Obituaries
Sister Nan Ross, BVM (John William)
Sister Nan Ross, BVM (John William), 83, died Dec. 19, 2011, at Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa. Visitation will be from 9–10 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011, in the Motherhouse Chapel followed by a prayer service at 10 a.m. Funeral liturgy will be at 11 a.m. in the Motherhouse Chapel. Burial is in the Mount Carmel cemetery, Dubuque.
Sister Nan was an elementary school teacher and administrator in Chicago, Ill.; Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa; San Francisco, Stockton, Sacramento and Petaluma, Calif.; and Anchorage, Alaska. She was pastoral associate and director of religious education in Holy Cross, Alaska. She served in pastoral ministry and as elementary school tutor in Maloy, Iowa. She was administrator of the BVM Center at Mount Carmel, Dubuque, Iowa.
She was born Feb. 21, 1928, to John William and Helen Frances Harris Ross. She entered the BVM congregation from Sacred Heart Parish, Newton, Iowa, Feb. 2, 1947. She professed first vows on Aug. 15, 1949, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1954.
She was preceded in death by her parents, brother Jack, and sisters Mary Kathleen and Jane Walker. She is survived by nieces.
Memorials may be given to the Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund.
Sister Nan Ross, BVM (John William)
Funeral Reflections by Mary Martens, BVM
Marian Hall Chapel, Dec. 21, 2011
Good morning and welcome to all present in this chapel, to those viewing the liturgy on Channel 6 and via video streaming. Nan’s niece “Nanny,” her BVM sisters, and her many friends celebrate the life and the entrance into eternal life of a loving, energetic and generous woman. Earlier we sang, “The heavens are telling the glory of God, and all creation is shouting for joy . . .” How Nan loved the beauty of God’s creation, manifested in nature and in people.
Nan was born Feb. 21, 1928, in Newton, Iowa. She was the third of four children of John William and Helen Frances Harris Ross. In a taped interview, Nan confided, “I was named Margaret Ann, but my brother could not manage to say that and called me ‘Nan’ so that’s what I have been called from then on. I was named ‘John William’ in the congregation and when we were going to return to our family’s choice, I knew I would be lost if they called me Margaret Ann so I just wrote ‘Nan’ and pretended it was my baptismal name; no one in the Secretary’s Office ever questioned it.”
Nan entered the congregation Feb. 2, 1947, and was professed Aug. 15, 1949. She then began her teaching ministry, which continued until 1986 in elementary schools in Illinois, Iowa, northern California and Alaska. In Nan’s own words, “Probably some of my very happiest times on the mission came when I was teaching the poor . . . I always did like teaching.” And her students must have known that. One of them wrote to her, “I remember you, your humorous ways, and your excellence in teaching very vividly . . . Many remember you at All Hallows. You had a full, rich, loving, laughing presence . . .”
There followed the Alaskan adventure. It began when Nan saw a notice in the BVM regional newsletter that the archbishop of Anchorage was looking for teachers for his new school. “I went right to the telephone and called Michaelita Kelly (the regional representative) and said, ‘Mike, I want to go up there!’ ‘Wonderful,’ was her response.”
Nan spent five years in Alaska. “We had wonderful people; the teachers were extraordinary and I loved that time. There wasn’t a special ethnic group there, but there were a few Indians and very, very few Eskimos . . . We had mostly displaced white children; there were a lot of rich oil people up there, mostly people who had gone to school with the sisters in the lower 48.” Nan even went to study a year in the bush, “because I didn’t want to leave Alaska without having a total Alaska experience.”
Back in Dubuque in 1986, Nan took on administrative roles first at the Motherhouse and then at the BVM Center. As she explained it, “I began as a maintenance ‘man,’ a wonderful experience to get to know all the sisters around here and those in Dubuque.” There followed a time of care giving for “my darling sister Bootie” in northern California and yet one more mission experience in 1996, this time in Maloy, Iowa. With her good friend BVM Joanna Rettenmeier and together with Franciscan Marian Klostermann, the three formed a local community responding to the needs of the rural people in the parish area.
