lane coordinated the efforts that saved and helped renovate Holy Family Church, one of the few buildings that survived the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Father Lane is survived by his brothers Michael, Joseph, Martin and Gregory, and his sister, Laura O’Brien.

Felician Sister Mary Cecilia (Alice) Maczko, 93, died Jan. 19 in Swedish/North Shore Hospital.

Born in Chicago, she attended St. James School and Good Counsel High School. She entered the Felician Sisters Postulancy in 1948 and professed her final vows in 1956. She ministered for over 50 years as a principal and teacher in elementary schools in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. She also was a music teacher at various schools and an organist at different parishes.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at Sts. Peter and Paul (1948-1951); Holy Rosary, North Chicago (1951-1953); St. Bronislava (1953-1956); St. Helen (1956-1958, 1968-1969); and Sacred Heart (1967-1968).

Redemptorist Father Richard Boever, 76, died Jan. 28 in Arizona after a struggle with cancer.

He may be best remembered for promoting devotion to and authoring books about two renowned Redemptorists who ministered in the United States, St. John Neumann and Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos.

Born in St. Louis, he recognized his vocation to the priesthood in elementary school. He was accepted into the Redemptorist novitiate in 1967 and professed temporary vows the following year. He professed perpetual vows in 1971 and was ordained a priest in 1973.

He ministered briefly at St. Michael Parish before being assigned to a parish in Missouri and then working as an editor at Liguori Publications.

He served in Missouri until 1992, when he became pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish, a post he kept until 1996.

He then did retreat and mission ministry, chaplaincy, college teaching, pottery and weaving, and writing in Kansas, Wisconsin, Missouri and Louisiana, before retiring to a Redemptorist community in Arizona.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Ann (Caitlin) Willits, 89, died Jan. 26 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Iowa, Sister Ann made her first religious profession in 1958 and her perpetual profession in 1961.

She taught in Minnesota and South Dakota, and served on the Leadership Council of the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation from 1973 to 1982. Sister Ann led retreats and parish missions all over the United States and abroad.

She was codirector of the Parable Conference for Dominican Life and Mission for 21 years and an itinerant preacher for 20 years while she developed programs, retreats and parish missions to address the needs of the contemporary church and world.

Resurrection Sister Marilyn (Agatha) Grabar-czyk, 84, died Jan. 16 at Ascension Resurrection Life Center.

Born in Chicago, she was baptized at St. Casimir Parish, where she also attended grade school and high school.

She entered the Sisters of the Resurrection in 1958.

Sister Marilyn taught grades four through eight at St. Thecla, St. Mary of the Angels and St. Casimir schools, and was principal of St. Mary of the Angels. She taught preschool at Resurrection Day Care and high school at Resurrection High School. She also taught in Nebraska and Indiana.

After taking part in a clinical chaplain training program and completing a residency, she served as a chaplain at Resurrection Medical Center. 

She is survived by her sisters Teresa, Bonita and Joanne.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mark O’Loughlin, 96, died Feb. 4.

Born in Kankakee, Sister Mark made her first religious profession in 1954 and her perpetual profession in 1957. Her ministry has been dedicated to teaching, counseling and social work. In Illinois, Sister Mark taught at Trinity High School, River Forest; and Visitation High School, where she also served as counselor. She also served as counselor at Visitation Grade School; Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity, Winnetka; St. Viator, Arlington Heights; and Weber High School.

She also ministered in Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.

Deacon John Navolio, 81, died Dec. 30. He was ordained in 1998 and served at St. Mary of the Lake Parish.

He served in the U.S. Army, graduated from Harrington College of Design and worked for the City of Chicago.

While at St. Mary of the Lake, he visited the sick at the hospital and nursing homes and led Bible study at the parish. Deacon Navolio suffered ill health and retired from ministry in 2005.

He is survived by his brother, Stephen Navolio, and sister, Mary Podmokly.

School Sister of Notre Dame Magdalen Marie Buehler, 78, died Dec. 16 at Resurrection Medical Center.

Born in Chicago, she was a member of the School Sisters of Notre Dame for 58 years.

She served in Illinois and Rome as an elementary school teacher, program director, special education resource person, tutor, volunteer and staff member in the SSND Generalate in Rome. She offered prayer and presence at Marian Village in Homer Glen and at Resurrection Life Center.

She is survived by her brothers Bill Buehler, Martin Buehler and Thomas Buehler.

Viatorian Father Alan Syslo, 84, died Jan. 7 at Addolorato Villa in Wheeling.

Born in Chicago, Father Syslo graduated from St. Philip High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Loyola University Chicago, a bachelor’s degree in sacred theology from the  Catholic University of America, a master of management from Illinois State University and a master of social work from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

He made his first vows in 1958 and was ordained a priest in 1966.

Father Syslo taught at St. Viator High School, Arlington Heights, and at Spalding Institute in Peoria, before serving as a parish priest, campus minister, chaplain and social worker in Louisiana, Nevada and California. He retired to the Viatorians Province Center in Arlington Heights in 2019.

Divine Word Father Thomas Griffith, 80, a champion of Worldwide Marriage Encounter for three decades, died Jan. 10 in Techny.

Born in Chicago, he attended St. Rita of Cascia School and entered high school at Divine Word Seminary in East Troy, Wisconsin, in 1957. He professed his first vows in 1965 and was ordained to the priesthood at Techny in 1969.

He studied business as an undergraduate at DePaul University and earned an MBA from George Washington University in 1974.

He served in the leadership of the Society of the Divine Word’s Eastern Province and taught at the Divine Word Seminary in New Jersey before serving as business manager for Divine Word International at Techny from 1983 to 1993. He also served as provincial treasurer for the Chicago Province and the rector of the Divine Word community at Techny.

During his career in administration, he remained active in pastoral care and assisted at St. Norbert, Northbrook.

He became active in Worldwide Marriage Encounter while on the staff of Miramar Retreat Center in Duxbury, Massachusetts, which he joined in 2002.

Due to health reasons, Father Griffith moved back to Techny in 2019.

Daughter of Charity Theresa (Theresa Marian) Peck, 89, died Jan. 12 in Evansville, Indiana.

Born in Milwaukee, she entered the Daughters of Charity in St. Louis in 1956.

After initial formation and earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Marillac College, Sister Theresa served at hospitals in California and Texas. She then earned an MBA from George Washington University in Washington, D. C., before serving as assistant administrator at St. Joseph Health Center and Hospital in Chicago. She then was administrator of hospitals and health care agencies in Kentucky, Illinois and Indiana, before serving as president and vice president of Daughters of Charity National Health System in St. Louis, and then president and CEO of St. Joseph Health Centers and Hospital and Catholic Health Partners in Chicago.

Sister Theresa then served as a provincial councilor, provincial assistant and provincial treasurer and as administrator of the Mater Dei Campus in Evansville.

She is survived by her sister, Virginia Adamski.

Adrian Dominican Sister Frances Mary (John Denise) Fitzpatrick, 88, died Jan. 16 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Chicago, she was in the 68th year of her religious life.

Sister Frances Mary ministered in education in Michigan, Florida and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was a school consultant (1988-2002), assistant superintendent (2002-2009) and resource consultant (2009-2012).

She retired to the Dominican Life Center in Adrian in 2021.

Sister Frances Mary is survived by her brothers, John Fitzpatrick and Thomas Fitzpatrick Jr.

Sinsinawa  Dominican Sister Martha Mary (Alfonsa) Rohde, 77, died Jan. 23 in Stuart, Florida.

Born in Chicago, Sister Martha Mary professed first vows in 1966.

She taught and was a principal in Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida. She also served as prioress of the motherhouse and assisted living prioress at the Sinsinawa Mound in Wisconsin.

In Chicago, she taught at St. Thomas More and Immaculate Conception.

She was principal of Hope Rural School, Indiantown, Florida, when she died.

She is survived by a brother, Edward Davis.

Father William J. Flaherty, 97, died Jan. 4. He was pastor emeritus of Infant Jesus of Prague Parish in Flossmoor, now St. Veronica Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father Flaherty attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. He also studied Shakespeare in England.

He was ordained in 1952 and served as assistant pastor at St. Lawrence O’Toole, Matteson. He was on the faculty at Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, and served as associate pastor at St. Basil, Sacred Heart (May Street) and St. Nicholas, Evanston. He was pastor of St. Nicholas for 12 years, and then was appointed pastor of former Infant Jesus of Prague. He retired in 1996, and resided for 20 years at Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity Parish in Winnetka.

Father Martin O’Donovan, pastor of Saints Faith, Hope and Charity, remembered Father Flaherty as a great man of faith.

“He continued to read well into his 90s and was very curious about life,” O’Donovan said, noting that Flaherty was committed to social justice. “While he was a professor at Niles College, he was noted for saying ‘walk the talk’ very often.”

Deacon Jesus Zeferino Ochoa died Jan. 1, his 88th birthday. He was ordained in 1972 and ministered at St. Francis of Assisi Parish (Roosevelt Road).

Born in Ocotlán, Jalisco, Mexico, he established a career in radio broadcasting before coming to Chicago in the late 1950s.

He worked in several jobs in the in the 1960s and became involved at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, where he met his wife of 56 years, Georgina Alvarez.

In the 1970s, he began working with the Archdiocese of Chicago and Catholic Charities, serving immigrants, refugees and the Hispanic community, and hosting the radio program “Pueblo En Marcha” for 30 years. He was one of the first permanent deacons in the Archdiocese of Chicago, and he participated in Pope John Paul II’s Mass in Grant Park on Oct. 5, 1979. He also served as an elected member of the Archdiocese’s Presbyteral Senate representing the Hispanic deacons.

He retired from ministry in 2017.

As a civil rights activist, he facilitated meetings for Cesar Chavez in Chicago and advocated for the Latino community.

He is survived by his wife; his children Cesar, Marisa, Jessica and Evangelina; and four grandchildren.

Deacon Francis Gildea, 92, died Jan. 2. He was ordained in 1993 and served at St. Theresa, Palatine (1993-1997), and St. Elizabeth Seton, Orland Hills (1998-2019).

Deacon Gildea served as a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War and received a Purple Heart.

He was predeceased by his wives Sally Gildea and Betty June Howland-Gildea. He is survived by his children: Frank Gildea, Kathy Gascho, Jenny Hinrichs, Joe Gildea and Greg Gildea; stepchildren Edward Howland, June Gradman, Marianne McGlennon, Eileen Hurley, Michael Howland and Thomas Howland; 28 grandchildren; 20 great-grandchildren; and his sister, Peggy Gildea.

Providence Sister Lucille Nolan, 94, died Dec. 25, 2023, in Terre Haute Indiana.

She taught music for 33 years in schools in Illinois, Indiana, Texas, Oklahoma and North Carolina. In 1983, she moved from school music to church music, serving as director of music and liturgy at two parishes in the Chicago area for the next 23 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered in church and school music at St. Isaac Jogues, Niles (1983-1985); as director of music and liturgy at St. Dismas, Waukegan (1985-1994); and as director of music and liturgy (1994-2004) and in religious education and children’s music (2004-2008) at St. James, Sauk Village.

After officially retiring, she remained in the Chicago area, ministering to the homebound and persons in hospice.

Beginning in 2022, she dedicated herself totally to the ministry of prayer.

Sister Lucille is survived by a brother, John Nolan, and a sister, Providence Sister Carol Nolan.

Providence Sister Carolyn (John Michael) Glynn, 88, died Dec. 28 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born in Massachusetts, Sister Carolyn entered the Sisters of Providence in 1953 and professed final vows in 1961. She ministered as a primary teacher for 22 years in Indiana, Massachusetts, California and Illinois. After completing a doctorate in ministry, she served in parish ministry for 12 years in the Archdiocese of Chicago before moving to Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Mel (1956-1958); St. Genevieve (1969-1971); St. Athanasius, Evanston (1971-1974); and St. Gregory (1974-1977); was director of religious education at St. Mary, Riverside (1980-1987); and was a consultant on religious education and spirituality (1987-1992).

Sister Carolyn is survived by three sisters: Elizabeth Hannon, Rosemary Baglio and Florence Ryan; and two brothers: Timothy Glynn and Allen Glynn.

Redemptorist Father Ramon “Ray” Dompke, 85, died Jan. 7 in the rectory of St. Michael Parish in Old Town.

Born in Chicago, he was baptized at St. Michael and attended elementary school there before going to St. Joseph’s Preparatory Seminary in Kirkwood, Missouri, and entering the Redemptorist novitiate at Mount St. Clement in DeSoto, Missouri. He professed temporary vows in 1959, perpetual vows in 1962 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1964.

Father Dompke served as associate pastor of parishes in Iowa, Nebraska and Michigan, as well as St. Michael (1982-1993) and St. Alphonsus (Wellington Avenue, 1993, 1995) before being named pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish on the West Side (1995-2005).

Father Dompke was named bursar of the Villa Redeemer/North American Novitiate community in Glenview in 2005. He served as rector of the community from 2011 until 2015, when the property was sold.

He returned to the staff at St. Michael’s, where he felt blessed to be near his family, especially his elderly mother, whom he visited every week until she died at the age of 105 in 2019.

In addition to serving the parish community, he volunteered to preach foreign mission appeals throughout the Midwest until his health began to decline.

Resurrection Sister Mary Florence Schultz, 92, died Nov. 17, 2023.

Born in Minnesota, she entered the Sisters of the Resurrection in 1950.

She began her ministry as a second grade teacher at St. Mary of the Angels. Four years later, she began training as a nurse, and went on to receive bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing. She had additional training in caring for alcoholic patients and patients with infectious diseases, which led to her ministries in the alcoholic rehabilitation and infectious disease programs at Resurrection Hospital.

Sister M. Florence also served as director of nursing at Resurrection Nursing Pavilion, became a licensed nursing home administrator and served as the administrator of Resurrection Life Center at its opening. She went on to serve as regional performance improvement director for 11 nursing homes that were part of Resurrection Health Care.

