(1935-2018)

In that first reading today, St. Paul exhorts the Colossians, and exhorts us, to clothe ourselves in Christian virtues. So many of them, as they were listed there, remind us of Therese. And at the end, he says “give thanks to God the Father,” and we do that in this funeral liturgy in a very unique way for the many, many ways we have experienced the presence and the love of God, the goodness of God, in her long life and ministry. I am so very grateful.

So spoke Father John “Jed” Patrick, who worked for many years with Sister Therese Reynolds at All Saints Parish in Gladstone, Michigan, in his homily as he concelebrated Therese's funeral Mass on July 13, 2018.

Sister Therese spent eighteen years, many of them alongside Father Patrick, at All Saints as its coordinator of music and liturgy, and in his homily Father Patrick remembered her for her respect of other people and their gifts; for her encouraging way, contagious smile, and positive attitude; and as someone who greatly loved her Adrian Dominican community and treasured the support and connection her Sisters gave her.

(1933-2018)

Ever since two members of St. Joseph Academy’s first graduating class in 1899 went on to become Adrian Dominican Sisters (Sisters Cornelia Cassidy and Magdalen Marie Weber), the Academy was for many years a steady source of vocations for the Congregation. One of those “Academy girls” was Mary Catherine Koenig, who became Sister Carol Denise.

Mary Catherine was born on February 3, 1933, in Ottoville, Ohio, to Carl and Elizabeth (Landwehr) Koenig. Due to a heavy snowstorm that day, the doctor and nurse came to the home for the birth rather than having Carl and Elizabeth try to make it to the hospital.

Elizabeth had already had several miscarriages, and when her newest baby was born it looked for a time like a stillbirth. But the nurse noticed a small pulse, and “with a lot of work” on the doctor’s and nurse’s part, “I became a member of the living,” Sister Carol Denise wrote in her autobiography. She was named Mary Catherine because her mother had promised the Blessed Mother that if she had a girl, she would name her after Mary. The “Catherine” part of the name was for Elizabeth’s mother.

The Koenigs owned a farm at the time, but once the Great Depression hit especially hard the family lost the farm and Carl went to work at larger farms that were managing to make it through those years. A large garden and orchard, which Elizabeth tended, kept the family in plenty of vegetables and fruit.

Read more about Sister Carol Denise (pdf)

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

(1927-2018)

A shared love of being onstage, specifically in plays put on by the Czech Social Club of St. Vitus Parish, Chicago, was the catalyst through which George Luznicky and Lillian Hattan met and fell in love in the early years of the twentieth century.

“My Dad was the straight man in the plays of the Social Club,” wrote Sister Georgina Luznicky in her autobiography. “My Mother was a delightful out-going person who always wanted and got the lead in the plays of the Club.”

George and Lillian, both the children of Czech immigrants, married after George returned from World War I. Injuries had left him crippled, but his cleaning and tailoring business provided well for the family.

The couple had three children: Mary, the oldest; Dorothy, who became Sister Georgina; and Edward. Faith was central in the Luznicky home, and all three siblings had a Catholic education. Mary and Dorothy attended elementary school at St. Nicholas of Tolentine – which was staffed by Adrian Dominicans — and high school at Lourdes, and then Mary, who was four years older than Dorothy, went on to nursing school and served in the U.S. Army. Edward, after elementary school at St. Nicholas of Tolentine, attended Quigley Prep Seminary and eventually became a Servite priest.

Read more about Sister Georgina (pdf)

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

Leave your comments and remembrances (if you don't see the comment box below, click on the "Read More" link).

(1931-2018)

The familiar story ... of the two disciples who met the risen Jesus on the road to Emmaus was selected by Sister Betty Jenkins as the Gospel reading for her funeral Mass, and appeared on her memorial card and the cover of the worship aid as well. According to Sister Joan Delaplane, who preached the homily that day, there were many reasons why that particular reading resonated with Sister Betty.

An eye infection very early in Sister Betty’s childhood left her with almost no sight in that eye, and that poor vision contributed to her difficulties in reading and learning. As a result, Sister Joan noted, Sister Betty had been bullied by other children, one factor in her becoming a shy woman who struggled with a negative self-image.

Some of us are aware that the first half at least of Betty’s life was a Jerusalem experience – a lot of pain, questions, discouragement. … In light of all that, isn’t it “Amazing Grace” when we consider the words we heard last [Friday] during our remembrances of our experience of dear, dear Betty? We heard she was kind, fun, compassionate, [had] an aura about her that made one feel good about oneself, always encouraging her students, a pleasant person to be with. How did she ever make the leap from the self-defeating youth experience to the outgoing, compassionate individual that we came to know and love?

Read more about Sister Betty (pdf).

Leave your comments and remembrances (if you don't see the comment box below, click on the "Read More" link).