Since 2009 Nan has resided at Mount Carmel, keeping up her lifelong habit of giving service to others. Shortly we will hear a reading from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans. It’s the one where Paul describes one body with many members, with gifts that differ according to the grace given to each of us. Paul writes, “If your gift is ministry, use it for service. If you are a teacher, use your gift for teaching . . . if you help others, do so cheerfully. Your love must be sincere . . . the One you serve is Christ.”
Nan lived those lines with all the energy and the love of God she shared with so many. We think of “Nan’s garden” which we blessed a short month ago, and see it as a legacy that will remind us of her spirit and her creation-centered spirituality. Darling Nan, the garden is in a resting cycle now, but it will spring into life again, just as you have already made the transition from these recent months of waning energy into the fullness of eternal life.
If you would like to give a memorial in honor of this Sister click here.
PrintSister Ellen Murphy, BVM (Teresetta)
Sister Ellen Murphy, BVM (Teresetta), 99, died Dec. 5, 2011, at Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa. Visitation will be from 9–11 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 9, 2011, in the Marian Hall Chapel followed by a prayer service at 11 a.m. Funeral liturgy will be at 1:30 p.m. Burial is in the Mount Carmel cemetery, Dubuque.
Sister Ellen taught elementary school in Sacramento and San Francisco, Calif. She taught and was principal/superior at elementary schools in Butte, Mont.; Seattle, Wash.; and Lincoln, Neb. She was activity coordinator at the Mount Carmel in Dubuque and served in pastoral ministry in Mountlake Terrace, Wash.
She was born June 4, 1912, to Thomas and Ellen Eldred Murphy. She entered the BVM congregation from St. John Parish, Seattle, Sept. 8, 1930. She professed first vows on March 19, 1933 and final vows on Aug. 15, 1938.
She was preceded in death by her parents; seven brothers: Leo, Thomas, James, Bernard, William, Francis and Michael; and six sisters: Leona, Loretta, Irene, Mary, Teresa and Margaret. She is survived by nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be given to the Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund.
Sister Mary Ellen Murphy, BVM
Funeral Reflection by Donard Collins, BVM
Marian Hall Chapel, Dec. 9, 2011
In the today’s Gospel we hear “whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
On June 4, 1912, Ellen Magdalene was born to Thomas and Ellen Eldred Murphy on a farm in Seattle, Wash., the eleventh child in a family of seven sisters and seven brothers. She attended St. George School, where she met the BVMs.
Ellen entered Mount Carmel on Sept. 8, 1930, receiving the name Sister Mary Teresetta, and made her final vows on Aug. 15, 1938. Later she returned to her baptismal name, Ellen. Looking over her various assignments, I was aware that Ellen has lived our core values—education, justice, charity and freedom—for all of her 80-plus years in the congregation.
Ellen was a primary teacher during her early years of ministry. She served as superior/principal in Butte, Mont.; St. John in Seattle, her home parish; and principal at St. Mary in Lincoln, Neb. She also taught at St. Thomas More and All Hallows in California.
In responding to a draft on our BVM retirement philosophy, Ellen remarked, “Freedom of choice allowed me to resign administration in Lincoln, Neb., and gave me the opportunity to organize Willing’s Alley at the Motherhouse.” As activity coordinator of our retirement program, Ellen realized the importance of awareness of world hunger. She organized a week of lectures, films and displays so that all would have an opportunity to experience world hunger and in turn experience the needs of the poor. Ellen stated, “This was a great learning experience which widened our vision and raised our level of consciousness about world hunger above our own horizon of material and spiritual abundance which we enjoy as BVMs.”
In 1981 Ellen moved to Seattle to care for her sister, and then in 1984 she retired to St. Pius X in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., to experience the joy of living with her BVM sister, Theresa. But retirement was just a word in her vocabulary, not in practice.
Since the spirit of justice was so strong in Ellen, she kept busy in various projects to send money to the BVM Retirement Fund. The BVMs at St. Pius X had a recycling project of collecting newspapers, bottles and cans and selling greeting cards. In describing her hobby of making greeting cards, Ellen wrote, “Sudden growth of a new hobby—the pursuit of an inner drive, brought untold happiness and personal satisfaction to an amateur artist with no formal training. The constant encouragement I received, the overwhelming response of countless customers whose purchases made possible the many large donations to the BVM retirement and hunger funds, merit my undying gratitude.”
