(1929-2019)

An era in Adrian Dominican history ended when Sister Jeanne Burns, the last surviving member of the General Council that was elected at the 1968 Chapter of Renewal to serve with Sister Rosemary Ferguson, died on July 18, 2019.

Sister Jeanne was born on March 3, 1929, in Chicago to Thomas and Laura (Mackey) Burns. Thomas worked for the Consumers Ice and Coal Company, and when Jeanne was almost five years old the family moved to Rockford, Illinois, when Thomas was transferred there as manager. She was the youngest of eleven children in the Burns family; her five brothers and five sisters were John, Robert, Thomas, William, James, Frances, Lorraine, Rosemary, Betty, and Catherine.

In an extensive autobiography written as a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) requirement, Sister Jeanne remembered her childhood as a happy one and that she was always aware of her parents’ love even though they were not especially demonstrative in their affection. She said she could only recall being spanked twice: once when three of them were jumping on a bed and broke it, and once when she ate her sister’s Valentine cinnamon hearts.

(1934-2019)

“Tonight, we gather to celebrate the life of a woman who was quiet, gentle, fun to be with, loved nature, and loved her family.”

So began the eulogy for Sister Patricia Dolan delivered by Sister Rosemary Asaro, Holy Rosary Chapter Assistant, at Sister Patricia’s wake service.

Sister Pat was born February 16, 1934, in Chicago to William and Catherine (Newton) Dolan. Both Bill and Catherine were natives of Buffalo, New York; Bill’s ancestors had arrived in the mid-1840s to work on the Erie Canal, while Catherine’s maternal grandmother had arrived alone from Scotland at the age of eighteen. Grandma Newton married and had five children before her husband died when Catherine was just ten years old. Catherine had to leave high school after her first year in order to help with the family finances through her job as a telephone operator. As for Bill, he was a Canisius College graduate who went on to a forty-four year career with the Federal Sign and Signal Company.

Catherine and Bill met at a dance and married in Buffalo in 1928. They moved to Chicago soon thereafter and settled in St. Laurence Parish before moving to St. Ailbe Parish around 1931. Four children came into the family: Margaret in 1929, Bill in 1932, Pat in 1934, and Maureen in 1937.

Read more about Sister Patricia (pdf)

(1928-2019)

One of the many young women to enter the Congregation with the “Ambrosian Spirit” – educated by the Adrian Dominicans at St. Ambrose School in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, just outside the Detroit city limits – was Marcelline Fouchey.

Marcelline was born on September 30, 1928, in Detroit to Harvey and Laurette (Bernier) Fouchey. Both Harvey and Laurette were of French stock dating back some five hundred years. Their respective sets of parents both were from Quebec, Canada; Harvey was born in Detroit but Laurette’s birthplace was Bromptonville, (today part of the city of Sherbrooke), Quebec. She came to Detroit at the age of twenty and married Harvey the next year, in 1927.

The couple had five children in all. Sister Marcelline was the oldest of the children; her two sisters were Florence, sixteen months younger, and Annette, four years younger. Two boys died in infancy. Florence would actually follow her big sister, with whom she was very close, into the Congregation, becoming Sister Mary Marcelle, but left in 1970 after twenty-three years in the community.

(1936-2019)

Marie worked hard, often behind the scenes, with no need for thanks or praise. She trusted the call to serve, however it came, and responded generously.

Sister Carol Johannes spoke these words about Sister Marie Quenneville in her homily at Sister Marie’s funeral Mass, further describing Sister Marie as a humble woman, a splendid and creative teacher, and a wonderful witness to the Dominican dedication to truth.

Sister Marie was born January 18, 1936, in Detroit, to George and Marie (Bonten) Quenneville. George was born in Stoney Pointe, Ontario, Canada, where his family had a farm, and met his future wife while he was what was called a “nickel immigrant,” commuting on the Windsor to Detroit ferry – which cost a nickel to ride – to work at the National Biscuit Company (Nabisco) factory in Detroit.

Marie Bonten had come to Detroit with her mother, Clara, and two siblings from Antwerp, Belgium, in 1921. Her father, Charles, had arrived at some earlier point to get a job and establish a home, and Clara and her children followed. Not knowing a word of English, they sailed for the United States, went through Ellis Island, and boarded a train for Detroit, where Charles met his family at the Michigan Central train station.