Sister M. Florence’s final ministry was to care for the senior members of the congregation.

Felician Sister Mary Alodia (Mary Barbara) Stozek, 100, died Nov. 26, 2023, at Mother of Good Counsel Convent.

Born in Chicago, she attended St. John of God and St. Joseph schools, then joined the Felician Sisters aspirancy, where she attended Good Counsel High School. She entered the Felician Sisters postulancy in 1942 and professed her final vows in 1949. 

She ministered in Illinois elementary schools as a teacher and served as a psychologist at Good Counsel High School. Later, she worked as a college instructor and director of the Psychoeducational Center at Felician College. She held a leadership position with the Felician community and was the provincial archivist from 1998 to 2015.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at Holy Innocents (1941-1942, 1960); St. Mary Magdalen (1943-1945); St. Hedwig, Niles (1945-1953); St. Stanislaus, Posen (1953-1954); Sts. Peter and Paul (1954-1957); St. James (1957-1960); Felician College (1965-1982); and Good Counsel High School (1988-1992).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Jeri (Mary de Paul) Cashman, 76, died Dec. 9, 2023, in Muskego, Wisconsin.

Born in Minneapolis, Sister Jeri professed vows in 1967.

Sister Jeri served as a justice and peace campus minister, a social worker, a teacher and a pastoral minister in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Sister Jeri served as a justice and peace campus minister at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She served as pastoral minister in the Diocese of Chilpancingo, Mexico, with a ministry team on behalf of the Archdiocese of Chicago, ministering with 23 communities in the parish of Santiago Apostol in Quechultenango. She also ministered in Bolivia.

She is survived by her brother, Thomas Cashman, and her sister, Carol Rosendahl.

Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary Sister M. June (Alphonse Marie) Hoffman, 98, died Dec. 13, 2023, in Rockford.

A former member of St. Gall Parish, Chicago, Sister June entered the congregation in 1942 and made final vows in 1945.

She taught at St. Gall School, as well as in schools in the Joliet diocese.  She served her religious congregation as formation director and provincial superior, and was the founding administrator of St. Anne Center in Rockford, where she lived and ministered in various capacities from 1993 to her death.

Sister of Christian Charity Therese (Nelwyn) Fields, 98, died Dec. 14, 2023, at Sacred Heart Convent, Wilmette.

Born in Louisiana, she entered the congregation in 1938, made first vows in 1943 and made perpetual vows in 1949.

She taught at St. Aloysius School and at St. Martha, Morton Grove, in the 1940s and 1950s, before being sent to New Orleans.

She returned in 1967 to St. Theresa School, Palatine.

In the 1970s, she ministered at the House of Prayer in Steger, then in Calumet City, and as retreat director at St. Margaret Mary Convent.

In the 1990s, Sister Therese served as the local superior of the motherhouse in Wilmette, directress of junior sisters and novice directress. Then she moved to the St. Joseph Convent and served at the St. Joseph Parish Prayer Center. She also did prayer ministry at St. Mary of Celle Convent in Berwyn before moving to Sacred Heart Convent in Wilmette as a patient in 2015.

Sister of St. Joseph Maria Hill, 85, died Dec. 16, 2023.

Sister Maria earned master’s degrees in educational administration and religious education, as well as a certificate in spiritual direction.

Sister Maria taught and was principal of schools in Minnesota before going into religious education.  As a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille, she served on various congregational leadership teams for 20 years. 

She also worked as a facilitator and consultant to other religious communities.  At the Congregation of St. Joseph in La Grange, Sister Maria continued to work as a facilitator and spiritual director, as well as a member of the leadership team.

She is survived by her sister, Helen Hill.

Father Bernard J. Pietrzak, 68, died Nov. 29, He was pastor of St. Anne Parish, Barrington.

Born in Hammond, Indiana, Father Pietrzak attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College of Loyola University, and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1981.

He served as associate pastor of St. Victor, Calumet City; Holy Cross, Deerfield; and Church of the Holy Spirit, Schaumburg. He was pastor of St. Raymond de Penafort, Mount Prospect, from 1996 to 2009 before being named pastor of St. Anne Parish in 2009.

Father Jerome Jacob got to know Father Pietrzak when he served as his associate pastor at St. Raymond de Penafort.

“Bernie was a good mentor and friend. He always saw the best in people. He would encourage young priests and welcome them,” Jacob said. “The Sunday assembly was very important to him. …  He was very dedicated to adult formation, marriage preparation, etc., to help people grow in their spirituality.”

Father Joji Thanugundla and Father Rodolfo Ramirez, associate pastors of St. Anne, wrote a tribute to Pietrzak on the parish’s Instagram account and said: “Father Bernie served our St. Anne community with unwavering dedication, compassion, and a profound commitment to his faith. He touched the lives of many with his inspiring homilies, guidance, and selfless service.”

Deacon N. Arthur Metallo, 86, died Dec. 3. He was ordained in 1974 and served at St. Martha Parish, Morton Grove.

Deacon Metallo worked as a Jewel Foods grocery store manager before becoming pastoral care director at St. Francis Hospital, Evanston, and Resurrection Hospital. He was honored as National Chaplains Association Chaplain of the Year when he retired.

He is survived by his wife, Nancy, and his children Cheryl Bischoff, Susan Metallo and Lou Metallo; eight grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; and siblings of Carole Metallo, Fran Falcone and Bobby Metallo.

Divine Word Brother John DeBold, 89, a missionary who helped people with disabilities overcome isolation, died on Oct. 13.

Born in Pittsburgh, he began to develop bilateral profound deafness as a teenager but continued to learn with the help of hearing aids and sign language.

A Divine Word confrere once asked about his journey to missionary life, and Brother John responded, “I had the urge to become a priest or missionary since age 17 or so. I knew I was handicapped and knew what it meant and felt like. I had the call to help those in the world who were similar to [me].”

After graduating from high school, Brother John worked in Nabisco’s baking and mixing departments for 17 years. In his mid-30s, he yearned for more, and he entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1973.

He graduated from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., in 1984 and the following year he was assigned to work for the deaf ministry of the Archdiocese of New Orleans. He later was transferred to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and continued working in deaf ministry in the Diocese of Biloxi.

After returning to Pittsburgh to care for his mother, Brother John volunteered at the Pittsburgh Deaf Center, which focuses on deaf clients with developmental disabilities, and worked in Goodwill Industries’ wood shop training program, where he assisted deaf and developmentally disabled clients.

Adrian Dominican Sister Mary Catherine (Ann Virginia) Gagliano, 85, died Nov. 27 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Rockford, she was in the 66th year of her religious life.

Sister Mary Catherine ministered in education, pastoral care and campus ministry, and as a volunteer in Michigan and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Rita School (1963-1967); Our Lady of Knock, Calumet City (1967-1969); St. Philip Neri (1969-1971); St. Celestine, Elmwood Park (1971-1974); Trinity High School, River Forest (1980-1981); and Mother Guerin High School, River Grove (1991-1992); did vocation outreach for the Adrian Dominican congregation (2008-2010); volunteered in the food pantry at St. Germaine Parish, Oak Lawn (2010-2015) and tutored in the Sister of St. Joseph School on Wheels (2010-2017).

She is survived by a brother, Frank Gagliano, and a sister, Virginia La Marca.

Deacon George Brooks, 83, of Tinley Park, died Nov. 15. He was ordained in 1991 and served at Infant Jesus of Prague in Flossmoor and as a chaplain at Cook County Jail.

Deacon Brooks is survived by his wife, Patricia; his children Karen Hyma, Donna Lanigan and Patrick Brooks; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by one child, Georgie Brooks.

Deacon John J. Debnar, 93, formerly of Brookfield and Countryside, died Nov. 22. He served for 40 years at St. Barbara Parish, Brookfield.

Deacon Debnar was an Air Force veteran and worked as a barber.

His wife, Mary Ann, predeceased him. He is survived by his children Steven Debnar, Jack Debnar, Mary Ann Debnar, Tim Debnar and Chris Debnar; 12 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and siblings Mike Debnar and Helen Benway.

Adrian Dominican Sister Mary J. (Clare Olivia) Beaubien, 95, died Oct. 25 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Adrian, she was in the 78th year of her religious life.

Sister Beaubien ministered in all levels of education years in Illinois, Michigan, Florida and Ohio, and in community development and teacher training in Mogwase and Kroonstad, South Africa.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Celestine, Elmwood Park.

She is survived by her sister, Margaret Simonis.

Adrian Dominican Sister Marlene (Anthony Irene) Kuhnlein, 89, died Oct. 28 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Chicago, she was in her 72nd year of religious life.

Sister Marlene was a teacher; residential home staff member, case worker and social worker; pastoral counselor and bereavement companion; and secretary in Michigan, Illinois, Florida, New Mexico and Arizona.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Albert the Great, Oak Lawn (1962-1966); Queen of Apostles, Riverdale (1966-1967); St. Laurence (1967-1969); St. James, Maywood (1969-1972); and Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette (1972-1974).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Dorothy (Rita Cascia) Victor, 93, died Oct. 28 in Milwaukee.

Born in Rockford, she made her first religious profession in 1950, and her perpetual profession in 1953. She was a teacher and principal, and spent seven years as a missionary in Cochabamba, Bolivia. In the U.S., she ministered in Illinois, Wisconsin, the District of Columbia and Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Dorothy taught at St. Philip Benizi (1950-1956), St. Jarlath (1963-1966) and St. Basil (1978-1980).

Daughter of Charity Sister Marillac (Mildred Elizabeth) Grabinski, 94, died Oct. 30 in Evansville, Indiana.

Born in Chicago, she graduated from Good Counsel High School in 1947 and entered the Daughters of Charity in St. Louis in 1951.

After initial formation, Sister Marillac taught at elementary schools in Missouri, Alabama, Utah and Illinois. She also served as a docent at the Seton Shrine in Emmitsburg, Maryland; worked in social services and as a parish visitor and as an outreach minister.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Francis de Sales School in Lake Zurich (1980) and worked at Marillac Social Center (1980, 1986-1989) and St. Joseph Hospital (1989-1994).

Providence Sister Loretta Picucci, 82, died Nov. 9 in Providence Health Care in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Sister Loretta was born in Chicago and attended Our Lady of Sorrows School and Providence High School. She entered the Sisters of Providence in 1964 and professed final vows in 1976.

In her 59 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered as a primary teacher, assistant director of a day nursery, outreach minister, family care professional and teacher of English as a second language.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Mel (1972-1977); was assistant director of St. Columbkille Day Nursery (1981-1983); and was an aide with Family Care Services (1994-1999).

Sister Loretta is survived by a sister, Josephine Mooney.

Father Thomas A. Moran, 78, died Nov. 8. He was pastor emeritus of Our Lady of the Brook Parish in Northbrook, now known as St. Norbert-Our Lady of the Brook Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father Moran attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1971.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Joseph the Worker, Wheeling, and St. Bonaventure, then as associate pastor of St. Ita; St. Thecla; St. Tarcissus; St. John Brebeuf, Niles; and St. Marcelline, Schaumburg.

He was pastor of St. Hugh, Lyons, from 1995 to 2005, and Our Lady of the Brook from 2005 to 2014, when he became pastor emeritus.

Deacon Peery Duderstadt from St. Norbert-Our Lady of the Brook Parish had been friends with Moran for 60 years.

 “Father Tom was always interested in archaeology, particularly Egyptology. Every year he would go to the Biblical Archaeology Society Convention and in 2006 he and I started going together,” Duderstadt said. Father Moran loved biblical archaeology so much that his sermons were always laced with references to it, Duderstadt said.

Deacon Daniel Troy, 91, died Oct. 27. He was ordained in 1984 and served at Holy Ghost Parish in South Holland.

Deacon Troy, formerly of South Holland, was a professor of mathematics at Purdue University Calumet, a chaplain at Owasippe Scout Reservation and a PADS volunteer.

He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Mary Anne; his children Leonard Troy, Kathleen Smyser, Joseph Troy, Stephen Troy, Patrick Troy and Jean Swenson; 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Deacon Joseph G. Krakora, 97, died Nov. 3. He was ordained in 1978 and served at St. Mary Parish, Lake Forest. 

Born in Chicago, he was raised in Berwyn. He attended Michigan State University, where he played basketball, and married his wife, Marie, in 1949.

He worked as an auditor for Shell Oil, working in several states, and then joined Payco American, and he and Marie and their six children settled in Lake Forest.

He discerned his vocation to the diaconate after the death of his fourth child, Eileen, in 1975.

He and Marie worked with young couples preparing for marriage and he presided over numerous marriage ceremonies and baptized hundreds of babies, including his grandchildren and some of his great-grandchildren. He also served as associate director of the Office of the Diaconate.

In addition to Eileen, Deacon Krakora was preceded in death by Marie in 2012 and his son Brian four years later. He is survived by his children Janice Krakora-Looby, Susan Krakora, Joseph Krakora and Kevin Krakora; 15 grandchildren; and 22 great-grandchildren.

Deacon Thomas R. Carvlin, 97, died Oct. 21.

He was ordained in 1977 and served at the former Ascension-St. Susanna Parish, now part of Lord of Mercy Parish, in Harvey.

Deacon Carvlin served in France and Germany during and after World War II, including showing Holocaust footage to German citizens.

He met his wife of 71 years, “Tommy,” after moving to Chicago. At the Chicago Tribune, he was national news editor during the Nixon administration and the 1968 Democratic Convention.

He is survived by his wife, Maureen Evanne (nee Thomas); sister Joyce Murphy; children Mary Carvlin, Peter Carvlin, Anne Bridges, Martha Carvlin, Monica Regan and Elizabeth Carvlin Fuesel; 14 grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.

Marianist Brother Al Kuntemeier, 92, died Oct. 13 in San Antonio, Texas.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Brother Al was in religious life for 75 years.

He taught at Marianist high schools in Missouri and Indiana and served as vocation director for his province before teaching, coaching and serving as a counselor at St. Michael High School in Chicago (1972-1976).

