Deacon Terrance Norton, 80, died Oct. 1. He was ordained Oct. 1 and served at St. Luke Parish in River Forest, now part of St. Luke and St. Bernardine Parish.

Deacon Norton grew up in Westchester and attended Fenwick High School, the University of Notre Dame in Indiana and DePaul University College of Law.

He married his wife, Renee, in 1970, and the couple adopted three daughters.

He worked as a federal prosecutor in the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime and Racketeering section. He later worked at the Better Government Association, taught and worked in the clinical law practice at IIT’s Chicago Kent College of Law and was the national pro bono partner at Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal, now Dentons, before returning to IIT Kent to help open and run the Center for Open Government.

In the 1980s, the Nortons joined other St. Luke parishioners to help found the Learning Center in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood to teach literacy to adults whose educations have been cut short. The couple tutored, raised money, and served on the Board.

He is survived by his wife; daughters Bridget, Cara and Elizabeth; four grandchildren; and his brother, Mike.

Divine Word Father Joseph McDermott, 99, died Sept. 5 in Techny.

Born in Iowa, he aspired to be a Major League Baseball player as a boy. He entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1939 at 13, and professed vows in 1945.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1952 and served as a missionary in the Archdiocese of Mount Hagen in Papua New Guinea from 1953 to 1976. He provided pastoral care in the Catholic mission in Ambullua, a highlands region of the world’s second largest island.

In 1976, Father McDermott returned to the United States to work as assistant business manager at Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa. He assisted the business office for 20 years.

In 1977, he filled in for Divine Word Father William Hegarty at St. Anselm Parish in Chicago when Father Hegarty retired due to health reasons.

He moved to Techny in 2024.

Sister of St. Joseph Henrietta Hibbs, 99, died Sept. 17.

She had been in religious life for 82 years.

Sister Henrietta earned a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University and a master’s degree from Loyola University Chicago, and she ministered in many schools operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph, including St. Margaret Mary, Mount Carmel, St. Anthony, Alexine Learning Center and St. John Fisher.

She also volunteered at homeless shelters, organized food and clothing drives, and visited the sick and homebound, and she volunteered to work with several parishes in Mississippi. Her parish work included regular visits to the Parchman Prison, where she helped plan retreat experiences for the women who were incarcerated.

Holy Spirit Missionary Sister Maria Elisabeth Klodt, 100, died Sept. 18.

Born in Germany, she began her formation in religious life in West Germany in1948, professing first vows in 1950 and final vows in 1956.

She received a mission appointment to the United States and arrived in Techny, Illinois, in 1952. After completing English studies and some classes at DePaul University, she moved to Washington, D.C., where, in 1962, she earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacology at George Washington University. She worked as a hospital pharmacist at St. Therese Hospital in Waukegan, for the next 20 years, and worked for many years at the Medical Park Pharmacy in the St. Therese Professional Building.

Sister Maria Elisabeth earned a certificate from the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University, which prepared her for service in pastoral ministry and as local leader for her religious sisters in Melrose Park and Waukegan, and as directress of Maria Hall in the Convent of the Holy Spirit in Northfield.

School Sister of St. Francis Joan Schumacher, 91, died Aug. 28 in Milwaukee.

Born in Wisconsin, Sister Joan was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1952, made her first profession of vows in 1954 and made her final vows in 1960.

Beginning in 1954, Sister Joan ministered in the Archdioceses of Chicago, Milwaukee and Omaha. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Joan taught at Our Lady of Victory (1955-1960); St. Anne, Barrington (1961-1965); Our Lady of Charity, Cicero (1965-1967); and Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Glenview (1968-2014).

In retirement, Sister Joan ministered through her prayer and presence at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish (2014-2024) and at Sacred Heart in Milwaukee from 2024 until her death.

Divine Word Father Joseph Bisson, 89, died Aug. 30.

Father Bisson, who returned to the United States in 2017, was the last American Divine Word Missionary to leave Papua New Guinea and was the longest serving Catholic missionary in the Archdiocese of Mount Hagen. Decades earlier, the Society of the Divine Word foresaw the benefits of forming priests and brothers who were born and raised on the island and eventually passed leadership roles to them.

“Joe was a man with a true commitment as a religious, as a priest and as a missionary. He certainly was a man with a clear calling,” said retired Divine Word Father Thomas Krosnicki.

Born in Boston, Father Bisson began his studies with the Society of the Divine Word in 1949 and professed vows in 1955.

Ordained in 1963, Father Bisson lived 70 years in religious vows and devoted 53 years to the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea. He held a master’s degree in education from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and he was proficient in seven languages: English, Latin, Greek, German, French, Pidgin and a Papua New Guinean tribal language.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Colleen (Lillian) Nolan, 79, died Sept. 3 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she professed vows with the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa in 1966.

Her ministry was dedicated to education. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Barnabas and St. Basil. She also taught in Rockford and in Maryland, Oklahoma and Florida.

She served as codirector and director of the Apostolic Volunteers program for the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation; as mission educator for the Missionary Society of St. Columban in Forest Park; and as director of religious education at St. Luke Parish, River Forest.

She is survived by her brother, Thomas Nolan, and sisters Elizabeth Charrat, Mary Cippera, and her twin, Kathleen Shrauger.

Peter P. Paurazas, died Aug. 18 at the age of 96. He was pastor emeritus of the former St. Rene Goupil Parish, now part of Two Holy Martyrs Parish.

Born on in Chicago, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary.

Father Paurazas served as assistant pastor of St. Joseph Parish (South Saginaw Street), Immaculate Conception Parish (44th Street) and St. Adrian Parish (Washtenaw Avenue). He became pastor of St. Adrian Parish in 1980 and became pastor of St. Rene Goupil Parish in 1992. He served as pastor of that parish until he retired in 2000.

Father Marcel J. Pasciak, pastor emeritus of St. Patricia Parish, remembered his friend of 30 years as a kind priest, very well loved at the parishes he served and an avid traveler. “His parishes were all on the South Side; he was a big White Sox and Bears fan,” said Pasciak.

Providence Sister Joyce (Robert Ellen) Brophy, 96, died Aug. 27 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana

Born in Joliet, Sister Joyce entered the Sisters of Providence in 1947 and professed final vows in 1955.

She taught and was a principal in schools in Illinois, Indiana and California. Interspersed within her years of teaching, she held a number of administrative positions in the congregation.  She held positions in the formation program for new members (1965-1969), served as provincial of the Motherhouse Province (1984-199) and worked in the St. Mary-of-the-Woods College Development Office (1980-1982)

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Sylvester (1950-1954), Our Lady of Mercy (1955) and St. Agnes (1969) and was principal of St. Genevieve (1969-1971).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Duchesne (Mary) Maxwell, 94, died Aug. 2 in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin.

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she professed vows in 1953. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in library science from Rosary College, now Dominican University, in River Forest.

Sister Duchesne’s ministry was dedicated to teaching and pastoral care. She taught at St. Thomas More School, and later served as assistant administrator at Queen of Peace High School, Burbank. She also taught, was a librarian and was an administrator at schools in Wisconsin, Iowa and other dioceses in Illinois.

She served on the leadership council of the Sinsinawa Dominican congregation, then was a chaplain at hospitals in Nebraska and director of pastoral care at a senior home in Minnesota.

She is survived by her sister, Loretta Maxwell.