Obituaries

Sr. Janita Curoe

Educator

BVM Sister Janita Curoe, 87, died Feb. 10 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Iowa, Sister Janita entered the BVM congregation in 1946 and professed final vows in 1954.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Janita taught elementary school at St. Eugene. She also taught in Iowa, Tennessee and Mississippi.

Sr. Kathleen Doherty

Educator

BVM Sister Kathleen Doherty (Patrick Louis), 94, died Feb. 9 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Iowa, she entered the BVM congregation in 1945 and professed final vows in 1953.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Kathleen taught at St. Jerome and St. Mary High School; served as parish secretary and adult education teacher at Holy Family Parish and Westside Employment and Education Center; and was coordinator/treasurer for St. Mary Alumnae Association. She also taught in New York and Iowa.

Sr. Lenore Kusek

Educator, counselor

Sister of the Resurrection Lenore (M. Aquina) Kusek, 96, died Feb. 6.

Sister Lenore was born in Nebraska. She was received into the Congregation of the Sisters of the Resurrection in 1935, and eventually had two sisters in the congregation: the late Sister Bonaventure and Sister Clara Frances.

Sister Lenore ministered for 60 years in education, counseling and fundraising. She taught all grades from kindergarten through high school. In the archdiocese, she served at St. Thecla; St. Mary of the Angels; St. Bede, Ingleside; and Resurrection High School. She also ministered in Indiana, North Dakota and Alabama.

Sister Lenore also served as formation directress and as local superior.

Sister Lenore spent the last 15 years of her life in the ministry of prayer and suffering at the Queen of the Resurrection House of Prayer.

Sr. Clement Mazgelis

Educator

Sister of St. Casimir Clement Mazgelis, 93, died Jan. 31.

A native of Brockton, Massachusetts, Sister Clement attended St. Casimir Academy in Chicago and entered the Sisters of St. Casimir in 1940. She made her final vows in 1946.

She ministered in elementary and high schools in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and Maryland. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Casimir Academy (1944-1946) and Maria High School (1965-2002), Nativity BVM (Marquette Park, 1943-1944), Immaculate Conception (44th Street) (1946-1948) and St. Anthony, Cicero (1952-1957). From 2002 to 2015 Sister Clement supported Maria High Scholarships and the SSC Retirement Fund through many fundraising activities. Most recently, Sister Clement participated in the SSC ministry of prayer (2015-2017) at Franciscan Village in Lemont.

Sr. Mary Cordia Nowicki

Educator

Felician Sister Mary Cordia (Veronica) Nowicki, 101, died on Jan. 20 in Our Lady of the Angels Convent.

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, she entered the Felician Sisters in 1934 and professed her final vows in 1942.

She ministered in elementary schools as a principal, teacher and tutor in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Sr. Mercedes Moore

Educator, parish minister

Benedictine Sister Mercedes (Mary Catherine) Moore, 101, died Jan. 25 at St. Scholastica Monastery.

She graduated from St. Ambrose School and St. Thomas the Apostle High School. Later, she attended Saint Xavier College for a year before entering the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago in 1933. She professed her final vows in 1938.

She taught at St. Hilary, Queen of All Saints, St. Symphorosa and St. Scholastica Academy and at a number of schools in Colorado. She returned as principal of St. Hilary and St. Symphorosa. She was involved in parish ministry at St. Athanasius, Evanston, served as a chaplain at Evanston Hospital and then was superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Virgin Islands. In her later years, she worked as a tutor with deaf students at Holy Trinity School and served as subprioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago.

Sr. Louise Szkodzinski

Music teacher

BVM Sister Louise (Christine) Szkodzinski, 95, died Jan. 16 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Cicero, she entered the BVM congregation in 1947 and professed final vows in 1955.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Louise taught music at Mundelein College, and in later years gave piano lessons at Wright Hall. She also taught music in Iowa and Arizona.

She is survived by a brother, Jerome, and a sister, Christine Pitford.

Sr. Gracita Daly

Educator

BVM Sister Gracita Daly, BVM, 92, died Jan. 15 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Iowa, she entered the BVM congregation in 1941 and professed final vows in 1949.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Gracita taught at St. Odilo, Berwyn, where she later served in parish ministry, and also at Blessed Sacrament and Holy Family (Roosevelt Road). She also ministered in Iowa, Nebraska, New York and Indiana.

Deacon James Cozzo

Class of 2002

Deacon James Cozzo, 69, died Feb. 4. He was ordained in 2002 and had served at St. Eugene Parish since 2010.

He previously served at Santa Maria Addolorata.

He is survived by his wife, Mirta (“Mirna”); his children Ryan Cozzo, Nina Annerino and Sara Galiano; his grandchildren Daniel Cozzo; Ava Annerino and Dominic Galiano; and siblings Robert, Jenaro, Jimmy, Tim and Diana.

Fr. James Moriarty

Pastor emeritus

Father James Francis Moriarty, 91, died Feb. 8 at the Bishop Timothy J. Lyne Residence for Retired Priests in Palos Park. He was pastor emeritus of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Evanston.

Father Moriarty was born in Chicago and attended St. Theodore School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary North and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1951.

He was assistant pastor of St. Ferdinand (1951-1963); St. John the Evangelist, Streamwood (1963-1970); and St. Mary of the Woods (1988-1989). He was pastor of St. Luke Parish, River Forest (1982-1998) before being named pastor of St. Joan of Arc Parish in Evanston in 1989. He served there until he retired in 1995.

He also was a delegate judge for the metropolitan tribunal, and in 1969 he began working with the Catholic Conference of Illinois. Father Moriarty dedicated much of his work to the development of Catholic television, as director of the Catholic Television Network of Chicago from 1973 to 1984. During this time, he was a resident of Holy Name Cathedral Parish.

Father Moriarty is survived by his brothers, Thomas, Robert and Gerald Moriarty.

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