In 1997 Ellen returned to the Motherhouse. She continued to reach out in many ways to help others. I am especially grateful that when the chapel was renovated in 1999, Ellen was the one who suggested, rather strongly, that the larger tabernacle made for the 1957 renovation would be the more attractive tabernacle in the Motherhouse chapel. Her artistic eye could see the beauty of that tabernacle which was then black with tarnish! Thank you Ellen!
Ellen had a special gift of writing. For her diamond jubilee in 2005 she wrote to her family, “In loving gratitude I have chosen to be a ‘do-gooder’—to assume the role of that proverbial beggar on a horse and ride right into your hearts! So, in lieu of any gifts for personal use, they will be added to a special fund to drill a well which will provide safe, clean water for our sisters missioned in Ghana, Africa, and for the poor people they serve.” It was a successful venture. In an excerpt from a letter after her jubilee, Ellen wrote, “As surely as water now flows in Ghana, the Lord’s blessings will continue flowing in you.”
In 2006 Ellen came to Marian Hall. Although hearing loss had been a problem for several years, Ellen always enjoyed a good conversation with friends and wanted to keep up on community news. She had a delightful sense of humor and spontaneous wit.
Water has played a role in Ellen’s life from the waters of Puget Sound to the waters of the Mississippi River and the Gospel passage, “ whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” On Monday, Dec. 5, this passage was fulfilled when Ellen died peacefully, gaining eternal life. Rest in peace, Ellen.
If you would like to give a memorial in honor of this Sister click here.
Sister Anina Allen, BVM
Sister Anina Allen, BVM, 91, died Dec. 1, 2011, at Caritas Center in Dubuque, Iowa. Visitation will be from 9–11 a.m on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011, in the Marian Hall Chapel followed by a prayer service at 11 a.m. Funeral liturgy will be at 1:30 p.m. Burial is in the Mount Carmel cemetery, Dubuque.
Sister Anina taught elementary and secondary school and was superior/principal in Davenport, Clinton, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Seattle, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Butte, Mont.; and Chicago, Ill. In California, she was on the staff of Guadalupe College in Los Gatos and served in pastoral ministry in Santa Clara.
She was born July 11, 1920, to John and Ann Griffin Allen. She entered the BVM congregation from Cathedral Parish, Dubuque, Iowa, Sept. 8, 1940. She professed first vows on March 19, 1943 and final vows on Aug. 15, 1948.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers: James, John and William; and sisters: Ruth, Mary Jane and Anna Marie. She is survived by nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be given to the Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund.
Sister Anina Allen, BVM
Funeral Reflection by Virginia Crilly, BVM
Marian Hall Chapel, Dec. 6, 2011
Welcome to all who join us today to remember Sister Anina Allen, who is now enjoying her new life in heaven. A special welcome goes to Anina’s family, especially her nieces and nephews who have joined us.
Anina was born in Dubuque, Iowa, on July 11, 1920, the fifth of seven children born to John J. and Ann Griffin Allen. She entered Mount Carmel on Sept. 8, 1940. Because she was born and raised in Dubuque she found it difficult not to be able to visit her family. At times she was so lonesome she thought she needed to go home. Her novice mistress knew this and invited her grandmother to come and visit Anina for a short time. This visit satisfied Anina and she decided to remain a BVM.
When she left the novitiate Anina was assigned to Our Lady of Angels in Clinton, Iowa, where her job was to teach the “minims”—the youngest boarders who usually would have been from about five to seven years of age. However, the staff got a surprise request about this time from a mother whose husband was overseas due to the war: she had to work and had no one to care for her daughters, ages two and eight. Could OLA take them?
BVM Jane Coogan (St. Joan of Arc), who was superior and principal, took the registration and thought that the girls were in second and eighth grades, rather than ages two and eight. Since it was wartime, they accepted the challenge. Their first task was to purchase a baby bed and help the little one feel at home in a dorm of 18 girls, with a curtained-off space for a sister. Anina took on the role of mother figure for these girls and spent her day doing all that a caring parent would do. So our Gospel for our liturgy today is most appropriate, as she did welcome little children each day in her ministry at OLA. Some of the “minims” have kept in contact with Anina over the years and remember her as their loving comforter.
When Anina was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, she belonged to a Charismatic Renewal prayer group. She was very enthusiastic about this form of prayer and participated in it with some of the sisters she lived with.
