In Memoriam Archives - Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate

Remembering Sister Thadine Kaminski, OSF

February 27, 2023/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

Early in the morning of February 10, 2023, the heartfelt prayer of our Sister Thadine Kaminski was answered. The long-awaited time had come to complete her journey home to God, and she was prepared. Trusting confidently in God’s gracious love and divine mercy, she believed that the sufferings of the past and present moment were nothing compared to the coming glory that soon would be revealed to her (Romans 8:18). Running with patience the race that was set before her, she held fast to an unwavering faith in the Lord’s promise of eternal life and looked forward with a certain hope to being reunited with all of the loved ones who made up the cloud of witnesses that had surrounded her throughout her life (Heb 12:1-2).

Born in Chicago, Illinois, to her loving parents, Stella (Kopczyk) and James Kaminski, Mary Ann was blessed with four brothers and three sisters. Growing up in a large family, she learned much about love, respect and caring for others. Influenced by the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate who staffed St. Francis Xavier parish school, young Mary Ann was attracted to the spirit and life she witnessed in the community of the Sisters. Encouraged to discern her vocational calling, at the age of thirteen she became an aspirant with the Joliet Franciscans and attended St. Francis Academy in Joliet, Illinois.

Remembering Sister Janet Rieden, OSF

February 21, 2023/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

On the afternoon of February 8, 2023, our sister, Janet Rieden, was surrounded with the loving presence of family, Sisters and dear friends, as the final hours of her Christian journey were drawing near. Conformed throughout her life to the Word of God, it was most fitting that the Gospel reading for the day (Matthew: 25:6 -7) heralded the parable of the wise virgin who kept her lamp trimmed and burning, never growing weary until her work was done.

In 1934, as the New Year dawned in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Catherine (Hentges) and Peter J. Rieden eagerly awaited the anticipated birth of their first child. Among the great joys of the holiday season was the arrival of their infant daughter, Janet Marie, on January 2, the ninth day of Christmas!

Together with her beloved brother, Gordon, Janet was raised in the wonder and beauty of life on the southern shore of Lake Winnebago. From an early age, she embraced the love of learning and the value that her family placed on education. Influenced by the example of the Sisters of St. Agnes, her teachers at St. Patrick’s Parish school and later, at St. Mary’s Springs High School, one of the first co-educational Catholic high schools in Wisconsin, Janet was drawn to the vocation of teaching.

Remembering Sister Bernard Marie Campbell, OSF

February 7, 2023/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

“I’m going to have to do some getting used to it. In the first place I’m going back to my hometown. But I know Mansfield more than I do Joliet.” These were Sister Bernard Marie Campbell’s words expressed eight years ago to a reporter for the Mansfield News Journal who interviewed her and Sister Paula Bingert on their departure from Mansfield after 144 years of our Sisters’ having served there.

Yes, that change in 2015 did require some adjustment. But Bernard found comfort in the work that she did weekly for the Congregation at the Joliet Franciscan Center when she called donors to thank them for their contributions. Expressing that gratitude reminded her of the 19 years she had spent at Saint Peter’s High School Development office thanking the alumni and benefactors for their support. Being at Our Lady of Angels, next door to Joliet Catholic Academy, where her nephew was the baseball coach, gave Bernard a chance to stay in touch with the high school athletic scene which had meant so much to her. Living at Our Lady of Angels where her brother Bob became a resident before he died there also brought family within reach in a new way. She had talked to her brother Tom in Florida twice a day for years following his heart transplant, but this was another special connection with “the boys.” Her nieces and nephews were close at hand, also, including the children of her sisters Patricia and Dorothy, both of whom predeceased her.

If you would like to make a donation in honor of Sister Carlene or another Joliet Franciscan Sister, please click here: Remembering our Deceased Sisters.

Remembering Sister Suzanne Lesniewski, OSF

February 1, 2023/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

Sister Suzanne Lesniewski was born in Chicago on February 15, 1937, the daughter of Pearl (Januchowski) and Harry Lesniewski. After attending SS. Peter and Paul Grade School in Chicago, Suzanne went to high school at St. Francis Academy in Joliet. She earned a BA in history from the College of St. Francis and an MA in religious studies from Mundelein College.