He then taught and coached at high schools in Oklahoma and Texas, retiring from teaching in 2014 at 83 to serve the Marianist Residence Community in San Antonio and as chaplain to the St. Mary’s University tennis team.

Benedictine Sister Patricia (Patrick) Crowley, 84, died Oct. 14 at St. Scholastica Monastery.

She was born and raised in Wilmette and attended St. Joseph School. She entered the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago in September 1958 and made her final vows in 1965.

She taught at St. Lambert, Skokie; Queen of All Saints; and St. Scholastica Academy. She also served as executive director of the Howard Area Community Center, Deborah’s Place and Chicago Continuum of Care; prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago; and board president of Bethany House of Hospitality. She was a spiritual director and ministered to homeless women through the Ignatian Spirituality Project.

Franciscan Sister of Chicago M. Diane Marie Collins, 73, died Aug. 4.

Sister Diane Marie entered the congregation in 1968, made her first vows in 1971 and professed perpetual vows in 1977.

She served at Madonna High School from 1973 to 1991, teaching from 1973 to 1986, then serving as the school social worker after earning a master’s degree in social work from Loyola University Chicago. She also served as local superior (1990-1991).

After moving to the Lemont motherhouse, she served as formation director (1991-1994) and formation team member (1995-1999); general vicar (1993-1998); chair of Franciscan Village/Mother Theresa Home Board of Directors (1993-1998); St. Anthony Medical Center board of directors (1993-1999); chairman of Madonna High School board of directors (1994-2001).

She was general councilor and general secretary (1998-2003) while serving as principal of Bishop Noll Institute in Hammond, Indiana. She served in a variety of positions in community leadership, including general minister (2003-2013), chair of Region 3 of the Franciscan Federation (2004-2006); second vice president (2006-2007) vice president (2007-2008) and president (2008-2009).

She also was a campus minister in Chicago (2013-2019) and evangelization director at St. John Berchmans Parish (2019-2023).

Sister Joan (Joseph Elaine) Marconi, 89, died Sept. 14 in Adrian, Michigan.

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

Sister Joan ministered in elementary and secondary education, occupational therapy and administration  in Michigan, Illinois and Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Aquinas High School (1961-1967).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Emeric Bauch, 96, died Sept. 21 in Footville, Wisconsin.

Born in Minnesota, Sister Emeric made her first religious profession in 1950 and her perpetual profession in 1953. She served as a culinary artist and as a nurse’s aide and licensed practical nurse in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wyoming, Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, South Carolina and Georgia.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Emeric served as culinary artist at St. Vincent Ferrer Convent, River Forest (1957-1959), and Visitation Convent (1967-1968).

Father Albert R. Adamich, 101, died Sept. 21. He was pastor emeritus of Queen of Peace Parish in North Chicago, now part of Most Blessed Trinity Parish in Waukegan, and the oldest priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago when he died.

Father Al, as he was known, was born in Joliet and attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein before being ordained in 1948. He celebrated 75 years of priestly service in May 2023.

After ordination, Father Adamich was assistant pastor of Mother of God, Waukegan; St. Hubert, Hoffman Estates; and St. Symphorosa. He also served as moderator of the Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women in 1979. Later, he was associate pastor of Most Holy Redeemer, Evergreen Park, and pastor of Mother of God for 20 years. He was named pastor emeritus in 1992.

Father Adamich resided at Most Holy Redeemer after his retirement was a beloved figure in the parish.

Father James Hyland, pastor of Most Holy Redeemer, remembered Father Adamich’s great love of the Mass and the Eucharist.

“He really loved what he did as a priest,” Hyland said, “and even in retirement he continued to minister to the people in the parish.”

“He’s such an inspiration,” Deacon Mark Phelan told Chicago Catholic in 2022, for an article featuring Father Al’s 100th birthday celebration at the parish. He’s a man of God. He prays for everyone. He prays constantly,” Phelan said. “He’s just the most wonderful man I ever met. He really is.”

Longtime parishioner Winnie Ligda said in 2022 that Father Al didn’t want any kind of celebration for his centenary, but parishioners overruled him.

“We all looked at him and said, ‘Too bad for you,’” Ligda joked. “He’s a good man,” she said.

When Ligda’s husband was ill, Father Al visited him in the hospital, in the nursing home and at her own home.

“He came repeatedly, and he was just wonderful. He was that way with all the parishioners. He’s a very kind, loving and compassionate man,” she said.

On the same occasion, Father Adamich said the secret to his long life was intercessory prayer.

“If you have to pay people to pray for you, do so,” he quipped. “Never pass up the chance to ask people to pray for you.”

Father Steven W. Patte, 79, died Sept. 20. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and former pastor of St. Ita Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father Patte attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1969.

After ordination, Father Patte was assistant pastor of Holy Name Cathedral, St. Joseph, Wilmette; and Church of the Holy Spirit, Schaumburg.

He also served as associate pastor of St. Zachary, Des Plaines; St. Joseph, Round Lake; St. Mary of Vernon, Indian Creek; and St. Emily, Mount Prospect. He was pastor of St. Helena of the Cross and St. Ita Parish. In addition, he was a professor at St. Mary of the Lake University for two years.

He retired from ministry in 2015.

Father Leon J. Rezula, pastor emeritus of St. Julian Eymard in Elk Grove Village, was a classmate of Father Patte. “He was a very hard-working, zealous priest with a variety of experience,” Rezula said.

Deacon John “Jack” L. Malone, 89, died Sept. 4. He was ordained in 1987 and served at St. Germaine Parish, Oak Lawn.

He also served as a chaplain at Cook County Jail and Little Company of Mary Hospital for many years.

He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Mary; his children Jack Malone, Kathy Walsh, Ruth Turner, Michael Malone, Sheila Brew and Dan Malone; 17 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Felician Sister Mary Odelle (Veronica) Siskoski, 92, died Aug 17, at Swedish/North Shore Hospital.

Born in Michigan, she attended elementary school there. When her family moved to Chicago, she attended Parker School and St. Joseph High School. She entered the Felician Sisters in 1950 and professed her final vows in 1958. She ministered in elementary schools as a teacher and principal in Illinois, Wisconsin and Brazil for over 30 years. Later, she also ministered in supportive services at Felician Senior Living Community in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, for 22 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at St. Helen (1952-1953, 1990-1994); St. Turibius (1955-1957); Sts. Peter and Paul (1957-1959, 1986-1987); St. Hedwig, Niles (1959-1960); St. Isidore, Blue Island (1960-1961); Holy Innocents (1962-1964); St. John of God (1964-1965); and St. Linus, Oak Lawn (1972-1973).

Sr. Larina Williams

School Sister of St. Francis Larina Williams, 87, died Aug. 17 at West Allis Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin.

Born in Chicago, Sister Larina was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1956, made her first profession of vows in 1958 and her final vows in 1964. 

Beginning in 1958, Sister Larina ministered in the Archdiocese of Chicago for more than half a century. She taught at Holy Angels School in her home parish (1958-1960, 1964-1972 and 1985-2000) and was assistant principal there (2000-2006). She also taught at St. Martin (1960-1962) and St. Clara (1962-1964), taught and was assistant principal at St. Kilian (1972-1984) and taught at Ascension/St. Susanna School in Harvey (1984-1985).

In her retirement, Sister Larina resided in a local convent in Homer Glen (2007-2013) and in Milwaukee.

Sister Larina is survived by her brothers Herbert and Michael and sisters Latoski McCarty and Monica Waters.

Viatorian Father Richard J. Pighini, 79, died Aug. 21 at Addolorata Villa in Wheeling.

A Viatorian for 43 years, Father Richard made his first vows in 1980 and was ordained a priest in 1985.

He attended Maine East High School in Park Ridge before earning a bachelor’s degree in communication design from University of Illinois and a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union. He served in the Peace Corps in Hawaii (1967-1969), taught at Illinois high schools before being ordained and ministered in parishes in Kankakee and Bourbonnais after ordination.

He moved to the retirement community at the Viatorian Province Center in Arlington Heights in 2022. He was always known for his care for the liturgy, as well as the beauty of the gardens and landscapes of the parish grounds.

Father Richard is survived by his sisters, Carlotta Polenzani and Claudette Schmied of Naperville.

Father Michael G. Scherschel, 59, died Aug. 10. He was pastor of the recently united Sts. Matthew and Hubert Parish in Hoffman Estates.

Born in Chicago, Father Scherschel attended Cary-Grove Community High School in Cary; the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio; and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

Father Scherschel was ordained to the priesthood at the age of 43 in 2007. After ordination, Father Scherschel was associate pastor of St. William Parish (2007-2011). He then served as the associate vocation director for Vicariate IV of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He also served on the formation faculty at St. Joseph College Seminary (2011-2017).

Father Scherschel became pastor of St. Hubert Parish in 2017 and most recently led the formation of Sts. Matthew and Hubert Parish, unifying the two community parishes as one.

Father Robert Rizzo met Father Scherschel when he succeeded him as pastor at St. Hubert Parish. “I was totally delighted when he was named pastor because he is truly a kind, gentle and super authentic person,” Rizzo said. “He truly lived his faith day in and day out.”

Deacon Thomas M. Paluch, 77, died Aug. 17. He was ordained in 1997 and served at St. John Brebeuf Parish, Niles, in the Archdiocese of Chicago and Holy Family Parish, Shorewood, in the Diocese of Joliet.

His wife, Julianne Paluch, predeceased him.

He is survived by his children, Maggie Malinowski and Becky Paluch, and three grandchildren, as well as eight siblings.

Adrian Dominican Sister Joan (Margaret Patrick) Murphy, 97, died July 28 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Michigan, she was in the 77th year of her religious life.

Sister Joan ministered in elementary and secondary education, pastoral ministry and religious education and volunteered in health care in Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Colorado, California, Alabama and Kentucky, and volunteered in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Nicholas of Tolentine (1946-1950); St. Rita of Cascia (1950-1951); Santa Maria Del Popolo, Mundelein (1959-1962); Infant Jesus of Prague, Flossmoor (1962-1963); and St. Philip Neri (1963-1964).

Adrian Dominican Sister Mary Kathryn (Helen Maureen) Cliatt, 88, died July 30, in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Miami, she was in the 66th year of her religious life.

Sister Mary Kathryn ministered in elementary and secondary education, pastoral ministry, social work and retreat ministry in Illinois, Florida and Georgia, and ministered as a mentor and spiritual advisor to orphans in Kenya.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Queen of Angels School.

She is survived by a sister, Martha Lim.

Adrian Dominican Sister Marilyn (Marilyn Loretto) Uline, 86, died July 31 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Ohio, she was in the 67th year of her religious life.

Sister Marilyn ministered in elementary and secondary education, campus ministry, pastoral ministry, adult education, advocacy, clerical work and business.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was a social justice advocate at the Eighth Day Center (1975-1980); worked with the Divine Word Theologate as a secretary and in research (1981-1983); taught at St. Mary of Perpetual Help High School (1983-1984) and was a registered representative of First Investors Corp. (1985-1999).

Sister Marilyn is survived by sisters Lois Nugent, Margaret Boyce, Joanne Schutz and Carol Uline and a brother, Franciscan Father Cyprian Uline.

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.

Providence Sister Carolyn (Ann Carolyn) Kessler, 91, died July 7 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Indiana, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1954 and professed final vows in 1962. After teaching in high schools in Illinois and Indiana for 10 years and earning a master’s degree from Georgetown University, she was awarded a Fulbright lectureship at the University of Rome, after which she earned a doctorate in linguistics at Georgetown.

She taught at the University of Texas at San Antonio for 25 years and remained in Texas for another 15 years, consulting in the area of bilingual education.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Marywood High School, Evanston (1957-1964).

Father Milan Cyril Nemecek, 88, died June 4. He was pastor emeritus of Mater Christi Parish in North Riverside.

Born in Chicago, Father Nemecek attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1960.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Denis; Our Lady of Lourdes; Our Lady of the Mount, Cicero; and Mary, Queen of Heaven, Cicero. He was pastor of St. Mary of Celle, Berwyn, from 1979 to 1992, and of Mater Christi from 1992 to 2004.

He also served as assistant director of the archdiocese’s Office of Urban Affairs and assistant secretary of the Commission on Human Relations and Ecumenism, and as a delegate to the Interreligious Council on Urban Affairs, a member of the steering committee of the priests’ senate, a member of the compensation committee for Catholic school personnel, a consultant to Catholic Cemeteries and a member of the pastors’ review board.

Father Patrick Tucker, former pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Palos Hills, had known Nemecek since 1972. “He was very pastoral and empowered the people he worked with,” Tucker said. He recalled that Nemecek would give a note to couples getting married. In the note, he promised to take the engaged couple out for pizza on their first wedding anniversary.

Father John Mulvihill, 83, died June 25. He was a former pastor of St. John Bosco Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father Mulvihill attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome before being ordained in 1964.

He served as assistant pastor of St. John Bosco Parish before returning to Rome to continue his studies at the Gregorian University.

From 1972 through 1997, Father Mulvihill served as associate pastor and then pastor of St. John Bosco Parish. He also served as vicar for religious, supporting more than 8,000 religious sisters and 2,000 priests as a canonical and spiritual consultant. Before retiring, he served as judge on the Court of Appeals for the Province of Chicago, for 12 years. He retired from ministry in 2018.

Father Thomas Baldonieri, one of Mulvihill’s closest friends and colleagues, remembered Mulvihill as a wonderful priest. “I always saw him being very caring to parishioners and he was always available to them,” Baldonieri said.

Father Martin “Marty” Zielinski, 71, died June 25. He was a retired associate professor in the Department of Church History at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

Born in Denver, Father Zielinski attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1978.

His first pastoral assignment was at St. Margaret of Scotland Parish. He then attended Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where he earned a doctoral degree in American Catholic church history in 1989.

