(1932-2022)

The small town of St. Johns, Arizona, about ninety miles southeast of Winslow, was the birthplace of Barbara Ann Mason on October 26, 1932.

Barbara was the fourth child born to Mary (Marquez) and Augustine Mason, joining her sister Esmel and two brothers, Leo and Herman. Another brother, Augustine (called Auggie), came later. A baby boy died of pneumonia when Barbara was in second grade.

She attended public school in St. Johns even after most of the family moved to Winslow when she was about ten years old; Esmel, who was an adult by that time, remained in St. Johns and Barbara lived with her during the school year.

Augustine was a railroad worker and Mary was a talented seamstress who made many of the children’s clothes herself. Their son Herman in particular seems to have inherited Mary’s creative streak, for he loved to draw and make things like Valentine’s Day cards out of paper and paste he made himself out of flour and water. He also was a good baker, going to work for a local bakery at age fifteen or sixteen and learning the craft very well. “He sometimes brought things home for the family and my mother was happy about that,” Sister Barbara Ann said in her life story.

Read more about Sister Barbara Ann (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. 

 

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(1929-2022)

Fifteen children in all – ten girls and five boys – were born into the marriage of Edward and Hilda (Wellnitz) Thielk, beginning with Elizabeth in 1922 all the way to John, twenty-five years later in 1947. Of them, Shirley was the sixth, born on July 16, 1929.

The Thielks lived in Detroit, where Edward worked at Fisher Body, which was later part of General Motors. Over time, he rose through the ranks to become superintendent for material control. Hilda worked as a bookkeeper for a small company before marrying Edward in 1921.

In a 1985 class assignment at Siena Heights College (University) as Sister Shirley was working on her master’s in counseling, she wrote about her parents:

It seems to me that both my parents were extremely effective in modeling for us, their children, the values they believed in. They did not say to us one thing, and then live another. For one thing, it was very apparent to me as a child that my parents loved each other.

… Dad was also very affectionate, not just to Mother, but to all his children also, kissing and hugging all who were present at his departure from or his arrival home.

Read more about Sister Shirley (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. 
 

 

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(1932-2022)

When I stand before God at the end of my life I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, “I used everything you gave me.”

Sister Joseph Eilese Hukle kept a piece of paper with this phrase on it tucked away in a binder containing information about her life. It was the phrase that Sister Peggy Coyne, Adrian Crossroads Mission Chapter Prioress, chose to conclude her eulogy at Sister’s wake.

Helen Patricia Hukle, the future Sister Joseph Eilese, was born on February 1, 1932, in Miami Beach, Florida, to Joseph and Margaret (Hagen) Hukle. She was the youngest in the family, following brothers Joseph Francis and Edward John and sister Margaret Mary.

The two older boys were born in The Bronx, New York, in 1920 and 1923, respectively. At some point soon thereafter, their father traveled to Florida, decided it was like a “little paradise,” and brought his family to Miami Beach to live. There, he and Margaret were among the founding members of St. Patrick Parish – pastored by Mother Gerald Barry’s brother William.

Read more about Sister Joseph Eilese (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. 

Sister's Prayer Card (PDF)

 

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(1927-2022)

After three sons were born to Eugene and Jane (Monckton) Quirk, the little girl who came into the world on January 21, 1927, in Harvey, Illinois, and was baptized Jean Ellen was certainly warmly welcomed.

“With three older brothers, my life was wonderful!” Sister Jane (as she later was known) wrote in her life story. “This is not to say that the four of us did not have a few altercations but I always knew that love was the law of the household.”

Jean, the future Sister Jane Martin, joined her brothers Francis, Robert, and George in a family home that also included a grandmother and two aunts. Her father was a mechanic, while her mother was trained as a teacher but was a homemaker by choice.

Although her childhood took place during the Great Depression, and the family had to be very careful with money and food, no one ever went hungry because Sister Jane’s mother and grandmother were excellent cooks. Her grandmother, who worked for a local haberdasher, was an expert seamstress, and the aunts both worked as office professionals. One of the aunts, Nell, worked for the president of a local auto parts manufacturer that made parts for GM, and was picked up for work every day by a chauffeur-driven car. “I thought they could take me to school, too, but once out the front door Aunt Nell didn’t even know me!” Sister Jane wrote.

Read more about Sister Jane (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. 

 

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