In her early years as a vowed Joliet Franciscan, Suzanne was known by the religious name of Sister M. Hope. She began her career as a grade school teacher in several cities in Illinois: Chicago, Des Plaines, Lansing, Freeport and Joliet.

When Suzanne felt called to move from classroom teaching to directing catechetical programs, she was told by Sister Francine Zeller that she was not professionally prepared. She wasted no time enrolling in and completing a Masters program in religious education at Mundelein College. Those studies stood her in good stead as she went on to direct programs in numerous parishes for the next four decades until her retirement. She later served the Congregation as a Local Coordinator and in the Mission Advancement office.

Remembering Sister Verene Girmscheid, OSF

January 25, 2023/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

In the midst of a dark and quiet winter’s night, our beloved Sister Verene Alvina Girmscheid, followed the heavenly star that would lead her home to God. Born on January 6, 1935, she became the very best gift that her parents Theresa (Marx) and Robert Girmscheid could offer to the Christ Child. In the company of kings and camels, a true Franciscan witness to the joyful mystery of the Incarnation, Verene’s earthly life began on the feast of the Epiphany, and eighty-eight years later, came to completion within its octave on January 11, 2023.

The second oldest of seven children, Verene was a loving daughter and a devoted sibling to her three brothers and three sisters. With the family’s move from rural Wisconsin to the southside of Chicago, Verene had the opportunity to receive a Catholic education where the awakening of a religious vocation occurred at an early age. During the Summer of 1948, as a kind, serious, pious, hard-working and intelligent thirteen-year old, character traits that would follow her through life, Verene successfully persuaded her parents that entering the aspirancy of the Joliet Franciscans was a very good idea. She was convinced of the call from which she never wavered over the course of the next seventy-five years.

Remembering Sister Vivian Whitehead, OSF

December 12, 2022/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our heart, and we are never, ever the same.” Flavia Weedn

Leaving footprints in our world epitomizes the life of Sister Vivian Whitehead who began her 95-year journey on August 14, 1927, on the southeast side of Chicago. The firstborn, she was welcomed into the world by her parents Margaret (Kersten) and Fred Whitehead. Siblings followed; Annette Leah Nordmark (deceased) and Larry (Betty) Whitehead. As years went on, numerous nieces and nephews arrived, becoming part of the joy of her life.

St. Dorothy Grade School and Loretto Academy Woodlawn in Chicago, set the foundation for her formal future education. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology, graduating Cum Laude, from the College of St. Francis (now University of St. Francis) where she met the Joliet Franciscans in the classroom. Inspired by the Sisters and the Franciscan charism, she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate on September 2, 1947, her junior year at the College of St. Francis. Upon entering the novitiate August 12, 1950, she was given the name Sister Michelyn. Her formal education concluded at St. Bonaventure University in New York, where she received a Ph.D. in biology. Always the learner, she continued studying in areas such as theology, criminology, canon law, governance and counseling, social justice, and a variety of other areas that would prepare her, feed her ministry, light a fire in her soul, and eventually lead her down the path to Will County Adult Detention Facility and Appalachia.

Remembering Sister Carlene Howell, OSF

November 15, 2022/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

Sister Mary Carlene Howell was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 12, 1934, to Frances (Fisher) and Gilbert Howell. She was Baptized, Gwendolyn and given the name Mary Carlene upon her entrance to the novitiate of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate in Joliet, Illinois. Carlene has one brother, Durk and a sister, June. As children, Carlene was given the nickname “Gwenie” by her brother.

Carlene loved learning as much as she did teaching. After receiving her bachelor’s degree at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, she earned a Master’s degree in English at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and a Master’s degree in Religious Studies at St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. She continued post-graduate studies at the University of Minnesota, University of Detroit, University of Southern California, DePaul University and St. Louis University.

She served as Chair of the English Department at the University of St. Francis for several of her 13 years as an Assistant Professor of English. She once said, “The literature courses I taught provided a means for students to study human nature in a context that was fictional but at the same time very real! I loved seeing students blossom into thoughtful and questioning individuals.”