He then was assigned to Mundelein Seminary as an associate professor of church history. He spent more than 30 years at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, where he took on spiritual direction, teaching and administrative responsibilities, including one term as academic dean.

Throughout his time at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary, he assisted at St. Patrick Parish in Wadsworth (now St. Brigid Parish-Church of St. Patrick). He wrote many scholarly articles published in the U.S. Catholic Historian, the Encyclopedia of American Catholic History and Chicago Studies.

Zielinski also contributed to the collection “Black and Catholic” published by Marquette University Press. In the past three years, he accomplished a special contribution to American Church History, which was a transcription and annotation of the diary of Bishop William Quarter, who was the first bishop of Chicago. Zielinski also wrote the text for the Litany of American Saints, Blessed and Venerables, which was set to a musical composition. It premiered at the seminary on Dec. 8, 2022, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, and was recorded in February  2023, sung by the seminary choir.

Deacon Charles P. O’Donnell, 89, died June 18. He was ordained in 1983 and served at Our Lady of Ransom Parish, Niles, and as co-associate director of the archdiocese’s Diaconate Office.

The son of Irish immigrants, Deacon O’Donnell lost his father when he was 2 years old. He was married to his late wife, Lindy, for 64 years.

As a deacon, he officiated at marriages, baptisms and gravesite services, and mentored many younger deacons.

He is survived by his children Charles Patrick O’Donnell Jr., Stephen Gerard O’Donnell, Kathleen Guzman and Patricia Ann Patke; eight grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; and his sister, Patricia Ann Holochwost.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary Pat Marcos, 104, died June 11 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Before entering the community, as Patricia Zimbriski, she served in the U.S. Air Force from 1943 to 1946, stationed in Florida and the Pentagon, where she held a top-secret position. She also worked for United Artists Corporation, Milwaukee, for 12 years before entering religious life.

Sister Mary Pat made her first religious profession in 1962 and her perpetual profession in 1968. She was a teacher and support staff member and worked in social services in Illinois, Wyoming, Wisconsin, Texas and California.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary Pat served as secretary at Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest (1962-1965, and as secretary to the dean at DePaul University (1970-1973). She taught at Epiphany (1969-1970); St. Vincent Ferrer, River Forest, (1973-1976); and Trinity High School, River Forest, 1978-1982.

Adrian Dominican Sister Elizabeth Ann (Marie Berge) Demirgian, 91, died May 2 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in New York, she was in the 64th year of her religious profession.

Sister Elizabeth Ann ministered in education and as a physician’s assistant in Michigan, Florida, Illinois and Tennessee.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Regina Dominican High School.

Adrian Dominican Sister Kathryn “Kate” (Michael Ellen) Hartnett, 88, died May 11 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Chicago, she was in the 70th year of her religious life.

Sister Kate ministered in elementary education, as a development director and hospital volunteer in Michigan and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Queen of Apostles, Riverdale (1957-1960); St. Rita (1960-1965); St. Columbanus (1965-1968); and St. Mary Star of the Sea (1968-1972). She was principal (1972-2004) and director of development (2004-2006) at St. Ailbe, and a volunteer at Trinity Advocate Hospital (2007-2013).

School Sister of St. Francis Patricia (Antonildis) Bates, 92, died at Sacred Heart Convent in Milwaukee on May 18.

Born in Aurora, Sister Patricia was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1948, made her first profession of vows in 1949 and made her final vows in 1956.

Beginning in 1950, Sister Patricia ministered in Illinois, Wisconsin and New York. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Patricia taught at St. Mary, Buffalo Grove (1950-1958); Sts. Cyril and Methodius (1962-1963); St. Matthias (1963-1966); St. Nicholas (1966-1967) and Corpus Christi (1971-1973). She also served as director of personnel for her congregation’s Holy Name Province (1973-1975) and was a pastoral associate at Columbus Hospital in Chicago (1979-1982).

In her retirement, sister served as a volunteer at St. Joseph Convent Motherhouse in Milwaukee (2006-2015) and served in the ministry of prayer and presence at Sacred Heart in Milwaukee from 2015 until the time of her death. 

Dominican Father Benedict T. (Thomas Michael) Viviano, 83, died May 25 at Resurrection Life Center. Father Viviano was internationally renowned as a scholar of sacred Scripture, particularly of the Gospel of St. Matthew.

Born in St. Louis, he entered the Dominican novitiate in 1959 and made his first vows the following year, when he began his studies in River Forest. He made his final vows in 1963 and was ordained a priest in 1966.

After his ordination, Father Viviano studied at the Pontifical Institute of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.; and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome; and Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, earning several advanced degrees in Scripture.

He taught at the university and post-graduate levels at the Aquinas Institute of Theology in Dubuque, Iowa, and in St. Louis and the Dominican Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, while serving as editor of the Revue Biblique. Following his time at the Ecole, he moved to become professor of New Testament at the Dominican University of Fribourg, Switzerland.

He wrote and edited several books and commentaries on Scripture, and contributed to almost every major biblical journal.

Following his retirement from the University of Fribourg in 2011, Father Viviano divided his year between the Dominican community in Vienna and St. Dominic Priory in St. Louis. In 2019, he moved to St. Pius V Priory because of his health.

He is survived by his sister, Patricia Viviano Tecu.

Dominican Father Peter F. (Francis Leon) Witchousky, 83, died May 27.

Born in Aurora, he entered the Dominican Province of St. Albert the Great in 1962. He made his first profession of vows in 1963 and began his studies in River Forest. He made his final vows in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1969.

He taught at Fenwick High School in Oak Park from 1969 to 1976 and directed the school’s theater program. He served as a pastor in Madison, Wisconsin, for several years before serving on the pastoral staff at St. Vincent Ferrer, River Forest (1983-1984). He then served as promoter of vocations for the province until 1991.

He served as a high school chaplain in Springfield and then as chaplain at the Dominican Sisters of Springfield motherhouse until his health made it in necessary for him to retire. He moved to the St. Pius V Priory assisted living center 12 days before he died.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Helen (Helen Katharine) Glynn, 87, died May 16 at MercyOne Dubuque Medical Center, Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Chicago, Sister Helen made her first religious profession in 1969, and her perpetual profession in 1972. She was a teacher, did family care, was a pastoral associate and was a director of religious education. Sister Helen also ministered with the people of Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, Bolivia, for 17 years as support staff, licensed practical nurse and pastoral agent while providing family catechesis. She served in Illinois, Wisconsin and Bolivia.

Mercy Sister Mary Brian Costello, 98, died May 22 at Mercy Circle.

Sister Brian entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1942 and received her bachelor’s degree from Saint Xavier University and her master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. 

She served in various educational ministries as both teacher and as a school administrator, including as principal of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School.  

She served on the Sisters of Mercy Leadership Team from 1973 to 1979. In 1983, Sister Brian was named the first woman and non-cleric superintendent of schools for the Archdiocese of Chicago.  In 1989, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin named Sister Brian his chief of staff, a pioneering position for a woman and one she held until she retired in 1997.

Throughout her ministry, Sister Brian exhibited a passion for assuring educational opportunities for all children. She was a founding member of the Big Shoulders Fund.

Father Raymond J. Tillrock, 82, died April 27. He was pastor emeritus of St. Barnabas Parish.

Born in Chicago, Father Tillrock attended St. Rita High School, Loyola University and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before he was ordained in 1969.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Francis Xavier, Wilmette, and was on the faculty of Niles College Seminary from 1974 to 1979. Later, Father Tillrock served as associate pastor at St. Mary of Celle, Berwyn, and pastor of St. Barnabas Parish. In addition, he was a long-serving board member of the Priests’ Retirement and Mutual Aid Association. He retired in 2003.  

“He was a very important member of our group (of classmates),” said Father William Zavaski, a classmate of Father Tillrock. “He was a great sailor — he was sailing until this past year.”

Zavaski described Father Tillrock as “a fun person to be with, very kind and loving,” and remembered how much his classmate loved his dog Barney, a close companion for years.

Father Kilian J. Knittel, 88, pastor emeritus of St. Columba Parish, died April 30.

Born in Cicero, Father Knittel attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein before being ordained in 1960.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Louis de Montfort Parish, Oak Lawn; Resurrection Parish (Jackson Street) and St. Jerome Parish. He was associate pastor of St. Hilary; St. Edward; Our Lady of the Wayside, Arlington Heights; Our Lady of Grace; and St. Joseph, Homewood. He later served as pastor of St. Columba Parish for 10 years.

Father Knittel also served as chaplain for the Apostleship of the Sea in Port Everglades, Florida.

Father Daniel P. Coughlin, former director of the Cardinal Stritch Retreat House in Mundelein, remembered that his classmate loved being a priest and served with joy. “People would open their hearts to him about their lives and their issues,” Coughlin said. “He loved listening to them.”

Sister Virginia (Agneta) Ripp, 89, died April 18 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Wisconsin, Sister Virginia made her first religious profession in 1958 and her perpetual profession in 1961. She taught and served in administrative and secretarial work in Wisconsin, Illinois and Texas.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Trinity High School, River Forest.

She is survived by four sisters: Margaret Ripp, Elaine Saber, Nancy Scripko and Gail Thoreson.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Rosa Rauth, 96, died April 21 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Oak Park, Sister Rosa made her first religious profession in 1950 and her perpetual profession in 1953.

She taught music and math for 40 years in schools. Sister Rosa taught some form of music, especially piano and vocal, her entire adult life. She also served as a registrar, in transportation and as a director of music   ministry.

She served in South Dakota, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota.

Msgr. Michael J. Adams, 90, died April 23. He was the pastor emeritus of St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish.

Born in Chicago, Msgr. Adams attended St. Catherine of Genoa School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1959.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Mary, Evanston; St. Margaret of Scotland; St. Matthias; and St. Francis de Paula.

He was pastor of St. Gall Parish for 12 years and St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish for 11 years. He retired in 2003.

In addition, Msgr. Adams was chaplain at Amundsen High School and executive secretary to the clergy personnel board.

Father Ron Kalas, vicar for senior priests, remembered his classmate as “a very thoughtful man, always ready to do what he was asked to do, and he did that with charm and grace.”

Adrian Dominican Sister Rosalie (David Miriam) Bulanda, 83, died March 27 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Aurora, she was in the 66th year of her religious life.

Sister Rosalie ministered in elementary education and nursing and as a volunteer in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, New York and Mississippi.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Queen of Angels.

She is survived by a brother, Warren Hickman.

School Sister of St. Francis Marita (M. Justinia) Zeller, 90, died in Milwaukee on March 31. 

Born in Chicago, Sister Marita was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1950; made her first profession of vows in 1952; and made her final vows in 1958.

Beginning in 1953, Sister Marita ministered in Illinois and Wisconsin for seven decades. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Anne, Barrington (1953-1958); Holy Angels (1966-1970, 1989-2005) and Alvernia High School (1970-1989). She also led Bible study at St. Viator Parish (2007-2018). 

She is survived by a brother, Gerard.

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

Sister Barbara was born in Detroit, she was in the 74th year of her religious life.

Sister Barbara ministered in education, as a religious education director and pastoral minister and as an artist. She served 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.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary Catherine (Mary Cronan) Perkins, 93, died April 16 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Oak Park, Sister Mary Catherine made her first religious profession in 1954 and her perpetual profession in 1957. She taught French and sometimes Spanish, served as in administration, ministered in adult faith formation for 14 years and volunteered in faith groups in the District of Columbia, Illinois, Connecticut, Iowa, Wisconsin and Oregon.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary Catherine taught at Visitation High School (1955-1957) and volunteered at the Church of the Holy Spirit Parish, Schaumburg (2007-2013).

She is survived by a sister, Patricia Perkins-Lundeen.

Providence Sister Patricia (Anna Marie) Geis, 88, died in Terre Haute, Indiana, on April 17. 

Born in Chicago, Sister Patty entered the Sisters of Providence in 1952 and professed final vows in 1960. She taught in Indiana, Illinois, California and North Dakota. After retiring from teaching in 2005, she served as an adult literacy tutor for the School on Wheels in the Chicago suburbs for another 13 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Francis Xavier, Wilmette (1972-1973); St. Agnes (1973-1976); Our Lady of Hope, Rosemont (1979-1980); St. Cornelius (1980-1981); Santa Maria Del Popolo, Mundelein (2000-2001) and Divine Savior, Norridge (2004-2005).

She also served as director of St. Columbkille Day Nursery (1981-1983) and ministered at Mount St. Joseph, Lake Zurich (1999-2000).

Sister Patty is survived by two sisters, Mary A. Rachupka and Rosemary Schiefer.

Sister of St. Joseph Laurina Kahne, 89, died April 19.

Born in Chicago, Sister Laurina was in her 70th year of religious life.

She taught elementary school and high school for 26 years at Our Lady of Bethlehem, La Grange Park; St. Anthony; St. Cletus, La Grange; St. Francis Xavier, La Grange; St. Margaret Mary; St. Mary, Riverside; St. Victor, Calumet City; and St. Paul High School.

She also worked in Hispanic Ministry at St. Cletus, La Grange, and in the Diocese of Joliet. She is survived by her sisters Joyce Rodriguez and Rita Mischler.

Sister of St. Joseph Mary Peter McGinty, 98, died April 20.

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

She earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in theology from Marquette University in Milwaukee. According to information published on her congregation’s website, she was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in theology from an American university.

She taught at Nazareth Academy, La Grange Park; Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest; Marquette University, Milwaukee; the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary; Loyola University Chicago; St. Francis Xavier School, La Grange; St. Cletus School, La Grange; St. John Fisher School; and St. Leonard School, Berwyn.

Viatorian Father John M. Palmer, 81, died April 2 at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

Born in Nova Scotia, he entered the novitiate in the United States in 1965. He made his first religious profession in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1971.

