Obituaries

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Fr. Ronald H. Anglim

Pastor emeritus

Father Ronald H. Anglim, 81, died March 7. He was pastor emeritus of St. Peter, Antioch.

Born in Chicago, Father Anglim attended St. Ignatius High School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1965.

He was assistant pastor of St. Giles, Oak Park, and St. Francis Borgia. He was associate pastor of St. Barbara, Brookfield, and Our Lady of the Ridge, Chicago Ridge. He was pastor of Holy Family, North Chicago; St. Joseph, Libertyville; and St. Peter, Antioch, where he was named pastor emeritus in 2009. Father Anglim also served as chaplain of the Navy League of the United States.

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Sr. Sheila Lyne

Hospital CEO, health commissioner

Mercy Sister Sheila (Mary Carmeletta) Lyne, 83, died March 10.

Born on the South Side of Chicago, she attended Little Flower School and Mercy High School. After graduating from high school, she joined the Sisters of Mercy in 1953 and wanted to become a nurse.

She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at Saint Xavier University and ministered at hospitals in Aurora, Illinois, and in Iowa.

In 1971, she began a long career in administration at Mercy Hospital in Chicago, first as an administrator and then twice as CEO. During her time as CEO, she earned a master’s degree in business from the University of Chicago.

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley appointed Sister Sheila as commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health, a position she held from 1990 to 2001. Sister Sheila was the first woman and the first non-physician to serve in that role. She gained national attention for creating comprehensive women’s health programs, including a plan for domestic violence and improving prenatal care.

Concerned about the number of individuals affected by AIDS, she increased funding from $4 million to $40 million and implemented many programs to help the people of Chicago.

Mercy Hospital was in a dire financial situation in 2000 when Sister Sheila decided to return to the hospital as CEO. “There were those who urged us to move so we’d get away from poor people. But we’re not running from the poor. What would Catherine McAuley think of us if we did?” Sister Sheila is reported to have said.

Instead, Sister Sheila recovered old insurance claims, reached out to former donors and added facilities. A state-of-the-art MRI Center, a Heart and Vascular Care Center and the Comprehensive Breast Care Center, named after Sister Sheila Lyne, are three of the programs she initiated.

Sister Sheila negotiated the movement of Mercy Hospital to Trinity Health System in 2012, months before her retirement.

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Sr. M. Consuela Chase

Educator

Sister of Christian Charity M.  Consuela (Virginia) Chase, 99, died Feb. 23 at Sacred Heart Convent, Wilmette. 

Born in Detroit, she entered the convent in 1934 and made her first vows in 1939.

She taught elementary school at St. Gregory (1942-1943, 1967-1970) and St. Raphael as well as in other states.

In 1974, Sister M. Consuela returned to Wilmette. In 1978, after teaching in the English as a Second Language program at Mallinckrodt College for three years, she became its director. In 1999, Sister Consuela moved to Josephinum Convent, where she taught in the SCC Literacy Program. Two years later, Sister Consuela began her ministry of office clerk at Josephinum Middle School. 

In 2013, Sister M. Consuela moved to Sacred Heart Convent in Wilmette, where she used her writing skills to thank benefactors for donations.

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Sr. Mary Josetta Kuczmarski

Educator

Franciscan Sister of Chicago Mary Josetta Kuczmarski, 95, died Feb. 26.

She entered the order in 1944 from Greenfield, Massachusetts, and made her first vows in 1947 and her final vows in 1952.

She did her novitiate in Lemont (1945-1946), taught as a novice at St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr (1946-1947), and then taught at Five Holy Martyrs (1947-1950) and St. Florian (1951-1954). She served at St. Pancratius (1988-1998) as a teacher, driver, extraordinary minister of Communion and lector. She also served in Indiana and Ohio before retiring to the Lemont motherhouse in 2015.

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Sr. Amy Campbell

Educator

Benedictine Sister Amy (Romona Frances) Campbell, 99, died Feb. 27 at St. Scholastica Monastery.

Born in Denver, she attended St. Scholastica Academy in Cañon City, Colorado, and entered the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago in 1938 and made her final vows in 1943.

Sister Amy had a long career in education, mostly in the middle or primary grades, in both Colorado and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Amy taught at St. Hilary (1940-1941, 1954-1957); St. George (1941-1943); Mother of God, Waukegan (1943-1948); and St. John Nepomucene (1957-1963).

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Fr. Venard Kommer

Educator, parish priest

Franciscan Father Venard (Alphonse) Kommer, 99, of Clarendon Hills, died March 2 in Hinsdale.

Born in Germany, he entered the Franciscan Friars of the Sacred Heart Province in 1940 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1946 in Teutopolis, Illinois.

After other assignments in Illinois and Michigan, he served in Chicago at Corpus Christi Parish, Corpus Christi High School and Hales Franciscan High School. 

He later served in schools and hospitals in DuPage County.

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Sr. Anastasia McNichols

Educator, pastoral minister

Adrian Dominican Sister Anastasia (John Leo) McNichols, 91, died March 4 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Chicago, she attended Trinity High School in River Forest and was in her 70th year of religious life.

Sister Anastasia ministered in education, congregation leadership and pastoral care in Michigan, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, California and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was chapter prioress for the Upper Midwest Mission Chapter, Hometown (1985-1991); administrator of the Regina Dominican Convent, Wilmette (1992-1993); campus minister at Marist High School (1993-1997); a grief minister at Parkside Chapel (1997-1999); a volunteer at Little Company of Mary Hospital, Evergreen Park (2001-2008); and a minister of care in Oak Lawn (2008-2016).

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