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(1927-2025)
Sister Anne L. Lindquist, formerly known as Sister Cecilia Mary, died on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at the Dominican Life Center. She was 97 years of age and in the 79th year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
Sister Anne was born in Chicago to Lawrence and Anne (Danne) Lindquist. She graduated from Aquinas Dominican High School in Chicago and received a bachelor’s degree in applied music from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian and a master’s degree in music education from Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Sister ministered for 48 years, most of that time in music education, in Detroit and St. Joseph, Michigan, and Chicago and Wilmette, Illinois. She also ministered for three years as a musical services provider in Deerfield, Illinois, and for six years as an assistant activities director in Wheeling, Illinois, before retiring in 2006.
She moved to the Dominican Life Center in 2022. Sister Ann was preceded in death by her parents and is survived by loving relatives and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Prayers of Committal were held on Sunday, May 18, 2025, in the Congregation Cemetery. A Memorial Mass will be in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 22, 2025. Those not attending services in person are welcome to participate via live stream at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.
Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Adrian.
Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)
Recording of Sister Anne's Memorial Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
Recording of Sister Anne's Ritual of Remembering - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as."
LEFT: Anne as a junior at Aquinas High School, Chicago, 1944.
LEFT: From left, Sisters Anne (Cecilia Mary) Lindquist, Mary Cherubim (Joyce) Banks, and Camen Joseph Dominguez. RIGHT: From left, Sisters Catherine McKillop, Anne Lindquist, and Loretta Glanz, Summer 2009.
LEFT: From left, Sisters Catherine McKillop, Anne Lindquist, and Loretta Glanz, Summer 2009. MIDDLE LEFT: From left, Sisters Anne Lindquist and Richard Clare Burke. MIDDLE RIGHT: Sister Anne, as music instructor for Wilmette (Illinois) Public Schools, 1975-1988. RIGHT: Sister Anne and Gretta, Pet Therapy Ministry at Addolorata Villa, 2000-2006.
Members of the 2006 Diamond Jubilee Crowd are: back row, from left, Sisters Marcelline Fouchey, Marie Siena Chmara, Jeanne O’Laughlin, Anne Lindquist, Therese Tighe, Jane Quirk, and Clare O’Connor; and front row, from left, Sisters Sean Therese Halpin, Marie Sheila Beatty, Therese Margaret Roberts, Therese Craig, Joyce Rybarczyk, Betty Foster, and Mary Margaret Donnelly. Not pictured: Sister Margaret Mary Heinz.
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(1935-2025)
Sister Rita Brunett, formerly known as Sister Raymond Cecile, died on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Michigan. She was 89 years of age and in the 73rd year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
Sister Rita was born in Detroit to Raymond and Cecilia (Gill) Brunett. She graduated from St. Joseph Academy in Adrian and received a bachelor’s degree in English from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian and a master’s degree in counseling from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Sister ministered for 24 years in elementary education and two years in adult education in Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Northville, and Wyandotte, Michigan; and Toledo, Ohio. She served as a hospital chaplain for one year in Norwich, Connecticut, and two years in Canton, Ohio. Sister ministered six years as the Associate Director for Family Life in the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio. She also served as the Nursing Service Coordinator at Maria Health Care Center (Dominican Life Center) and for more than four years as a pastoral minister in Livonia and Royal Oak, Michigan.
Sister Rita became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in 1994. She was preceded in death by six siblings: Raymond Brunett (Beverly), Most Rev. Alex J. Brunett (former Archbishop of Seattle), Michael Brunett (Juanita), Anne Brunett (former Adrian Dominican Sister), William Brunett (Joan deceased), and Grace Kassa (Jerry). She is survived by seven siblings: John Brunett (Patricia), Rose Philips (Armon) (former Adrian Dominican Sister), Jean Dawson (Richard), Mary Jennings (Edmun) (former Adrian Dominican Sister), Paul Brunett (Ann), Ruth Brunett, and Margaret Kassa (George deceased); other loving family; and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Visitation will be held from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2025, in the gathering space of St. Catherine Chapel. The Vigil Prayer will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2025, in St. Catherine Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Prayers of Committal will be held in the Congregation Cemetery.
Those not attending services in person are welcome to participate via livestream at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.
Recording of Sister Rita's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
Recording of Sister Rita's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
LEFT TO RIGHT: Rita Mary in 1938, about 2 or 3 years old; Rita Mary, 4 years old; First Holy Communion, circa 1942; Graduating from St. Joseph Academy, 1950.
