Reader Tributes to Coronavirus Victims

Thank you for the invitation to share a loved one lost on the wings of Covid. I have provided the link (bit.ly/SisterPat) to the obituary for my dear friend, Sr. Patricia Brennan, a Good Shepherd sister for 65 years. It is my gift to say I was her friend for 55 of those years having met her in 1965 when I expressed an interest in entering the community. I did, for 19... Read more

Sister Josephine Seier, SSSF

School Sister of St. Francis Josephine Seier who lived her religious vocation as a homemaker and caretaker died on May 1, 2020 at Our Lady of the Angels, in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Sister was 94 years old. Sister Josephine was born on November 25, 1925 in Raeville, Nebraska. She was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis on June 13, 1941; made her first profession... Read more

Sister Annelda Holtkamp, SSSF

Sister Annelda Holtkamp, who lived her religious vocation as a homemaker, died on April 19, 2020, at Our Lady of the Angels Convent, in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Sister was 102 years old. Sister Annelda was born on October 27, 1917, in St. Paul, Iowa. She was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis on June 13, 1943; made her first profession of vows in 1945; and made... Read more

Sister Bernadette Kelter, SSSF

School Sister of St. Francis Bernadette Kelter who lived her religious vocation as an educator and home health caretaker, died April 26, 2020, at Our Lady of the Angels Convent in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Sister was 88 years old. Sister Bernadette was born on August 12, 1931, in Middleton, Wisconsin. She was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis on June 13, 1948;... Read more

Sister Marie June Skender, SSSF

Sister Marie June Skender (Maristeva), who lived her religious vocation as an educator, musician and parish minister for 65 years, died on April 7, 2020, at Our Lady of the Angels Convent in Greenfield, Wisconsin. Sister was 83 years old. Sister Marie June was born on November 16, 1936, in Milwaukee. She was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis on June 13, 1953... Read more

Anne Umbach, Sister of St. Dominic of Amityville

Sister of St. Dominic of Amityville Anne Umbach was the first Sister of our Congregation lost due to complications from the Corona Virus on April 2, 2020. Dominican Sister Nancy Farry writes about her experience at the burial... Read more

Sister Julia Burkart, MMS

Sister Julia was born in New Orleans, LA. After entering MMS in 1948 she earned a B.A. in 1952, then in 1953, a master’s degree in Library Science from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. Sister Julia worked as a librarian and in publicity in MMS’s Philadelphia office, then in admissions from 1957-1961 at Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She... Read more

Sister Jacinta Conlon, MMS

Sr. Jacinta (Mary Florence) was born and raised in St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. She earned her R.N. in 1956 from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto and entered MMS in 1958. For her first 13 years of mission assignment Sr. Jacinta was in India. She worked as a nurse-midwife and staff nurse at MMS Holy Family Hospitals in Mandar, Bombay and New Delhi. Sr. Jacinta... Read more

Sister Patrice McSweeney, MMS

Sr. Patrice was born to American parents who were living in Colombia; the family moved to Venezuela when Sr. Patrice was seven. She finished her schooling in the U.S. and earned her R.N. in 1953. She joined MMS in 1954. Having fallen in love with Venezuela, Sr. Patrice was thrilled to return there for her mission assignment. She lived and worked in... Read more

Sister Maribeth Takes, CHM

May 28, 1927 - May 11, 2020 Sister Maribeth is remembered by one who knew her as doing everything she undertook to perfection. Surely, she has reached her perfect reward. Elizabeth Jane Takes was born on May 28, 1927 in Bernard, Iowa, to Fred and Anna Wagner Takes. She was one of eight children, five girls and three boys. Of the eight, Frank, Harold, Rita and Sister Carla... Read more

Sister Marianne Nehus

Sister Marianne Nehus December 23, 1952 - May 10, 2020 Sr. Marianne tells her story in her own words in an autobiography she wrote in August 2006. I was born, the fourth of seven children, to George and Betty Byers Nehus, on December 23, 1952 in Honolulu, Hawaii. My dad was in the Air Force so we moved frequently. All seven children were born in a different place –... Read more

Sister Bernadine (Emmet) Nash, OSU

Sister Bernadine claimed the title of “matriarch” as the first of eleven children–three girls and eight boys. There were 51 fourth graders in her first teaching experience at Holy Spirit School. Next, she was sent to Saint Peter School and then to Saint Boniface, all three in Louisville. Sister taught in Nebraska and her adventures there were frequently told in... Read more

Sister Jane (Hilary) Stuckenborg, OSU

Sister Jane taught for 33 years in education and served on Leadership. Sister Jane volunteered to go to Peru, South America, in 1964, when the Ursuline Sisters announced the opening of a mission there. Sister Jane taught English to children at the Peruvian Navy School until 1971. In an article in The Record, dated October 18, 1979, Sister commented about her time in Peru: “... Read more

Sister Isabel Lehmenkuler, OSU

Sister Isabel served in several ministries. The first was education for 35 years, then as a hospital chaplain in Columbia, South Carolina, then made history when she became the first female chaplain of that city’s police department. Ginny Schaeffer, the director of the Angela Merici Center for Spirituality, wrote the following in the reflections read by Sister Janet Marie... Read more

Sister Lorraine (Juanita) Maginot, OSU

Sister Lorraine taught grades one through eight (except seventh) in Louisville at Sacred Heart Model School and at St. Joseph, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Rita, St. Clement and Most Blessed Sacrament schools; in Sidney, Nebraska, at St. Patrick Academy; and in Cumberland, Maryland, at St. Mary School. Sister was a very proper, exact person, always busy. A graduate of Sacred... Read more

Sister Mary Katherine Donato

Sister Mary was a well-loved aunt with two brothers and was a member of the Medical Missionaries of Mary. She was a kind and spirited lady who loved her family, her vocation, being a nurse/midwife, and God. She spent her life helping others both physically and spiritually. Sister Mary had a great sense of humor; her smile was contagious. She loved fishing and a good glass... Read more

Sr. Louise Place, OP

Sr. Louise was always the life of the party, as everyone knows. But there are few of us who know how she helped us during summer studies . In the middle of a hot afternoon, when we would start to stretch and stand for a break, Louise would start telling jokes and was really our comic relief. When our belly laughs were over, we could get back to work. Every day was the... Read more

Sr. Mary Regis Beck, RCD

I have admired Sr. Regis from the first time I met her 60+ years ago. She was simple in the best sense of that word. She often said, “I love people”. After her death the recurrent theme was, “she never said an unkind word to or about anyone.” She was always ready to pray for us and our intentions. She had to be in a nursing home because of lung cancer among other problems... Read more

Sr Mary Katherine Donato, MMM

Sr Mary Katherine Donato died on April 15th 2020. She joined the Medical Missionaries of Mary as a registered nurse and later became a nurse mid-wife tutor. She shared her gifts, talents but most of all her glorious smile with people in Mexico, Nigeria, Tanzania and here in the US ( spanning 66 years ) She simply lived our congregational motto - she was woman "Rooted... Read more

Sister Monica Fumo and Sister Gabriella Nguyen, SCSJA

Two beautiful souls who taught at St. Joan Antida High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin for many years, - brought light and laughter to hearts in most need. Their kindness and unshakable faith have been an inspiration to everyone who knew them. They leave a thousand stories, memories and images that will remain with us forever.