He earned a master’s degree in music at Northwestern University, Evanston; a performance diploma for organ at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto; and a licentiate in piano and a fellowship in organ from Trinity College of Music in London. He also studied with Jean Langlais in Paris.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, he was director of music at Christ the King Parish and St. Viator Parish (1971-1972). He also was a music professor at Benedictine University in Lisle for more than 30 years, and did weekend sacramental ministry in the Diocese of Joliet.

In 2022, Father Palmer moved to the Viatorian Province Center in Arlington Heights.

In addition to teaching and doing parish work, Father Palmer gave numerous organ recitals in Europe, Canada and the United States, and served as an examiner for the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Leonius Skaar, 85, died April 3 in Footville, Wisconsin.

Born in Minneapolis, Sister Leonius made her first profession in 1957 and her perpetual profession in 1960.

She was a teacher, principal, diocesan school administrator, catechetical director and special education director in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Leonius taught at St. Cajetan (1958-1963); St. Patrick, Lemont (1963-1966); and Visitation (1966-1969), where she also served as catechetical director.

She is survived by a sister, Karen Kenny.

Servite Father Conrad M. (William) Borntrager, 88, died April 10.

Born in Chicago, he entered the Servite Order in Hillside and professed solemn vows in 1957. Father Borntrager was ordained a priest in 1960 and served in various educational and parish ministries in the Chicago area, including as associate pastor of his home parish, Our Lady of Sorrows. He later resided at Annunciata Parish for many years while serving as archivist and historian for the Servite Order.

Adrian Dominican Sister Margaret Mary (Agnes Carol) McGill, 97, died Jan. 27 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island, she was in the 78th year of her religious life.

She ministered in elementary and secondary education, as a college professor and department head, with the ministry of education and culture in Hungary, and as a paralegal.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Our Lady of Good Counsel (1946-1948).

Adrian Dominican Sister Patricia (Jean Edmund) Downey, 84, died Jan. 28 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Chicago, she was in the 66th year of her religious life.

Sister Patricia ministered in elementary and secondary education and educational administration in Michigan, Ohio and Illinois. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was president of Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette (1988-1995).

She became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in 2010.

She is survived by a brother, Edmund Downey.

Adrian Dominican Sister John Norton (Catherine) Barrett, baptized Catherine Barrett, 98, died Feb. 7 in Adrian, Michigan.

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

Sister John Norton ministered in elementary and secondary education for almost 68 years in Michigan, Illinois and Florida. She became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in Adrian in 2016.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Mary Mount Carmel (1952-1953) and St. Kilian (1953-1957).

Divine Word Father Derek Simons, 86, died at Techny on March 2.

Father Simons, an award-winning television producer and civil rights champion, used communication and video to promote dialogue among people of different cultural, religious and racial backgrounds.

Born in Swansea, Wales, in 1937 and raised in London, Father Simons served two years in the British Royal Air Force, studied law, worked in broadcasting at the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation in Wellington, and in advertising in Sydney.

Baptized Anglican, he converted to Catholicism after an unlikely encounter. As a young professional, he met Catholics at a party in New Zealand. He then began reading the works of Graham Greene and Cardinal John Henry Newman, accepted an invitation to a Good Friday service and then chose Catholicism.

He entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1964 and professed vows in 1966 in Roscommon, Ireland. Ordained to the priesthood in 1970, Father Simons was employed by the Archdiocese of Chicago as a producer-writer with the Catholic Television Network of Chicago. He produced more than 200 television and audiovisual programs for priests and parishes.

He also served as a creative consultant with Paulist Productions in Hollywood, California, on the Insight television series and after-school specials.

In the 1980s, Father Simons founded and served as executive producer of Ethnic Communications Outlet/Chicago (ECO), a creative production house devoted to the empowerment of various ethnic groups. Through his work with ECO, he collaborated with many notable professionals, including singer Marilyn McCoo, model Beverly Johnson, theologian Martin Marty, actress Helen Hayes and entertainer Steve Allen.

In addition to his work with ECO, he served as creative director for World Alive, a multimedia exhibit about missions at Divine Word International, which later became Techny Towers Conference and Retreat Center.

The quality of his work continued to be noticed in the 1990s and beyond. In 1996, Father Simons received the Silver Dome Award by the Illinois Broadcasters Association and was tapped by ABC News/Nightline as part of a national resource team. He appeared on Nightline with Ted Koppel and co-hosted and produced “The Race Question” radio series on Chicago’s WLIT-FM.

In 2001, Father Simons established Angels Studio, an independent production house that developed and supported programs and resources to promote ethnic equality and understanding.

He also helped to found Catholic Schools Opposing Racism, a student/teacher organization that offered workshops and educational materials to more than 300 schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Ever-evolving projects continued into the new millennium. He launched the annual JustStories Festival. Begun in 2002, JustStories highlighted storytellers dedicated to social justice.

In 2010, Father Simons was awarded an Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network for his service to the arts and community of professional storytelling. In 2014, he moved to Techny and continued his communication ministry.

In addition to his work in communication, Father Simons also served as a priest in two of Chicago’s oldest African American parishes, St. Elizabeth and St. Anselm, now merged into Our Lady of Africa.

Father Simons held a master’s degree in film from Columbia College in Chicago.

Adrian Dominican Sister Paul James (Lois Marie) Villemure, 94, died March 11 in Adrian, Michigan.

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

She ministered in education in Puerto Rico, Illinois and Florida. She became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in Adrian in 2013.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Regina Dominican High School.

She is survived by brothers Joseph, Matthew, Thomas and Peter.

Deacon Willie Foggie Jr., 85, died Feb. 12 in North Carolina. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1986 and excardinated to the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2002.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Deacon Foggie served at St. Charles Lwanga, St. Ailbe and Holy Angels parishes.

His son Michael A. Foggie Sr. was ordained a deacon for the Archdiocese of Chicago in 2020.

In addition to Michael Foggie Sr., he is survived by his children Margaret Foggie Kimber, Jacqueline M. Thompson, Christine Brevard, Kenneth L. Foggie Sr., Edward W. Foggie Sr., Martin J. Foggie, Willie Foggie III and Malcolm J. Foggie; 18 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.

Resurrection Sister Laura Swedowski, 92, died Feb. 10 at Resurrection Life Center.

Born in Wisconsin, Sister Laura entered the community in 1948 and professed vows in 1950.

Sister Laura spent 58 years as a teacher in elementary schools. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Casimir (1951-1952), St. Thecla (1956-1960), St. Bede (1964-1966) and Queen of the Rosary (1967-1978). She also taught in Indiana and Florida.

In 1996, she retired as a full-time teacher and served as a substitute teacher at St. Monica, St. Julianna, Our Lady of Ransom, Immaculate Conception (Talcott Avenue), and St. Ladislaus. During this time, she also served as the sacristan in the chapel of the provincial home of the Sisters of the Resurrection.

Marianist Father Francis Walter Schorp, 91, died Feb. 19 in San Antonio.

Born in Texas, Father Schorp entered the Society of Mary in 1951 after attending St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. He professed first vows in 1952 and final vows in 1958. As a scholastic, he taught at high schools, including St. Michael in Chicago.

He began seminary studies in 1960 in Fribourg, Switzerland, and was ordained there in 1964. After short teaching assignments in Texas and St. Louis and several years of graduate studies, he joined the faculty at St. Mary’s University in 1973. He lived and ministered there for the rest of his life.

Felician Sister Joanita Marie Krieter, 79, died Feb. 26 in Mother of Good Counsel Convent.

Born in Evanston, she attended St. Gertrude School, Franklin Park; and Trinity High School, Oak Park; and was a graduate of Rosary College, now Dominican University, in River Forest. She entered the Felician Sisters in 1976 and professed her final vows in 1985. 

Sister Joanita Marie ministered as a nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Milwaukee and at St. Mary Home in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. For almost 30 years, she served as an activity aide in the Felician Sisters Care Center in Chicago.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary Eileen (Marillac) Scully, 95, died March 1, in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Oak Park, Sister Mary Eileen made her first religious profession in 1950 and her perpetual profession in 1953. She was a teacher, guidance counselor and principal, and served as councilor for the Northwest Province of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa and was a program manager and senior service provider for the visually challenged. Sister Mary Eileen served in Minnesota, Nebraska, Alabama and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary Eileen served as guidance counselor at Trinity High School, River Forest (1982-1986), and at Holy Trinity High School (1986-2000). She ministered at Blind Service Association, Chicago, as program manager (2001-2008), and with the senior services for the visually challenged (2001-2012).

She is survived by a brother, Charles Scully.

Dominican Father Jon Alexander, 82, died March 3 in Chicago.

Born in Pennsylvania, Father Alexander earned a bachelor’s degree in history and education from Gettysburg College and a doctorate in history from Temple University before entering the Harvard University Divinity School. There he encountered Dominican Father Thomas O’Meara, who was instrumental in bringing Father Alexander into the Catholic Church, and, after earning a master’s degree from Harvard, into the Dominican Order.

Father Alexander taught history, religious studies and American studies in Iowa and Rhode Island before being ordained a priest in 1986. He served in Newman Centers and campus ministry and as a parish priest in New Mexico and Minnesota. From 1998 to 2014, he taught history and religious studies at Providence College in Rhode Island.

After two more years in New Mexico and a year in Minnesota, he moved to St. Pius V Priory in Chicago due to declining health.

Providence Sister Rosemary (Rose Cecile) Borntrager, 90, died March 6 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born in Chicago, she attended St. Jarlath and Our Lady of Sorrows schools and Providence High School before entering the Sisters of Providence in 1950. She made final vows in 1958. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education and master’s degrees in fine art and in educational administration.

She taught and was a school principal and diocesan school administrator in schools in Indiana; Illinois; Washington, D.C.; Missouri and California. After retiring from education, she served in congregation archives and as general secretary of the congregation. Retiring from that position in 2006, she volunteered both in the business office and medical records of Providence Health Care for another six years, before volunteering her services at Linden Leaf Gifts and designing several Christmas Cards that were sold there. 

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught and was assistant principal at Marywood, Evanston (1966-1970).

Sister Rosemary is survived by her brother, Servite Father Conrad Borntrager.

Benedictine Sister of Chicago Vivian Ivantic, 109, died Feb. 11 in St. Joseph Court Infirmary.

Sister Vivian (Rosalie M.) was born in Waukegan and attended Mother of God Parish with her family.

She became an aspirant of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago while attending St. Scholastica High School. She spent her senior year at and in 1932 graduated from Holy Child High School in Waukegan to be closer to family.

She entered the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago in 1932 as a postulant and was received as a novice the following year. In 1934, she professed her first vows and almost immediately began her long career as an educator.

Through years of after-school, Saturday and summer courses, she finally received a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University and a master of library science degree from Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Vivian taught at St. Hilary, St. George, St. Joseph, St. Symphorosa and St. Scholastica High School, as well as her home parish, Mother of God in Waukegan. She also taught in Arizona and Colorado.

In 1952, she was assigned to Mother of God to be the house superior while serving as the teaching principal.

After more time in Colorado, she returned to St. Scholastica in 1958 to be both teacher and librarian, a position she held for 17 years. In 1978, Sister Vivian established the archives for the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago.              

She is survived by her only living sibling, Bill Ivantic.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Betty (Erneste) Smith, 83, died Feb. 11 at the Dominican motherhouse in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.

Born in Washington, D.C., Sister Betty made her first religious profession in 1959 and her perpetual profession in 1964. She served in the culinary arts and as a teacher and pastoral minister.

In Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, South Carolina, the District of Columbia and Georgia.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was a culinary artist at Queen of Peace Convent, Burbank.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Virginia (Angelique) Kinsella, 83, died Feb. 14 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Chicago, Sister Virginia made her first religious profession in 1959 and her perpetual profession in 1964. She was a teacher, principal, pastoral minister and chaplain and served as a support staff member in the District of Columbia, Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Virginia taught at St. Richard (1968-1969); St. Thomas More (1986-1987); St. John de la Salle (1987-1988); and the Academy of St. Benedict the African, Laflin Campus (1988-1990). She ministered as chaplain at Alexian Brothers Medical Center and Home Health, Elk Grove Village (2001-2002).

Deacon Eugene Kummerer Jr., 62, died Feb. 2. He was ordained in 2019 and served at St. Pascal, now part of Holy Rosary Parish.

Deacon Kummerer was active in many ministries at the parish, including the liturgy and art and environment committees.

“If Gene saw something that needed to be done, he did it,” said Betty Arena, administrative assistant for the parish. “Nobody knows everything he did.”

He was the moderator for women’s club, past president and a member of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and led adoration and Benediction every Thursday. Friends said he would pull out his wallet to give money to homeless people as soon as he saw them.

He is survived by his parents, Margaret and Eugene Kummerer Sr.; and his siblings Brian, Jeff and Richard Kummerer and Mary Pat Lunkes.

Providence Sister Maureen Abbott, 84, died Jan. 26 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born in Buffalo, New York, she joined the Sisters of Providence in 1956 and professed final vows in 1964.

She ministered as a teacher, principal, councilor to the provincial, provincial and director of ministries and vicar of education in the Diocese of Corpus Christi. She also worked in the marriage tribunal in the Diocese of Portland, Oregon, and wrote a history of her congregation.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Mother Theodore Guerin High School, River Grove.

Sister Maureen is survived by five sisters: Patricia Ashton, Liz Karchmer, Christine Wisian, Jean Wood and Kathy Oxford; and one brother, John Abbott.

Felician Sister Mary Susan (Mary Doreen) Holbach, 76, died Jan. 26, at Mother of Good Counsel Convent.

Born in Wisconsin, she joined the Felician Sisters aspirancy in Chicago, where she attended Good Counsel High School. She entered the Felician Sisters postulancy in 1964 and professed her final vows in 1972. She ministered in elementary schools as a teacher and principal in Illinois and Wisconsin. She also ministered as an infant care lead teacher at St. Joseph Academy and as a receptionist at Villa St. Francis in Milwaukee.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at St. Bruno (1967-1968); Our Lady of Ransom, Niles (1968-1970); St. Isidore, Blue Island (1970-1971, 1994-1999); St. Damian, Oak Forest (1971-1974); St. Mary Magdalene (1974-1975); Our Lady of the Gardens (1975-1979, 1982-1986); St. Bronislava (1979-1980); St. Joseph High School, Westchester (1986-1990); Good Shepherd (1990-1992); St. Helen (1993-1994); and Holy Innocents (1999-2002).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Janette (Juditha) Wicker, 91, died Jan. 29 in Footville, Wisconsin.