CENTER: Blood sisters, from left, Sisters Rita Margaret (Ann), Rita Gerald (Rose), Raymond Cecile (Rita), and Rita Michael (Mary), circa 1955. RIGHT: Sister Rita Brunett on Hat Day, September 1, 1995.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Sister Rita with her mother; Sister Rita Brunett and Associate Carol Jean Kaufman, a chaplain; Sister Rita with her friends, Simba and Pooh Bear
Members of the St. Philomena community are, from left, Sisters Mary Louise Gass, Norma Dell, Rita Brunett, Mary Kay Homan, and Nadine Sheehan.
Members of the 2011 Diamond Jubilee are: back row, from left, Sisters Attracta Kelly (Prioress), Julianne Wolny, Jeannine Holway, Anne Liam Lees, Judith Ann Lieder, and Agnes Peplinski; middle row, from left, Sisters Elizabeth Lynch, Rita Brunett, Thérèse M. Haggerty, Mary Daria Herbella, Catherine Ahern, and Elisa Joan Doherty; and front row, from left, Sisters Dolores Marie Dolan, Dolores Slosar, Nancy Hanna, Celine Marie Regan, Marian Edward Guethlein, and Clara Ann Budenz.
(1939-2025)
Sister Janet Traut, formerly known as Sister James Kathleen, died on Friday, April 25, 2025, at her home in Dearborn, Michigan. She was 85 years of age and in the 67th year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
Sister Janet was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, to James and Ethel (Heinrich) Traut. She graduated from Aquinas High School in Chicago and obtained a bachelor’s degree in English from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian, Michigan, and a master’s degree in sociology-education from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Sister Janet spent 40 years ministering in elementary education in Flint, Detroit, Redford, Dearborn, and Dearborn Heights, Michigan. She served for more than a year in adult education and four years as a staff member at the Siena Literacy Center in Redford, Michigan.
Sister Janet was preceded in death by her parents and two sisters. She is survived by her sisters Linda Marquardt, Judith Raica, Susan Jelinek, and Bernadette Larimer; nieces, nephews, other loving family members; and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Prayers of Committal were held on Sunday, April 27, 2025, in the Congregation Cemetery. A Memorial Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 2, 2025. Those not attending the service in person are welcome to participate via livestream at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.
Recording of Sister Janet's Memorial Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
Recording of Sister Janet's Ritual of Remembrance - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as."
LEFT: Baby Janet, 1939. MIDDLE LEFT: First Holy Communion, third grade, 1947. MIDDLE RIGHT: Janet at her graduation from St. Killian Grade School, Chicago, 1953. RIGHT: Graduation from Aquinas High School, Chicago, 1957.
MIDDLE: Janet with her parents, James and Ethel, on her Entrance Day, June 26, 1957.
LEFT: Sister James Kathleen with her six sisters – Marjorie, Kay, Bernadette, Judy, Linda, and Susan – on her Reception Day, December 26, 1958. RIGHT: Sister Janet Traut, left and her good friend, Sister Annette DeSloover.
Members of the 2017 Diamond Jubilee December Reception Crowd are: back row, from left, Sisters Frances Lombaer, Bernitha Glombowski, Evelyn Inez Montez, Patricia Siemen (Prioress), Mary Ann Phillip, Mary Therese Napolitan, and Joella Miller; middle row, from left, Sisters Janet Traut, Jude Van Baalen, Joan Kowalski, Barbara Cervenka, Patricia Brady, and Margaret Ann McGuiness; and front row, from left, Sisters Helen McAllister, Susan Eliane Kresse, Helen Diane McGuirt, Eunice Drazba, and Dorothea Gramlich.
(1928-2025)
For Sister Pauline Opliger, the path to becoming an Adrian Dominican Sister was a long and winding road.
Her father, Harry, was a Methodist minister originally from Millersburg, Ohio, while her mother, Della, an elementary schoolteacher at the time of their marriage, came from Lewiston, Nebraska. The two met and married in Glade, Kansas, where Harry was assigned.
Shortly after the wedding, Harry was transferred to a church in Rice, Kansas. The couple’s first three children were born in Rice: Pauline on March 2, 1928; Mark in 1930; and Lila in 1932.
Harry bought a small farm in north-central Kansas a few years later and left full-time ministry. It was a difficult time to be a Midwestern farmer; Sister Pauline wrote in her autobiography about her memories of massive dust storms and an invasion of grasshoppers that devoured the crops. Besides all that, “farming did not agree with my father,” she wrote, and he returned to full-time ministry and was assigned once again to Glade. Pauline’s youngest brother, Leland, entered the family there in 1939.
A couple of transfers later, the Opliger family was in Covert, Kansas, at the time of Pauline’s graduation from high school (in a class of four) in 1946. Wanting to save money to go to college and study art, she took summer classes in 1947 at Fort Hays State College in order to obtain a provisional teaching certificate, and that school year taught three elementary grades – containing a grand total of five students – in nearby Enterprise.
Read more about Sister Pauline (PDF)
Recording of Sister Pauline's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
Recording of Sister Pauline's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
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