Remembrance of the Life of Sister Katherine Ann Heinz SL

Sister Katherine Ann Heinz died quietly March 14, 2026, at Loretto Living Center in Nerinx, Ky. She would have celebrated her 79th jubilee April 25, 2026. She was 97 years old and was active nearly to the end of her days.

The following is from Sister Katherine Ann’s autobiography:

“I was born in Denver, the youngest of five children of Lillian and Henry Heinz. I grew up during the Great Depression, but our home was a very happy home. We didn’t have much in the way of material things during those lean years but there was always a roof over our heads, a warm bed to sleep in, food on the table and clean clothes on our backs. We grew up in a home where there was much love.

“I grew up in the shadow of the convent as we lived just two blocks from Holy Family Parish. I could see the convent from my bedroom window. I attended Holy Family grade and high school. I entered the novitiate right after graduating from high school.

“When I was received into the novitiate on April 25, 1947, I remember thinking that April 25, 1997, was awfully far away. Those first 50 years went by much faster than I ever dreamed they would.

“When I first came to Loretto I was scared – scared with a capital ‘S.’ I was afraid I would do something that would make them send me “packing.” As a young woman of 18, I felt that I was starting on a new adventure. I was sorry to leave behind family and friends but was looking forward to serving the Lord whenever and however he wished to use me. Since I didn’t really know anything about religious life, or just what was expected of me. I really can’t say what my strengths and weaknesses were at the time.

“To me, being a nun means giving of one’s whole self to Christ and the Church. I don’t think this meaning has changed, but the way we do it in the 21^st century has changed a lot. In the ‘40s we were trained to be teachers and go wherever we were sent, to teach whatever subjects or grades somebody on the Council told us to teach – no questions asked. Since Vatican II we have been free to pursue the type of work that we enjoy and the type of work for which we have been trained.

“I like the freedom that we now have, but I also liked the structure of our early years. As hard as keeping the Rule might have been prior to the time the changes took place, we had something to hang on to, to live by, that gave stability to our lives that I believe our young sisters today do not have.

“The freedom we have today has made us ‘grow up,’ so to speak, yet remain religious. We have been free to choose our work, our lifestyle and where we want to go in and with our lives. I think this is important for women in the Church in the 21^st century.

“I really enjoyed my novitiate. At times it was hard, but I just thought that that was what we had to do to become a good religious. It was a way of laying a foundation for our future religious life.

“Vow day was very special, perhaps the most important day of my life, as it was the beginning of a life of commitment to God and to the Church. I have never regretted a minute of it.

“My first decade was spent living in large houses (El Paso and Lafayette) and teaching in nearby parochial schools. One of the joys of my teaching career was teaching first graders to read. I had that privilege for 36 years. Six of those years I taught double sessions of first grade, always the slowest group. They were a challenge, but one I fully enjoyed, especially when we reached the end of the school years and they could all read so well.

“After spending nine years in El Paso and seven years in the St. Louis/Florissant area, I was sent to Denver to teach at St. John’s School. It was there that I really got to know Sister Martha Ann Koch. We have formed a strong and lasting friendship that has lasted 40 years as of this writing. By 1971 we had to find our own jobs.  We felt it was time for a change, and we were hired on to teach at St. Philomena’s for the next 10 years. They were very happy years.

“In 1981 the Archdiocese of Denver merged at St. John’s in St. Philomena’s. It was a very difficult year; the bitterness felt by the parishioners was intense at that time. The St. Philomena School building was chosen to house the student body of both schools. We survived the famous or infamous merger of those two schools and stayed on to teach at what was then called Good Shepherd School for one more year.

“In 1982 we returned to Holy Family where I had grown up and attended first through 12th grade; it had been one of Sister Martha Ann’s earlier assignments. My mother and my brother-in-law were not well, and I felt that I needed to help my older sister Zelma care for both of them. My mother died at the end of my first year at Holy Family and my brother-in-law in the middle of my third year. Sister Martha Ann and I spent our last three years in education at Holy Family.

“In 1985 we decided to retire and were offered jobs at the Denver Staff Office, which was housed in the old St. Joseph Hall on the grounds of Loretto Heights. I kept all the files and records of the Sisters and Co-members up to date.  I put everyone’s records on the computer the first year I was there. Once we are dead and gone, no one is really going to care where we taught — I thought of that as I wiped Sister Virgil out of the computer files. Almost 103 years of life, 79 years of religious life and over 60 years of teaching was gone by hitting a few keys. I also did many, many mailings for the next 16 years and really enjoyed my work at the staff office.

“My oldest sister Zelma was not well, and in July 2001 I decided I needed to give more time to her care. Two weeks before I retired my sister Catherine called and told me she was moving back to Denver from Texas; I then had my two oldest sisters to care for. However, Zelma died in October that year; for four years I cared for my sister Catherine, who lived in a retirement facility for senior citizens.

“My friendship with Sister Martha Ann has lasted so long because we have great respect for each other; we think a lot alike we have the same interests and we have supported each other in every way. We have enjoyed many good times, and we have made it through a few hard times.

“We moved together to Loretto Center in March 2000. Since I am one of the youngest at the Center, I try to spend a lot of time trying to help the older Sisters. I consider it a privilege to be able to help them in any way I can. Twenty Sisters have moved to the Motherhouse since January 2001, and I am considered to be somewhat of an expert in packing their things for the big move; I hope I will be able to pack up my own things when the time comes.

“I am particularly grateful to God and the Sisters of Loretto for the love and support they’ve given me in every way. I hope I relate to God better now than when I entered Loretto. I think I have grown in my knowledge and love of God through prayer, education and my teaching.  Special graces in my life have come through my family, students, friends — especially Sisters of Loretto I have lived with or worked with over the years. The Sisters have always been there for me in the good times and the hard times. I was especially blessed with great superiors in the days when we had them. I can honestly say I never had one I didn’t like. They were all very fair and kind to me in every way. When I hear the horror stories that other Sisters tell, I know I was truly blessed in this regard. Even the pastors I worked for weren’t too bad — some were nicer than others, but on the whole all of them were good men.”

Sister Katherine Ann wrote much of her autobiography two decades ago, but she might have written it last week. She concludes, “Being able to work at jobs I like at a less hectic pace than what I was used to relaxes me and energizes me. I still enjoy getting up in the morning and going to work. Sister Defosa was right: It is better to wear out than to rust out.  I am at peace now, because I feel I have done my best, and I have no regrets.”

Sister Katherine Ann’s funeral Mass was celebrated March 20 in the Motherhouse church, with the Rev. Marty Lally CoL as celebrant, followed by a traditional burial in the main cemetery.

Please keep Katherine Ann, her family and all her loved ones in your prayers. May she rest in peace.