Father John C. Hergenrother, 79, died July 8. He was pastor emeritus of St. Louise de Marillac Parish, La Grange Park.
Born in Chicago, he attended St. Laurence School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1966.
He was chancellor of the Archdiocese of Chicago and a judge of the Metropolitan Tribunal. He also served as associate pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary, St. Ferdinand and St. Monica. He became pastor of St. Louise de Marillac in 1985 and was named pastor emeritus in 2010.
Father Michael Bradley, adjutant judicial vicar who worked with Father Hergenrother for more than 20 years, said Father Hergenrother wrote about the spirit of joy as the Second Vatican Council was unfolding during his final years in the seminary. Father Hergenrother felt that same “spirit renewed with Pope Francis challenging us to live the joy of Jesus’ merciful Gospel and the documents of Vatican II being implemented,” Bradley said.
Father Joseph Nam Dao, 65, died July 10 in Ohio. He was associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Highland Park.
Born in Vietnam, he attended Blessed Phung Minor Seminary and St. Theresa Major Seminary in Vietnam and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 2000.
Father Dao served as associate pastor at St. Margaret Mary; Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity, Winnetka; and Immaculate Conception.
Father Claudio Diaz, classmate and pastor of St. Aloysius, remembered Father Dao as “a mixture of an old soul with a child’s twinkle in his eyes.” He added that Father Dao “endured many hardships in Vietnam and came to Chicago with the sole purpose of serving the people of God in the archdiocese.”
Deacon Frank DeVita, 97, died July 10. He was ordained in 1974 and served at Divine Providence Parish, Westchester.
Deacon DeVita served as a combat medic in World War II and attained the rank of staff sergeant. After the war, he continued to serve in the reserves and National Guard, where he attained the rank of first lieutenant. He worked for 31 years as an insurance agent and manager.
As a deacon, he assisted in hospital and parish ministry.
His wife, Blanche DeVita, predeceased him. He is survived by his children Maria Burg, Anthony DeVita, Michelle Fong and Jean Ferri; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Deacon Mario Avila, 68, died July 10. Deacon Avila, who lived in Westchester, was ordained in 1992 and served at St. Malachy-Precious Blood Parish, where he was a pastoral associate.
He is survived by his wife, Juanita, the director of religious education at St. Malachy-Precious Blood; children Mario Jr., Wendy Ruth and Christine Olivia Avila; and brothers Jose Castulo, Alejandro and the late Julio Avila.
Sister of St. Casimir Genevieve Kripas, 94, died June 25 in Lemont.
Born in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, Sister Genevieve was in the 75th year of her religious life. She made her first religious profession in 1944.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Genevieve taught at Nativity BVM (1944-1946); St. Bartholomew, Waukegan (1946-1947); and Holy Cross (1947-1950). She was a nurse at St. Theresa Hospital, Waukegan (1950-1953); and a registered nurse at Holy Cross Hospital (1953-1954) and Loretto Hospital (1954-1958). Sister Genevieve was a nursing home administrator at Holy Family Villa, Palos Park, from 1984 to 1993. She also ministered as a nursing home administrator in Nebraska and Pennsylvania for over 20 years.
Sister Genevieve served as moderator of the SSC Auxiliary from 1999 to 2012.
She was a minister of prayer and presence from 2014 to 2019 at Franciscan Village in Lemont.
Mercy Sister Mary Ralph Orlinski, 101, died June 25. She was a Sister of Mercy for 82 years.
Born in Chicago, Sister Ralph entered the community in Des Plaines in 1936 and professed perpetual vows in 1942.
She ministered first as a nurse in Aurora, Illinois, then started a 60-year teaching career in Elgin, Illinois, in 1940.
She taught at Our Lady of Mount Carmel; Resurrection; St. Finbarr; Precious Blood; St. Joseph, Libertyville; St. Stephen, Des Plaines; St. James; and, for 35 years, at St. Catherine-St. Lucy, Oak Park.
When Sister Ralph retired from St. Catherine-St. Lucy in 2000, the pastor, Father Dan Whiteside, said, “Sister Ralph has laid the foundation of not only our education, but also of our lives. She taught thousands of children about trying their hardest always, about sharing and being nice, about helping others and saying our prayers every day. And she called each one, ‘Honey.’”
Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Jeanette (Guinevere) Landuyt, 89, died July 3 in Dubuque, Iowa.
Born in Peoria, Illinois, Sister Jeanette made her first religious profession in 1950 and her perpetual profession in 1953.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Jeanette taught at Visitation (1951-1960), served as supervisor of student teachers at Dominican University, River Forest (2000-2002), and was director of personnel for the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation while living in River Forest (1986-1988).
Adrian Dominican Sister Patricia (Kevin Patrice) Dolan, 85, died July 8 in Adrian, Michigan.
Born in Chicago, she graduated from Aquinas High School and was in 67th year of her religious life.
She ministered in Michigan, Illinois and California.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Santa Maria Del Popolo, Mundelein (1956-1962), and Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette (1962-1967); was an editor at Scott Foresman, Glenview (1988-1989) and a freelance editor (1989-1990); and was data resources coordinator at Galvin Library, Illinois Institute of Technology (1991-1993).
She is survived by a sister, Maureen Silver.
Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Mary (Mary Ellen) Buckley, 93, died July 17. She was in her 76th year of religious life.
A native of Chicago, Sister Mary attended St. Peter Canisius Parish and Notre Dame High School for Girls, where she was educated by the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She entered religious life in 1943 at Mount Notre Dame in Cincinnati, Ohio, and taught for 43 years. Thirty-one of those years were spent at Notre Dame High School for Girls in Chicago.
She is survived by her siblings, Therese Buckley Mulvihill and John Buckley.
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