Read More About Sister Carelene’s Life

If you would like to make a donation in honor of Sister Carlene or another Joliet Franciscan Sister, please click here: Remembering our Deceased Sisters.

Remembering Sister Patricia Wagner, OSF

July 21, 2022/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

So many of our sisters came to know us during grade school. Patricia Ann Wagner felt drawn to
being a teacher, a Franciscan sister and a musician while she was a student at St. Pascal School in
Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s. There she was encouraged by both teachers and her parents to
pursue her dreams. Born on January 10, 1933, she was the only child of Rose (Pahr) and Frank
Wagner.

After attending high school at St. Francis Academy in Joliet and living at the Prep, Pat joined the Joliet
Franciscans in 1949 and received the name Sister M. Rosalima, named after the Peruvian St. Rose of
Lima. She graduated from the College of St. Francis and earned a Masters degree from DePaul
University.

Pat’s many talents served her well in a variety of ministries and hobbies. In 1952, she began a 17 year ministry as teacher, organist and principal at schools in Illinois and Ohio. She then served on the
faculty of Education Department at the College of St. Francis for 10 years, pursuing further studies in
curriculum and educational methods — areas of study that she was responsible for teaching. As a supervisor of student teachers, she helped to launch the careers of many elementary school teachers during her tenure as a college instructor.

Read More About Sister Patricia’s Life

If you would like to make a donation in honor of Sister Carol or another Joliet Franciscan Sister, please click here: Remembering our Deceased Sisters.

Remembering Sister Margaret Ann Zimmerman, OSF

May 5, 2022/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

On the morning of April 28, 2022, surrounded by our sisters and members of her family, Sister Margaret Ann Zimmerman peacefully passed from this life into eternal life. Confident in the promises made to her by the Risen Lord, she brought to completion the legacy of love and faithfulness that characterized her 101 years. Holding fast to the words of her favorite Psalm 90: “Teach us how short our life is, so that we may become wise,” she departed from us a truly wise and beloved sister.

On March 14, 1921, in Hammond, Indiana, Mary Margaret, was born to her parents, Margaret Frye and Albert J. Zimmerman. One of five children, she treasured her sister, Jane, and her three brothers, Albert, Thomas and James. Holding in her heart, a unique love for each one, she shared a special bond with her brother Albert, a diocesan priest of the Diocese of Gary and Thomas, a Holy Cross priest and missionary in Bangladesh for 40
years.

As a child, Mary Margaret attended St. Joseph Grade School and as an adolescent she attended Catholic Central High School, now known as Bishop Noll Institute. Making her way to register at the College of St. Francis, accompanied by her mother, one of the first Joliet Franciscans she met was Sister Eulogia, who had been a high school classmate of her mother. Sadly, for Mary Margaret, Mrs. Zimmerman, died within the year of cancer. Despite the loss, Mary Margaret successfully completed her bachelor of arts degree with a major in biology and a minor in music. Inspired by the “simplicity, kindness and understanding” of the college sisters who were her teachers and mentors, came to recognize her own calling to the Franciscan way of life and the vocation that she would embrace day by day, ever more deeply, all the days of her life.

If you would like to make a donation in honor of Sister Carol or another Joliet Franciscan Sister, please click here: Remembering our Deceased Sisters.

Remembering Sister Carol Jander, OSF

April 7, 2022/0 Comments/in In Memoriam /by Karen Garifo

Sister Carol Jander was born at St. Anne’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, to Phyllis Anne Wene and Paul John Jander on July 18, 1938. Carol is the oldest of 4 children, the big sister to three brothers, Tom, Dan and Steve. Carol was baptized on August 14th, 1938, beginning her sacramental life at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, her family’s parish church in Columbus, Ohio. Carol attended Corpus Christi Elementary School graduating in June, 1952. For three years she attended St. Mary High School in Columbus, Ohio, and completed her high school education at St. Francis Academy, Joliet in 1956.

Carol was so influenced by the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate who were her teachers in grade school, that she chose to join this congregation in 1956. Carol received the name Sister Mary Paulanne at the time of reception. She made her first profession on August 12, 1958, and has been a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate for 64 years.