Anina ministered in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Illinois and back to Iowa as teacher, superior and principal before taking on the ministry of pastoral assistant at St. Clare Parish in Santa Clara, Calif. Anina came to the Motherhouse as a resident in 1993 and during that time volunteered at Marian Hall and worked in the BVM Center tape library. She became so familiar with the tapes and which ones various sisters enjoyed that when asked to send tapes to them she knew which ones they would like. She was much appreciated by many BVMs who used the tape library.
When I lived with Anina, she was a pastoral assistant at St. Clare Parish. She was doing ministry to the sick, and loved visiting them on a regular basis. In fact, people still ask about her and tell how much they appreciated all she did for them. While working in this ministry, Anina and Rose Mary Maguire, SCN designed and coordinated a program to be used in training others for this ministry. What made this program so dynamic was that both of these women spoke from years of experience and a deep compassion for the sick and elderly of the parish.
When we lived together she often talked about her family and the fun times they had together. She enjoyed her siblings; often they would come to the bluff in front of Mount Carmel, lie on their stomachs overlooking the railroad tracks and try to spit into the smoke stack as the train passed. Her usual comment was that she didn’t think any of them were ever successful.
Thank you, Anina, for serving little children and for being a person who loved the young and the elderly. May you enjoy your eternal reward and being with your family in heaven.
If you would like to give a memorial in honor of this Sister click here.
Sister Peggy Nolan, BVM (Timothy Maura)
Sister Peggy Nolan, BVM (Timothy Maura), 68, died Oct. 18, 2011, at Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa. Visitation will be from 3–5:30 p.m., on Friday, Oct. 21, 2011, in the Motherhouse Chapel followed by a prayer service at 7 p.m. and reception in St. Joseph Hall at 8 p.m. Funeral liturgy will be at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 22, followed by a dinner in Caritas dining room. Burial is in the Mount Carmel cemetery, Dubuque. A memorial Mass will be celebrated in the Twin Cities at a later date.
Sister Peggy taught secondary school in Emmetsburg and Boone, Iowa, and St. Paul, Minn. She was religious education coordinator in St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minn. She ministered on staff at the Working Boys’ Center in Quito, Ecuador, and as pastoral associate at Blessed Sacrament ministry site in Chicago. She served the BVM congregation as novice director, regional representative, senator and vice president. In retirement, she volunteered in the office of development.
She was born March 12, 1943, to Frederick and Dorothy (Johnston) Nolan. She entered the BVM congregation from St. Therese Parish, St. Paul, July 31, 1961. She professed first vows on Feb. 2, 1964, and final vows on Feb. 2, 1969.
She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by sisters Pat Nolan, BVM, Dubuque; Mary Nolan, BVM, St. Louis, Mo.; a brother Fr. Tim Nolan, St. Francis, Minn.; and cousins.
Memorials may be given to the Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund.
Sister Peggy Nolan, BVM
Funeral reflection by Joellen McCarthy, BVM
Motherhouse Chapel, Oct. 22, 2011
On March 12, 1943, Peggy was born in St. Paul, Minn., the youngest of four children, to Frederick Nolan and Dorothy Frances Johnston. With her three siblings, Pat, Tim and Mary, Peggy grew up in the luscious countryside near Mendota, historically the first settlement in pioneer Minnesota and now known as Mendota Heights, currently a suburb just down the road from St. Paul. Peggy attended St. Therese Grade School and graduated from Our Lady of Peace High School.
In her senior year at OLP, when Peggy, whose two older sisters, Pat and Mary, had entered the BVM community and whose brother Tim had already announced his intention of going to the diocesan seminary, informed her mother that she wanted to be a BVM, her mom simply said, “I’ve heard of spiritual motherhood, but I’ve never heard of spiritual grandmotherhood.” Peggy recognized what her decision would cost her parents and later said, “How could I get on that train to Dubuque, having accompanied our parents to the depot two previous times with my older sisters?” But, get on the train she did—50 years ago, giving her parents one more opportunity to drive south on Highway 61, on what had become their familiar route to Dubuque, Iowa.
