In Memoriam


Associate Joanne Bellaire(1942 – 2014)
Joanne Bellaire was born on November 2, 1942, to John and Anna Elston of Detroit. She attended Catholic schools, St. Suzanne and Visitation High School. After three years at Visitation, Joanne was accepted at Siena Heights College and the Adrian Dominican Sisters as a postulant. She entered in June 1960 and, after much discernment, left in October, 1961.
More about Associate Joanne Bellarie (pdf)

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Sister Leona (John Aloysius) Bruck, OP“Heart and mind is what Leona lived. Her prayerful contemplation of life was seen in the activities and personal challenges she undertook for herself, setting an example for me as a priest to never give up.”  
Father Arturo Perez, Associate Pastor of St. David Parish, where Sister Leona was principal of the school.

(1939 – 2014)
Sister Leona was born on June 6, 1939, in the village of Maybee, Michigan, to Aloysius and Eleanor (Wess) Bruck. She was the sixth child in a family of seven children. In her biography, Sister Leona wrote, “I grew up on a farm and learned at an early age that ’Charity begins at home,’ where love, kindness, and faith were always practiced openly.” She attended St. Mary Academy in Monroe, Michigan, for two years and then entered the postulate in Adrian, on June 25, 1955, at the age of sixteen.
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Sister Jean (Jean Bernard) Denomme, OP“In the skies we try to imagine the immensity and potentiality of the universe. In one another we perceive hidden dimensions of thought, feeling, and emotion that make us mysteries to ourselves and to one another. Whether it is sky, earth or one another we scan, it is the hidden Presence we seek.”Jean Denomme, Where is this God of Yours? For Those Who Wonder…(Universe, 2010)

(1931 – 2014)
Sister Carol Jean Kesterke, Chapter Prioress of Great Lakes Dominican Chapter, began the wake service for Jean Denomme, on August 4 with the following reflection: “We know Jean was an educator, a life-long learner, an avid reader, a lover of opera as well as a compassionate, fearless woman who possessed a keen mind. She sought answers, probed for clarity, challenged and questioned everything! Ambiguity did not intimidate her; she was driven in her search for understanding…Jean just couldn’t help herself; her book title even ends in a question mark…Really?
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Sister Celeste Mary Bourke, OP(1932 – 2014)
Sister Maria Goretti Browne, Vicaress of the Adrian Dominican Vicariate, described Sister Celeste Bourke by saying, “Her life has been interesting, to say the least. Her ministries have been varied – from teacher, to student, to potter, to preacher, to activities director, to chaplain, to volunteer – and, finally, to her ministry of prayer and presence here at the DLC (Dominican Life Center) since 2009.

Joyce Jean was born November 5, 1932, in Chicago to Edgar Bourke and Clara Beliveau Bourke. The family lived in Our Lady of Peace Parish in the South Shore area. There were a total of five girls and one boy in the family. 
More about Sister Celeste Mary Bourke  (pdf)

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Cemetery of the Adrian Dominican Sisters

Our Adrian Dominican cemetery with its circular headstones is a beautiful place of rest for women who gave their lives in service to God — and a peaceful place for contemplation and remembrance. 


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We invite you to meet some of the wonderful women who have recently crossed into eternity.

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