Born in Wisconsin, Sister Janette made her first religious profession in 1954 and her perpetual profession in 1957. She was a teacher, co-principal and principal, as well as a religious education coordinator, liturgist, pastoral associate and librarian. She served in Illinois and Wisconsin.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Janette taught at St. Cajetan (1954-1963).

Father Charles W. Watkins, 78, died Jan. 27. He was the former pastor of St. Columba Parish.

Born in Florence, Alabama, Father Watkins attended Coffee High School and the University of North Alabama, both in Florence, and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein.

Before entering the seminary, Father Watkins spent more than a quarter century working in health care. In the early 1980s, he was coordinator of the cardiac surgery section and a research clinician at the University of Chicago.

He was ordained in 2003 at age 58.

After being ordained, Father Watkins was associate pastor at Our Lady of the Ridge, Chicago Ridge, and St. Cletus, La Grange. He became pastor of St. Columba Parish in 2012, and served there until he retired in 2020. Watkins was also chaplain of the Circus and Traveling Show Apostolate and served as dean of Vicariate IV-C.

Father Michael Novick, ordained in 2001 and associate pastor of St. Cletus Parish, was a close friend of Father Watkins. “He became part of my family here in Chicago, since his was in Alabama.”

Deacon Wolfgang Walter Kunath, 82, of Hudson Oaks, Texas, died Jan. 16. He was ordained in 1977 and served at St. Catherine Laboure Parish in Glenview before moving to Texas.

Born in Germany, Deacon Kunath moved to Chicago with his family when he was a child. He married his high school sweetheart, Bonnie, in 1965, after serving for six years in the U.S. Air Force.

Deacon Kunath studied at IIT Technical Institute and the University of Illinois at Chicago before working for 27 years at AT&T.

As a deacon, he taught religious education, and served in prison, hospital and nursing home ministries. He was also a fourth degree Knight of Columbus.

He is survived by his wife, Bonnie; children Eric Kunath, Gwen Hasty, Perrin Kunath and Marrika Schumann; 10 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.

Adrian Dominican Sister Helen (Denis Margaret) McAllister, 83, died Dec. 17, 2022, in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Evergreen Park, Sister Helen attended Aquinas Dominican High School. She was a member of her community for 64 years.

Sister Helen ministered in education in Michigan and Illinois. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was campus minister at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Westchester (1985-1989) and a teacher at St. Cyprian, River Grove (1989-1995); St. Benedict, Blue Island (1995-1997) and Queen of Peace High School, Burbank (1998-2009).

Franciscan Sister of Chicago M. Gabriel (Irene) Lazarski, 96, died Jan. 9.

Sister M. Gabriel entered the community in 1947 and professed perpetual vows in 1954.

She ministered in education and in leadership positions in her community in Illinois and Indiana.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Florian (1949-1950); St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr (1950-1954, 1979-1980); St. Louise de Marillac, La Grange Park (1959-1960); and was principal and local superior at Five Holy Martyrs (1969-1974);

From 1974 to 1985, she served two terms as a general councilor. During that time, she held a number of other leadership positions, including retirement coordinator (1976-1977) and motherhouse superior (1977-1979). She was also assistant principal (1980-1981) and principal (1982-1985) of St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr.

She was novice director (1987-1990) at the Lemont motherhouse, then ministered at Five Holy Martyrs as local superior while volunteering at the Port (1990-1991) and director of religious education (1991-1993). From 1993 to 2006, she ministered at St. Joseph Home as local superior and director of mission effectiveness, among other positions. She ministered at Madonna Convent from 2006 to 2009, before retiring at the motherhouse.

Mercy Sister Mary (Mateo) Fearon, 98, died Jan. 12.

She was a Sister of Mercy for 75 years.

Sister Mary had a bachelor’s degree from Saint Xavier University and a master’s degree from the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University Chicago.

After years teaching in the primary grades in Catholic schools of Illinois and Iowa, Sister Mary was invited in 1967 to join the Office for Catechesis of the Archdiocese of Chicago. She began her second career there writing the child and adult curricula of the new post-Second Vatican Council catechetical program.

She authored three series of textbooks and teacher manuals dedicated to religious education of young children that were published by Wm. C. Brown and Co. In addition, she wrote “Saints for All Seasons,” “Practical Liturgies for the School Year,” “Bible Stories for Children” and more, which offered fresh and creative approaches to religious education and faith formation.

In 1998 she was honored by Cardinal Francis George for her contributions to religious education in the Archdiocese of Chicago and in 1992 she received the Bene Award for her book “Celebrating the Gift of Forgiveness.”

Divine Word Brother Raymond Albers, 93, died Jan. 13.

Born in Iowa, Brother Ray entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1947 and professed vows in 1949.

A man of many trades and talents, he served as a tailor at the Divine Word community in Conesus, New York; a carpenter in Bordentown, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.; and a draftsman for the Divine Word Architecture Bureau in Rome.

He ministered at St. Joseph’s Technical School in Saboba, Ghana, in the 1970s. After returning to United States, he served as business manager at St. Anselm Parish and the director of brother formation at Techny, and worked as a substance abuse counselor.

Before retiring, he provided pastoral care for the Zapotecas people of Oaxaca, Mexico.

He also designed the stained-glass windows in chapel of Divine Word Residence at Techny and the African Chapel in the Techny Towers Conference and Retreat Center.

Brother Ray had lived in Techny in retirement since 2008.

Sister of the Living Word Mary Louise Coccimiglio, 87, died Jan. 13. She resided at the Resurrection Life Center.

Born in Detroit, she served at Josephinum High School; as a volunteer with RCIA at Our Lady of the Wayside, Arlington Heights; and in Missouri and Michigan.

Passionist Father Eric Meyer, 84, died Jan. 13. He was the former pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish on Talcott Avenue.

Father Meyer was born in Chicago and attended St. Ita School before entering the Passionist seminary. He earned a doctorate in theology in Munster, Germany.

He entered the community in 1959 and was ordained a priest in 1966.

Meyer taught theology at Catholic Theological Union and at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, and ministered at the Newman Center at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. He was associate pastor and then the last Passionist pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish (2005-2013).

Rose Hegarty, former business manager at Immaculate Conception Parish, remembered Father Meyer as a good man, very dedicated to the church. “He had a golden heart, and always felt sorry for people who needed help,” Hegarty said.

He is survived by his brother, James Meyer.

Maryknoll Father Edward J. Whelan, 88, died Jan. 16 in Maryknoll, New York.

Father Whelan was born in Chicago and attended St. Angela School and St. Ignatius High School before entering Maryknoll in 1952. He was ordained a priest in 1961.

He taught English at Maryknoll collegiate institutions in Glen Ellyn and in Pennsylvania, and earned a doctorate in English at St. Louis University before being sent to Korea.

From 1972 to 2022, Father Whelan ministered for almost 40 years in South Korea and 10 years in northeast China, serving as a pastor and an English professor and establishing two early childhood special education centers, one in Cheongiu City, South Korea, and one in China. He also helped establish a day care center for adults with severe intellectual disabilities in Cheongiu.

In 2022, Father Whelan returned to Maryknoll, New York.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Joris Binder, 84, died Jan. 22 in Footville, Wisconsin.

Born in Gary, Indiana, Sister Joris made her first religious profession in 1958 and her perpetual profession in 1961. She was a teacher and administrator and worked in residence life leadership at the University of Notre Dame and led the Hesburgh Sabbatical Program at Catholic Theological Union.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught (1968-1973) and was a counselor (1970-1973) at St. Philip the Apostle School, Northfield, and was codirector of the Hesburgh Sabbatical Program (now Hesburgh Renewal Program) at Catholic Theological Union (1998-2001).

She is survived by a brother, George Binder Jr.

Deacon Joseph Pepitone, 81, died Jan. 11. He was ordained in 1982 and ministered for 40 years at St. John of the Cross Parish, Western Springs.

Born in Chicago, he attended Austin High School and DePaul University. He worked in sales for the McGraw-Hill Companies, and after he retired, he was a paraeducator for 10 years at Lyons Township High School.

He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Mary; his children Melissa Glimco, Joseph Pepitone and Anthony Pepitone; seven grandchildren and his siblings Ann Donatello, Francine Erenburg and John Pepitone.

Providence Sister Thomas Jeanne (Margaret Ann) Doriot, 85, died Dec. 19, 2022, at Westridge Health Center in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Indiana, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1960 and professed final vows in 1967. She ministered in education for five years, in journalism for 11 years in Indiana, Illinois and California. She also did pastoral ministry.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Marywood High School, Evanston (1964-1966), and was a journalist at Pioneer Press, Evanston (1969-1971).

Dominican Sister Teresa (Joseph Henrice) Disch, 84, died Dec. 20, 2022, in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Wisconsin, she was in her 63rd year of religious life.

Sister Teresa ministered in elementary and secondary education, as a director of formation for her community, as a social worker, pastoral counselor and retreat and spiritual director in Michigan, Illinois and Colorado.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Mary Mount Carmel (1959) and Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette (1970-1971). She was associate director of permanent diaconate formation in Oak Park (1991-1995), and was a pastoral counselor and spiritual director at Catholic Counseling Associates, Westchester (1995-2006).

She also had a master of divinity degree from the Jesuit School of Theology in Chicago.

She is survived by a sister, Rita Chiodini, and two brothers, Richard Disch and Robert Disch.

Little Sister of the Poor Vincent (Mary Catherine) O’Neill, 100, died Dec. 28, 2022, in Palatine.

Born in Philadelphia, she professed temporary vows in her community in 1944 and perpetual vows in 1950. During her religious life of 78 years, she served the elderly poor with devotion.

She spent 47 of those years in the Archdiocese of Chicago, serving at both St. Mary’s Home in Chicago and St. Joseph’s Home in Palatine. 

Deacon Ismael Pineiro, 78, died Dec. 20, 2022. He was ordained in 1983 and had served outside the Archdiocese of Chicago for many years.

Deacon Pineiro was born in Puerto Rico, one of 14 children. He married his wife, Virginia, in 1968, and they had three children.

After he was ordained a deacon, he served at St. Peter Canisius Parish and later in Clermont, Florida.

His wife predeceased him. He is survived by his children Ismael Jr., Laura and Maria; seven grandchildren; and his siblings Francisca, Ana, Mercedes, Carmen, Marta, Ana Maria, Laura, Juan, Domingo, Luis and Martin Jr.

Benedictine Sister Margarita Walters, 83, died Nov. 20, 2022, in St. Joseph Court Infirmary.

Sister Margarita was born in New York and moved with her family to Wilmette, where she attended St. Joseph School. After graduating, she enrolled at St. Scholastica High School and graduated in 1956.

Shortly after Sister Margarita finished high school, she moved to California and spent the greater part of her adult life there. She was married and eventually widowed. As her five children grew to adulthood, her success in the business world began to be less important to her than a yearning for a deeper relationship with God. After she tested that call with short memberships in the Carmelites and a small Italian community, she finally entered St. Scholastica Monastery in 1995.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Margarita served as director of alumnae relations for St. Scholastica Academy High School, director of the development office for the school, and following her profession of vows, the vocation minister for the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Barbara (Rosellen) Sheehy, 91, died Nov. 28, 2022, in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Chicago, Sister Barbara made her first religious profession in 1951 and her perpetual profession in 1954. She was a teacher, principal and diocesan assistant superintendent, and she helped develop and lead a workplace computer training program. She ministered in the District of Columbia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, Illinois and Massachusetts.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Barbara was principal at Queen of Peace, Burbank (1973-1986).

Divine Word Brother George Haegele, 75, who worked in accounting and business administration for the Society of the Divine Word for decades, died Dec. 3 , 2022, in Techny.

Born in Chicago, Brother George grew up in St. Sabina Parish. He professed first vows in 1968 and perpetual vows in 1974.

He served as treasurer for Divine Word Seminary in Perrysburg, Ohio; business manager for the Divine Word community in Pittsburgh; and treasurer for the Society of the Divine Word New Jersey District.

He worked as a bookkeeper for the Divine Word Missionaries at Bordentown, New Jersey, and in pastoral care in East Troy, Wisconsin. He also served as chairman of the Society of the Divine Word Chicago Province Budget Committee and as a member of the province’s Finance Committee.

Brother George retired in Techny in 2017.

Divine World Father Mark Weber, 68, died Dec. 14, 2022, in Chicago. Father Weber served two terms as his community’s provincial and was its general secretary for formation and education internationally. He also served as a missionary in Ghana.

“Mark was an advocate for those in need, a leader who preferred working with his hands rather than governing with a pen,” said Divine Word Father Roger Schroeder, Louis J. Luzbetak, SVD professor of mission and culture at Catholic Theological Union, and a good friend of Father Weber.

Born in Iowa, Father Weber was ordained to the priesthood in 1982, He spent almost eight years in West Africa: two years as a seminarian and six years as a missionary priest. In 1983, he became chaplain and teacher at St. Paul Technical School in Kukurantumi, Ghana. By 1989, tropical illnesses, such as malaria and typhoid, took a toll on him and he returned to the United States.

Upon his return, he joined the staff of the 8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago. For most of the 1990s, Father Weber worked on the formation staff of Divine Word Theologate in Chicago and eventually was named rector.

After his time there, Father Weber served St. Anselm Parish in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. Divine Word Missionaries have staffed the predominantly African American parishes of St. Anselm and St. Elizabeth (now among the former parishes united as Our Lady of Africa Parish) since before World War II. Father Weber lived and worked at the parish for five years, including three as pastor.