Following formation years at Mount Carmel and graduation from Mundelein College as a scholastic and an English major, Peggy was first missioned at Emmetsburg Catholic High School in Emmetsburg, Iowa, in 1966, to teach English and religion. The school closed in 1968 and Peggy was sent to Ryan High School in Boone, Iowa. When that school closed one year later, Peggy was assigned to Our Lady of Peace High School in St. Paul until 1973, when OLP also closed. Peggy often laughed about closing her first three missions!
Later, Peggy earned a master’s degree in religious education from St. Thomas University in Houston, Texas, and began to serve as director of religious education in parishes in the Twin Cities. She later joined the staff of the Working Boys’ Center in Quito, Ecuador, for four years and, later, after several years on the initial formation team in Dubuque, became a member of the BVM ministry site at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Chicago. In Chicago, Peggy served on the Great Lakes Regional leadership team with Jackie Rice for three years, ending her term to join Joellen McCarthy and Mary Ann Zollmann in congregational leadership from 2000—2008. In Peggy’s last ministry she served in the office of development—a work she grew to enjoy. There she learned how much donors to the BVM congregation love BVMs and appreciate their work.
Throughout these years of growing up in the Nolan household and ministering as a BVM, we can easily imagine Peggy as the sower in today’s gospel, which she chose for this liturgy. You will notice her commentary on the back of the worship aid. It was written in April 2000, and posted on email when she was a candidate for congregational leadership. The directive for the candidates was to write what sustained them. Peggy wrote: “For me the parable says that Divine Energy is steadily, rhythmically at work in our midst taking us to a place of maturity, fruition and abundance. How it all happens is a mystery, but it continues to happen anyway. Our job is to stay present, do some quiet tending, shout about the growth and be happy about the harvest we may never see.”
Staying present, doing some quiet tending, shouting about the growth and being happy about the harvest. Could we find better words to describe Peggy’s way of doing life? Peggy treasured the present—allowing her to be truly self-aware, in touch with the persons who made up her life, delighting in her surroundings, and keenly aware of the political structures that shape our world.
Peggy considered self-awareness the key resource to serving as a spiritual director. In a Salt magazine article about BVM spiritual directors she stated: “I learned to be attentive and responsive to the movements of my own mind, and spirit and body. In that careful listening I learned to meet the God within.” Peggy’s self-awareness was particularly evident in her presence to her body. She lived in her body, experienced the world in her body. To select as the first reading for this liturgy “An Earthy Christology” surprises no one who knew Peggy. Her gift to live in her body grounded not only her spirituality but also her whole approach to life. She was able to hold the concrete experiences of life and see their depth and meaning. Losing the use of her legs in these last months was a particular diminishment for Peggy, one who loved walking and moving. No wonder that she made great use of her wheel chair to continue movement and keep her world broadened.
Peggy’s presence to the people in her life was evident in her deep commitment to friendship. She had a gift for honoring the uniqueness of each relationship. This awareness to the persons of her life flowed into these last months during which she knew by name those who cared for her at Mercy Hospital and here at Marian Hall. In a time when she had every reason to be consumed by her own pain, her lifelong compassion and concern about others were ever active.
Peggy was present to the trees, the birds, the stars that made up her world. These simple elements of life she truly treasured. In these recent years it is no wonder that cosmic spirituality was exciting to her. She had been living cosmic spirituality all her life. Peggy had a thirst to understand the political systems that govern our world. Devouring four hours of Friday evening news analysis on public television was a favorite pastime for Peggy. But she did not just intellectually learn about the world; she hurt with those forgotten by the operating systems. Seeing the affluence in the U.S. could bring her to tears as she remembered the children of Quito who had nothing.
Peggy delighted in the present with all its life and activity, but she equally treasured quiet tending. As much as we loved this exuberant, energetic person, we also knew that she loved silence. Her cherishing silence was so evident in the prayers she crafted for meetings and events. Praying with Peggy was an invitation to experience the power of quiet, of space and of simplicity.
The companion for Peggy’s times of quiet tending was frequently poetry. Once she shared with a friend that poetry, more than scripture, brought her in touch with God. Poetry was her source of beauty and it invited her to wake up to all that was her life. Peggy was amazing in the extent of poetry that she memorized and from which she could spontaneously quote a phrase, a line and an entire poem, giving depth and meaning to some experience. She did not write poetry herself. In a sense she didn’t need to write it, she embodied poetry, opening up the soul to the sacred in life—the work of a poet.
