Remembrances
The prayer card for Loretto’s deceased members reads, “Gracious God, may they live forever in the splendor of your light and life in the company of all the saints.” We know that they do, but it’s good to say it. View all Obituaries.
In Granite City, Ill., at the height of the Depression, Martin Joseph Finneran and his wife Fannie Price Finneran welcomed their fifth and final child and named her Nancy Jane. Before the end of the hard times the family had relocated to St. Louis, where Nancy attended kindergarten at Dozier School in the West End,…
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Anne Catherine Spillane (known as Nancy by her family) was a bright light wherever she was. It was often said that she was “everyone’s best friend,” so well did she fulfill that role. Known as Sister Lucian, from 1947 to 1971, she served Loretto in many capacities — teacher at Mary Queen of Peace in…
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Josepha Eyre was the eighth of 10 children born to Elizabeth Margaret Purcell and Francis Anton Schretien in Nijmegan, Holland, in 1931. She described her life as “before” and “since the war.” Her early years were relatively uneventful, with school and life at home. The Nazis invaded Holland in 1940. Every aspect of life changed.…
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Sister Kay Carlew wrote a brief introduction of herself for Loretto Magazine at the time of her Golden Jubilee in 2011. We’ll start there but be warned: Kay left out many of the good parts, some of which I have added at the end, but most of which I leave to you — Loretto members,…
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Patricia Jean Saddler was understandably proud of her ancestry. Her distant kin, Basil Hayden, led the first band of Catholics from Maryland to central Kentucky in 1785. Her mother’s family, the Raleys, were original settlers of Calvary, Ky., the Rev. Charles Nerinckx’s first parish. She had relatives among the early Sisters of Loretto and an aunt…
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“I will give you the treasures of darkness and riches hidden in secret places so that you may know that it is I the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.” Is. 45:3 Robert Riggs knew this Scripture well because he found treasures of darkness hidden in his life and in secret places…
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This remembrance is just a little bit shorter than PJ’s long life. I could blame the length on PJ, who insisted on living life to the full. I certainly did try to make it shorter. As PJ the journalist knew well, distilling a long, rich life takes time and talent. So here is PJ’s story,…
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Patricia Ann Kenoyer was born on Flag Day, and each of her 95 birthdays she celebrated as though all the flags were flying for her! Her father John Jay Kenoyer of Leon, Kan., met her mother who was from El Dorado, Kan., when they each arrived in Kansas City as very young adults. Grace Spalding…
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(Editor’s Note: Information from Marcella Hannon Shields) Eldon was born in Corona, Calif. He spent his early years in Banning Homes in Los Angeles, while his mother worked in the shipyards. He moved with his family to North Dakota and then Arkansas and Oklahoma, where he went to the university after serving in the Air…
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Jeanne Frances Cavanaugh was born 99 years ago, in Kansas City, Mo., to Frank Edward Cavanaugh of Kansas City and Mary Frances Mullen Cavanaugh of Salina, Kan. Jeanne was the only child of her parents and entirely a child of Loretto. In a brief autobiography she wrote for her 75th Jubilee she sketched her childhood…
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How privileged I was to have known Gordie Albi. I can’t quite remember how it was that she became acquainted with the Denver Catholic Worker, but she definitely became a great supporter of our work and of many of us personally. Gordie was from the business world and had an amazing resume of organizations she…
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The following is the autobiography which Sister Pat Hummel herself has written starting in 1989 and added to periodically until quite recently. “I was born in Louisville, Ky., June 30, 1928, to Norbert Daniel and Margaret Maloney Hummel. I was the second eldest of six children, the second of five daughters and one son. I…
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