In 2005 and 2008, Father Weber was elected as Chicago provincial. When Father Weber’s second term as provincial superior ended, the religious order’s international leaders chose him as the generalate’s secretary for formation and education. His one request when accepting the position was to make his base at St. Anselm Parish in Chicago instead of Rome. In the role as formation and education secretary, he traveled the world to meet with Divine Word formation directors and candidates and to improve the congregation’s formation and education processes.

He is survived by four sisters: Jeanne Kluesner, Ann Their, Joan Weber and Marilyn Mootz; and a brother, Michael Weber.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Joann (Antonia) Feist, 88, died Dec. 6, 2022, in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Bloomington, Sister Joann made her first religious profession in 1954 and her perpetual profession in 1957.

She taught for 46 years at all levels of formal education and in community adult learning centers, specializing in teaching science and computer skills. Sister Joann also served as a chaplain for one year and in fundraising for five years. Sister Joann served in Wisconsin, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, Alaska, Alabama and the District of Columbia.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Joann taught at St. Luke, River Forest (1956-1961 and 1976-1979); St. Barnabas (1965-1968 and 1989-1990); Unity Catholic High School (1980-1983, 1984-1985 and 1986-1988); Mother McAuley High School (1988-1989); Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity, Winnetka (1991-1994) and St. Thomas More (1997-1998). She ministered as a teacher at Maria Shelter (1994-1997) and Connections Adult Learning Center, now the Learning Center, (2000); and as a teacher and grant administrator at Malcolm X College (1998-1999). She worked in the Development Office at the Mission of Our Lady of Mercy Home (2000-2005). 

She is survived by a sister, Genevieve Feist, and a brother, Bill Feist.

Deacon Frank Beil, 88, died Nov. 26 at his home in Glenview. He was ordained in 1984 and served at St. Catherine Laboure Parish in Glenview and St. Isaac Jogues Parish in Niles.

Born in Cleveland, he moved with his family to Oak Park as a child. After high school, he worked at his family’s furniture store and served in the U.S. Army.

He married his first love, Joan Ann Swinhart, while in the service in 1957. They had five children before she died 13 years later.

He met his second wife, Carolyn Elaine Wenzel, through the NAIM support group for Catholic widows and widowers. Deacon Beil adopted his new wife’s son, she adopted his children and they had one child together. At the time of his death, they had been married 51 years.

Deacon Beil worked in sales for Fruehauf and Pitney Bowes prior to starting his own business with his wife Carolyn.

In addition to his work at St. Catherine Laboure and St. Isaac Jogues, he trained as a chaplain at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and served as a chaplain at Resurrection Hospital.

Deacon Beil is survived by his wife, Carolyn, and six of his children: Julie Migacz, Laura Deters, Mark Beil, Brian Beil, Gene Beil, and David Beil-Adaskin; 12 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and his brother, David Beil.

Mercy Sister Rosalie (Carlita) FitzPatrick, 97, died Sept. 7 at Mercy Circle.

Born in Chicago, Sister Rosalie was a member of her congregation for 80 years. She taught math for 34 years at Saint Xavier University and for four years at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island. She also taught at Mercy High School; Queen of Martyrs; St. Xavier Academy; Immaculate Conception; Little Flower; St. Cecilia; St. Rose of Lima.

After retiring in 1995, she tutored at Mercy Girls Home and served as a minister care at St. Germaine Parish, Oak Lawn.

She is survived by her brother, Larry.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Cecilia (Elianne) Davis, 82, died Nov. 17 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Nebraska, Sister Cecilia made her first religious profession in 1960 and her perpetual profession in 1965. She was a teacher and assistant principal, and cared for a family member. Sister Cecilia served in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Cecilia taught at St. Vincent Ferrer, River Forest (1970-1976); St. Giles, Oak Park (1976-1982), where she was also unit coordinator; St. Eulalia, Maywood (1986-1987); and Mary, Seat of Wisdom, Park Ridge (1987-1996). She was assistant principal at St. Domitilla, Hillside (1985-1986), and cared for a family member in River Forest (1999-2003).

Sister Cecilia is survived by a sister, Joan Hill, and a brother, Frank Davis.

Divine Word Father John “Jack” Farley, 90, died Nov. 17.

Born in Massachusetts, he entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1946 and professed religious vows in 1952. He was ordained a priest in 1960.

Despite his wish to serve overseas, after ordination, he was assigned to serve as assistant mission director for the Mission Office at Techny. He was editor of Missionary Youth magazine and director of the Latin America Office of the Divine Word Mission Office for 11 years.

He led a Divine Word Seminary in Perrysburg, Ohio, for five years before returning to Techny as director of programs and being charged with renovating the former St. Mary’s Seminary, turning it into Techny Towers Conference and Retreat Center and creating Divine Word International, a museum that featured missionary work around the world and believed to be the only museum of its kind.

In 1980, upon completion of the renovation, he asked for a pastoral assignment and served as a retreat director in Massachusetts; as a seminary director in Washington, D.C.; and as a staff member for a parish renewal program with assignments in Nigeria, Ghana, India and the Philippines.

Father Farley retired in Techny in 2015.

He is survived by his twin sister, Notre Dame Sister Joan Farley.

Divine Word Father Richard Thibeau, 93, died Nov. 17.

Born in New York, he began his studies with the Divine Word Missionaries in 1943; professed vows in 1949; and was ordained to the priesthood in Techny in 1957.

For the first three decades of his priesthood, he served as pastor, teacher and overall general contractor in the United States, finding new ways to use the society’s buildings.

In 1988, Father Thibeau received his first foreign mission assignment, which took him to Cuernavaca, Mexico, where he served in an administrative capacity and built several parishes. Father Thibeau also provided pastoral care for the Zapotecas people in the Sierra Juarez Mountains. For this assignment, he needed more than his knowledge of Spanish; he learned Zapotecan, the language of the indigenous people.

During his years in San Juan Bautista Parish in San Juan Yaeé, Oaxaca, he was the only priest for a population of about 7,000, and he recognized the need for a medical facility. To reach the nearest hospital, residents had to travel five hours down the mountainside. To remedy this problem, Father Thibeau built Our Madonna of the Rosary Medical Center in Oaxaca.

In 2016, Father Thibeau moved to Divine Word Residence at Techny and continued his missionary ministries. From a distance and well into his 90s, he supported missionary projects in Mexico, including Instituto Infantil Teresita School in Morelos.

Dominican Friar Richard John (John Francis) Woods, 81, died Nov. 19 in Tallaght, Ireland, where he had been hospitalized for several months due to brain and neck injuries resulting from falls.

Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he entered the Dominican novitiate in 1962 and professed simple vows in 1963. He earned bachelor’s (1964) and master’s (1966) degrees from the Dominican House of Philosophy at St. Thomas Priory in River Forest, and made his solemn vows in 1966.

In 1969, he was ordained to the priesthood after earning a master’s degree in theology from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in Iowa.

Following his ordination, Father Woods began doctoral studies at Loyola University Chicago, receiving a Ph.D. in the philosophy of religion in 1978. Among many other awards and honors, he received the honorary Master of Sacred Theology from the Dominican Order in 2000.

He taught at numerous institutions throughout the United States, including the Institute of Pastoral Studies of Loyola University Chicago and, from 2000-2022, Dominican University in River Forest. From 1991-1997, he was also a visiting tutor and lecturer at Blackfriars Hall, the University of Oxford, England.

Father Woods was a prolific producer of books articles, and lectures in professional journals and societies. His interest in and contribution to scholarship included spirituality and mysticism, sexuality, the Celtic harp (which he played masterfully), Celtic studies, the occult and Meister Eckhart. He also wrote or contributed to five volumes of fiction.

Father Robert J. Roll, 71, died Nov. 21. He was the former pastor of three parishes.

Born in Chicago, Father Roll attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1977.

He was associate pastor of St. Constance, St. Cornelius, St. Josephine Bakhita and St. Giles. He was pastor of Sts. Peter & Paul Parish, St. Maurice Parish and St. Bride Parish. He also served as a dean for three years, 1998 to 2001. He retired in 2021.

Dominican Sister of Peace Joan Monica McGuire, 90, died Nov. 21 in Kentucky.

Sister Joan served in the Archdiocese of Chicago as director of the Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs from 1987-1992 and from 1996 until she retired in 2013. 

Early in her tenure as director, she was very involved in establishing a covenant relationship between the Metropolitan Chicago Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Archdiocese of Chicago. Sister Joan led the procession on Oct. 31, 2017, when Cardinal Cupich renewed this covenant with Bishop Wayne Miller of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod on the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

Sister Joan was a delegate of Cardinal Joseph Bernardin’s Chicago Catholic-Jewish Dialogue visit to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, and under the leadership of Cardinal Francis George, she co-directed “A Pilgrimage of Love” to Constantinople and Rome.

While serving in the archdiocese, Sister Joan was an instructor in the Institute of Pastoral Leadership at the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. She also served as a member of the joint working group of the World Council of Churches Faith and Order Commission and as co-chair of the Illinois Council of Churches.

Sister Joan was instrumental in making the 1993 convening of the Parliament of the World’s Religions a reality and remained deeply involved in the parliament’s work for many years.

“Sister Joan was a wise, humble and compassionate leader who worked tirelessly to build lasting relationships among Christians and with people of the world’s religions,” said Susan Pudelek, assistant director of the Archdiocese of Chicago’s EIA Office. “She will be deeply missed by those who came to know and work with her. We all benefit today from her legacy of faithful leadership in the name of Jesus.”

As a testimony to her remarkable contributions to ecumenical and interreligious relations, the archdiocesan EIA Office named an award in her honor, which recognizes outstanding contributions to local Christian and interreligious dialogue.

“For more than three decades, Sister Joan McGuire expertly directed ecumenical and interreligious affairs for the Archdiocese of Chicago,” said Dan Olsen, director of the EIA Office. “Her pioneering and exemplary work helped build the deep relationships among religious communities in Chicago that persist to this day. The interreligious fabric of Chicago has forever been changed for the better because of Sister Joan.”

Born in Nebraska, Sister Joan entered the Dominican Congregation in 1955 and professed final vows in 1958 at St. Catharine, Kentucky.

She taught at St. Michael, Orland Park, and Academy of Our Lady.  She was elected president of the former Dominican Sisters of St. Catharine from 1972 to 1980 and served on their leadership board from 1992 to 1996.

In 2014, Sister Joan moved to St. Catharine Motherhouse, where she provided community service. In 2017, she moved to Sansbury Care Center, also in St. Catharine, where she began a ministry of prayer and presence.

BVM Sister Bernadette Marie (David Ann) Schvach, BVM, 92, died Nov. 10 in Iowa.

Born in Chicago, she entered the BVM congregation in 1948, from St. Frances of Rome Parish, Cicero. She professed first vows in 1951 and final vows in 1956.

Sister Bernadette was an elementary teacher in Chicago and Berwyn as well as in Iowa, Colorado and Kauai, Hawaii, where she also served as principal.

Servite Father Philip M. McGlynn, 84, died Nov. 12.

Born in Chicago, he entered the Servite Order in Hillside and completed his religious formation in Wisconsin, Northern Ireland, and Illinois and professed solemn vows in 1962. 

Father McGlynn was ordained a priest in 1965 and served in various parish and educational ministries primarily in the Archdiocese of Chicago, including pastor of his home parish, Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica Parish, from 1973 to 1982. He also served as an instructor at St. Philip High School (1966-1968), St. Patrick High School (1970-1973), Notre Dame High School (1984-1990), and as director of the Servite Development Office (1990-2006). In retirement, he assisted in various nursing homes and parishes in the Chicago area.

He is survived by siblings Marianne McGlynn, John McGlynn and Providence Sister Patricia McGlynn.

Providence Sister Regina Ann (Mary Regina) Lynch, 91, died Nov. 15 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born in Indianapolis, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1948 and professed final vows in 1955.

Of her 74 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered in elementary education, as a nurse’s aide and as a volunteer in health care in Indiana, Illinois and North Carolina.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Our Lady of Mercy, Chicago (1950-1955).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Vicki Lauria, 93, died Nov. 17 in Footville, Wisconsin.

Born in Albany, New York, Sister Vicki made her first profession as a Dominican Sister of Kenosha in 1957 and her perpetual profession in 1976. In 1997, she transferred her religious vows to the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa. Sister Vicki taught, was a novice director, was a general councilor and cared for family and loved ones in Illinois, New Mexico, Wisconsin, California and New York.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Vicki taught at Providence of God.

Sister of Christian Charity Bernadette (Virginia) Voss, 81, died Nov. 19 Sacred Heart Convent, Wilmette.

Born in Evanston, she entered the Sisters of Christian Charity in 1960, made her first vows in 1963 and made her final vows in 1969.

Sister Bernadette served as portress in the motherhouse in Wilmette and as homemaker at St. Raphael Convent in Chicago and Sacred Heart Convent in Wilmette.

From 1980 to 1995 Sister Bernadette ministered in St. Louis.

In 1996, Sister Bernadette moved to Josephinum Convent, where she helped with ministry to the poor and taught religious education. After three years in Tucson, Arizona, she returned to Josephinum. From 2003 until 2008, Sister Bernadette served in pastoral ministry and religious education and was a eucharistic minister at St. Elizabeth Hospital.

In 2009, she suffered a stroke; she moved to Sacred Heart Convent, where she embarked on her ministry of prayer and presence.

Father David R. Straub, 60, died Nov. 1. He was most recently the former associate pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Palos Hills.

Born in Chicago, he attended Marian Catholic High School; Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana; and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1994.

Father Straub served as associate pastor of St. Columbanus; St. Monica; St. Dorothy; St. Zachary, Des Plaines; Prince of Peace, Lake Villa; and Sacred Heart Parish. He was pastor of St. Benedict the African-West and Queen of the Rosary, Elk Grove Village.

Auxiliary Bishop Mark Bartosic remembered his classmate as “a man of few words, although he had a way with them.”