Peggy’s quiet tending was also evident in her tremendous capacity to listen. One knew from her responses that she not only tended to the words shared, but to the heart and feeling surrounding these words. The wisdom that she offered was cherished. Her gift of listening was also evident in her skill in synthesizing, demonstrating her ability to see the connecting threads of a discussion or conversation.
“Stay present, do some quiet tending, shout about growth.” In some sense the word “shout” does not fit Peggy because her voice was never one to be heard above a crowd. But “shout” she did by the clarity with which she lived her beliefs and shared her insights. This clarity was so evident during her years in congregational leadership. Peggy was concerned about growth, for allowing individuals, the BVM congregation and the church to reach their fullest potential for goodness. But in her vision of growth she knew she was not responsible for making other persons behave in a certain way. She quoted and strongly believed these words about serving in leadership: “Leaders do not serve and provide for members. Leaders create environments that enable members to provide for themselves, to collaborate with each other and fulfill their mission together.”
Peggy’s exquisite skill in writing could readily describe these environments for growth, inviting persons to live the freedom that was theirs. She treasured the freedom with which she lived and deeply respected this freedom for choice in others. She demonstrated a particular care for those who were noted for “painting outside the lines,” taking opportunities, such as funeral reflections, to make visible for the rest of us the growth and goodness of these persons. Her “shouting about growth” was also evident in her delight in celebrating the accomplishments of others, her never-ending curiosity, and her openness to adventure.
“Stay present, do some quiet tending, shout about growth and be happy about the harvest we may never see.” Are we surprised that Peggy would write about being happy? Peggy exuded happiness. The Enneagram personality scale confirmed for Peggy and gave her the language to describe what she knew so well about herself. She was a number “7;” that is, she was wired to avoid pain and stay happy.
Peggy never lost a sense of play. She liked to refer to her “things,” meaning her toys: kites, cross country skis, a guitar, a banjo, a tin whistle, a harmonica. And Peggy’s toys weren’t confined to her personal enjoyment. These things served to gather folks and celebrate. Peggy’s t-shirt, that stated “I am a party waiting to happen,” fit her well.
Peggy’s sense of humor was endless. Even in these last months she would delight in saying “I’m in hospice, you know. And they kick you out after two years.” She knew well she would never exceed these days. It was her inimitable way of stating what for many others would have been a depressing reality. Peggy had a special touch to her humor—an ability to laugh at herself. What for many of us would have been embarrassing situations that we would hope no one would ever find out about, became for Peggy an occasion for laughter. Her story of driving away from a gas station with the fueling hose still inserted into her tank is just one example of the many ways Peggy invited us to laugh about and with her.
What enabled Peggy to live with this endless source of joy and optimism? It is obvious she grew up in a family that truly enjoyed being with each other and loved to celebrate; any occasion would do. Life is good and one should delight in all with which one is blessed. Peggy’s source of happiness also stemmed from her unfailing belief in and experience of a God of abundance—a God of endless blessing and goodness. Scarcity, blame and punishment were not words that Peggy connected to her God. In preparing for our Jubilee liturgy, Peggy’s voice soared over the phone the day she discovered the readings that were assigned for July 31:Isaiah inviting us to come and receive the endless blessings of food, wine. Romans reminding us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. The gospel story of the multiplication of loaves, teaching us of the God Jesus and Peggy knew, a God of abundance.
In mid-May when I called Peggy to confirm the plan for Dee Peppard and me to come to Dubuque and spend the weekend at Peggy’s, finalizing our Jubilee ritual and liturgy, Peggy said to me, “I know we planned to meet here, but I cannot do this anymore. The Peggy who used to live at 1220 Rush Street doesn’t live here anymore.”
No, the Peggy who lived at 1220 Rush Street does not live there anymore, nor does she live in Room 135 in Marian Hall. But Peggy will always live in those of us gathered here today and in so many others who cannot be here. Our work is now to live what she taught us—taught us not by preaching at us or telling us what to do. Peggy, the lavish sower of seeds of life, taught by her enormously full, loving and beautiful life that she shared with us, and she struggled to let go of this wondrous life that she loved. May we be grateful to have been part of it.
If you would like to give a memorial in honor of this Sister click here.
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