Bartosic added that Father Straub had been a sportswriter after college and before seminary, and continued his writing after being ordained. “He was a man who never forgot a kindness done to him,” Bishop Bartosic said.

“Father Dave Straub was a humble priest, never seeking the limelight or fanfare,” said Auxiliary Bishop Robert Casey, archdiocesan vicar general and former classmate. “He served our church well, and I am certain he’ll be hearing the Lord say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”

Fr. Raymond F. Klees

Father Raymond F. Klees, 75, died Nov. 2. He was most recently the former associate pastor of St. Mary of the Woods Parish.

Born in Chicago, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1973.

Father Klees served as assistant pastor of St. Juliana and associate pastor of St. Gabriel, Our Lady of Victory and St. Mary of the Woods. He was pastor of St. Cletus, La Grange.

“Knowing Ray Klees for the past 60 years, since our first day in seminary, I can attest to his great love of people and priesthood,” said Msgr. Kenneth Velo, archdiocesan priest and senior executive of Catholic Collaboration for DePaul University. “He has been in varied ministries, and always brought great devotion and enthusiasm to his work. He will be missed.”

Jesuit Father Patrick J. Boyle, 90, died Oct. 25 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin.

Born in Chicago, he studied for two years at Loyola University Chicago before entering the Society of Jesus in 1950. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Latin and philosophy and a master’s degree in sociology from Loyola before being ordained in 1963. He later earned a doctorate in theology from Marquette University in Milwaukee. He also held licentiates in philosophy and theology.

He taught at Loyola Academy in Wilmette (1957-1960) and was an assistant high school principal in Ohio before becoming a U.S. Army chaplain and serving in Vietnam (1968-1971).

When Father Boyle returned to the Chicago Province, he was the director of the Jesuit Retreat League at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House, Barrington (1971-1983). He then worked at Loyola University Chicago for a year.

From 1984 to 2021, Father Boyle taught moral theology at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary. In 2021, he moved to the St. Camillus Jesuit Community in Wauwatosa.

Jesuit Father Robert Wild, former Chicago provincial, knew Father Boyle for more than 50 years and said that while he looked like a “tough guy,” he cared very much for the people he ministered to, whether they were students, seminarians or soldiers.

“When he was a paratrooper-chaplain in several forward-fire bases during the Vietnam conflict, Pat was there for his guys, risking his life in hot action to defend and care for the wounded and dying,” Father Wild said. “He was, I believe, one of the most decorated chaplains in the Vietnam War (two Silver Stars and a Bronze Star). And at Mundelein Seminary, where he taught moral theology for many years, his students very much appreciated his efforts to make that part of the course down to earth and practical.”

Providence Sister Margaret (James Patrick) Lynch, 79, died Nov. 3 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Chicago, Sister Peggy entered the Sisters of Providence in 1961 and professed final vows in 1969. She earned master’s degrees from Loyola University Chicago in religious education and later in religious studies.

She taught in junior high and high schools and ministered in parishes and adult education centers. Serious health problems brought her to the motherhouse in 2010.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Alexander, Palos Heights (1966-1967), and Mother Theodore Guerin High School, River Grove (1976-1977).

School Sister of Notre Dame Joellyn (LaVerne) Grandchamp, 96, died Nov. 5 at Marian Village in Homer Glen.

Born in Blue Island, she was a member of her congregation for 76 years. She taught primary grades in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. She also a volunteered in province offices and food pantries and as a tutor at St. Margaret of Scotland School. 

She is survived by her siblings Floyd, Harold and Richard Grandchamp and Carol Bauer.

Father Francis G. Scanlan, 87, died Oct. 19. He was a former associate pastor of St. Damian Parish, Oak Forest, and a retired lieutenant colonel and Army chaplain of the Illinois National Guard.

Born in Chicago, Father Scanlan attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1961.

He was assistant pastor of St. Eugene, St. Mel-Holy Ghost and Incarnation, Palos Heights. He was associate pastor of St. Andrew and St. Bede the Venerable, and retired as associate pastor of St. Damian in 2005. Father Scanlan also served as a U.S. Army chaplain for the Illinois National Guard for nearly 30 years, from 1966 to 1995.

Frieda Bertello, director of the Healing Ministry at St. Damian Parish, knew Father Scanlan since he started at St. Damian.

“He was able to relate to any age group, probably because of his wisdom and experience and his ability to be young in spirit,” Bertello said. “His homilies were brief, but always on point, and he usually squeezed in a humorous line or two. The parishioners loved it.”

Bertello added, “Father Jerry treated everyone with kindness and respect, and you usually left with a joke or a laugh. We expect there will be more laughter in heaven now that he’s home with the Lord.”

Deacon James O’Malley, 95, died Sept. 9. He was ordained in 1974 and served at the O’Hare Airport Interfaith Chapel.

Deacon O’Malley was a World War II veteran who served in Germany, and later worked for Culligan International as a chemist, lab manager and marketing specialist.

After being ordained, he served at his home parish, St. Mary, Des Plaines. He became associate chaplain at the O’Hare Interfaith Chapel in 1986.

He retired from active ministry in 2017.

His wife, Rita Ann, died in 2010. He is survived by his children Thomas O’Malley, James O’Malley Jr., Margaret Jean Wolski, Christine Ann Groves and Erin Lynn Johnson; 14 grandchildren and 24 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Dominican Father Jack O’Malley.

Deacon Irwin E. Hotcaveg, 96, died Oct. 24. He was ordained in 1988 and served at St. Ferdinand Parish until his retirement in 2014.

Deacon Hotcaveg was a U.S. Army World War II veteran.

He is survived by his wife, Betty Lou; his children Cindy, Judi and Susan; one grandchild and two great-grandchildren.

Viatorian Father John E. Eck, 85, died Oct. 4 at Addolorata Villa in Wheeling.

Born in Springfield, Illinois, Father Eck professed his first vows in 1955 and was ordained in Chicago on June 8, 1963.

He was a high school teacher in Peoria before entering the Viatorian Seminary. After being ordained, he taught at St. Viator High School, Arlington Heights (1963-1966). He also taught in Rock Island before serving as director of affiliates and novice master for the province. He then taught at Prologue High School, Chicago (1983-1990).

He served as a parochial vicar (1999-2005) and pastor (2005-2009) of St. Viator Parish.

He retired in 2009 to Kankakee and returned to the Viatorian Province Center retirement residence in Arlington Heights in 2016.

He is survived by his sister, Patricia Precht, and his brothers, Donald and Richard Eck.

Sister of St. Joseph Sister Rita Stalzer, 98, died Oct. 4. 

She was a member of her community for 79 years. She had bachelor’s and master’s degrees in library science from Rosary College and Dominican University in River Forest, as well as master’s degrees in English literature, theology and pastoral studies from Loyola University Chicago.

Sister Rita was a teacher and librarian at Nazareth Academy, La Grange Park (1947-1968) and a librarian at Loyola University Chicago for 40 years, including two years as the director of the library at Loyola’s Rome Campus. 

In retirement, Sister Rita worked as a St. Thomas Hospice volunteer and as congregation librarian. 

She is survived by her brother, Charles E. Stalzer.

Franciscan Sister of Chicago Anne Marie (Jean) Knawa, 93, died Oct. 12.

She entered the community in 1952, professed first vows in 1954 and professed final vows in 1959.

Sister Anne Marie taught at St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr (1953-1955); St. Louise de Marillac, La Grange Park (1957-1964) and Madonna High School (1964-1988). She also taught in Cleveland.

While at Madonna, she wrote the history of her community (1973-1988) and served as local secretary (1974-1975) and local treasurer (1983-1988).

She served at the motherhouse as community historian and as a caregiver (1988-1990), then served for 11 years at St. Anthony Media Center in Crown Point, Indiana. From 2001 to 2013, she served at the Lemont motherhouse, planning and overseeing projects, leading the Franciscan community life subcommittee and serving as a catechist at St. Alphonsus Parish, Lemont.

Sister Anne Marie retired in 2014.

Father James D. Beath, 69, died Sept. 29. He was associate pastor of Divine Savior Parish, Norridge.

Born in Chicago, Father Beath attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1979.

He served as assistant pastor of St. Gertrude, Franklin Park; St. Mary of Celle, Berwyn; St. Peter, Skokie; St. Albert the Great, Burbank; St. Barbara, Brookfield; Divine Infant Jesus, Westchester; Divine Savior, Norridge; St. Mary of the Assumption; St. Thomas of Canterbury; St. Dorothy Parish; St. Mary, Star of the Sea; and St. Edward Parish.

Father Alec J. Wolff, presiding judge of the Metropolitan Tribunal of the archdiocese, said that his longtime friend had a heart of gold. “If somebody needed help, he was there. You didn’t have to ask — he was just there for you.”

According to Wolff, Beath had numerous hobbies, but music was the one he treasured the most.

Sister of the Holy Child Jesus Jeanne Adams, 94, died Sept. 11.

A member of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus for 75 years, Sister Jeanne ministered worldwide as an educator, researcher, pastoral minister and historian. She was briefly imprisoned during the Nigerian-Biafran Civil War and studied both Arabic and Creole to better serve the people of Israel, Palestine and Haiti.

She moved to Waukegan with her family as a child, and attended St. Anastasia School and Holy Child High School. She began her teaching ministry at St. Ignatius School (1949-1951) in Chicago. After five years in Pennsylvania, she served the next 20 years in the society’s African province. She later served in Israel, Palestine, Haiti and Jamaica.

She is survived by her sister, Kathy Reed.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Mary Louis “Louie” Russley, 87, died Sept. 16 in Footville, Wisconsin.

Born in Cincinnati, Sister Mary Louis made her first religious profession in 1962 and her perpetual profession in 1967. She taught high school and college science; was director of the Dominican Education Center in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin; and was a pastoral associate before attending Loyola University Chicago School of Law, graduating in 1987. She ministered in law for the next 18 years. She ministered in Illinois, Wisconsin and Florida.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary Louis taught at Trinity High School, River Forest (1962-1964); was a staff attorney with attorney Anne Burke in Chicago (1986-1988); was an assistant public defender for Cook County Juvenile Court (1988-2005); and taught at Dominican University, River Forest (1994-1996).

Daughter of Charity Sister Dorothy (Dorothy Lorraine) Olinger, 89, died Sept. 18 in Evansville, Indiana.

Born in Chicago, Sister Dorothy graduated from St. Gregory High School before entering the Daughters of Charity in 1952.

 She ministered in Louisiana, Alabama, Illinois, Mississippi, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Maryland and Tennessee.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Francis de Sales, Lake Zurich (1969-1973); and was a registrar at St. Louise de Marillac High School, Northfield (1993-1994).

Adrian Dominican Sister Frances (David Therese) Barfield, 90, died Sept. 19 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Pensacola, Florida, she was in the 73rd year of her religious life.

Sister Frances spent over 30 years ministering in elementary education and parish ministry in Illinois, Florida, South Carolina and Louisiana

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Celestine, Elmwood Park (1950-1953).

She is survived by siblings Genevieve Due and Albert Barfield.

Providence Sister Agnes Maureen (Theresa) Badura, 92, died Sept. 24 in St.-Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born in Chicago, Sister Agnes Maureen entered the Sisters of Providence in 1947 and professed final vows in 1955. 

She ministered as a teacher for 47 years in schools in Indiana; Illinois; Washington, D.C.; California; Florida; and Oklahoma, the last 39 of which were as a math teacher.

Retiring from teaching in 1989, she used her mathematical skills at Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center, and then, in 1995 at the Motherhouse Central Business Office.

In 2002, she returned to the Archdiocese of Chicago. In the archdiocese she taught at St. Angela (1955-1958); Marywood High School, Evanston (1965-1969); and Mother Theodore Guerin High School, River Grove (1980-1984); was a clerk at Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center (1989-1995); and volunteered in the SPRED Office (2002-2011).

Felician Sister Mary Margaret (Mary Leonilda) Narloch, 97, died Sept. 27 at Mother of Good Counsel Convent.

Born in Wausau, Wisconsin, she entered the Felician Sisters in 1943 and professed her final vows in 1951. She ministered in elementary and high schools as a teacher, vice principal and principal in Illinois, and she served as administrator at a day care center in Wisconsin, before serving as the provincial treasurer and the president of Felician Health Care Inc. for 14 years. 

Later, she was the administrator of Villa St. Joseph in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. While there, she also was a tutor, visitor to the sick and helped with the outreach ministry. In 2016, Sister Mary Margaret returned to Mother of Good Counsel Convent in Chicago, where she helped in the International Cord Rosary Center.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at St. Wenceslaus (1945-1952), St. Hedwig (1952-1953), Holy Innocents (1953-1956), St. Bronislava (1956-1957), Good Counsel High School (1957-1963, 1967-1976) and St. Joseph High School (1965-1967).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Marya Dugard, 92, died Oct. 2 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Peoria, Sister Marya made her first religious profession in 1950 and her perpetual profession in 1953. She was a teacher, pastoral associate, family caregiver, support staff member and visitor to the ill and elderly in Illinois, Wyoming and Wisconsin.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Marya taught at Visitation (1950-1953); St. Sabina (1958-1960); St. Barnabas (1964-1969); St. Mary, Evanston (1969-1970); and St. Basil (1970-1972).

She is survived by a sister, Lorraine Dugard; and two brothers, Edward Dugard and Michael Dugard.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Constance Lennartz, 92, died Oct. 3 in Footville, Wisconsin.

Born in Oak Park, Sister Connie made her first religious profession in 1952 and her perpetual profession in 1955. She was a teacher and principal and a pastoral minister, and she directed a program for adults preparing to join the Catholic Church for 19 years.

Guiding people as they grew in their faith was important to her. She served in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois, South Carolina, Alabama and Oklahoma.

According to her community, she loved serving on committees, volunteering in choirs and walking in marches that supported justice issues.

In the archdiocese, Sister Connie taught at St. Luke, River Forest (1984-1985).