Deacon Edmund J. Gronkiewicz, 81, died Sept. 2. He served at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish.

Deacon Gronkiewicz was born and grew up on the Southwest Side. He attended St. Casimir School, Quigley Preparatory Seminary and Loyola University Chicago, and he received his bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees all within four years of each other. A polyglot, Edmund was fluent in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, French, Russian and Polish.

In addition to serving as a deacon, he was active in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem, the Order of Sts. Maurice and Lazarus and the Constantinian Order of St. George. He was a life member and former legal counsel of the Polish Museum of America and a 49-year member of the Chicago Society of the Polish National Alliance.

Deacon Gronkiewicz had been a probate and estate planning lawyer for 55 years.

Adrian Dominican Sister Barbara (Gerald Cecilia) Gass, 93, died March 23 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Michigan, she was in the 75th year of her religious life.

Sister Barbara ministered in education in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio and Florida, and in the office of her congregation in Michigan. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught music at Queen of Angels School (1946-1948).

She is survived by her sister, Sister Mary Louise Gass.

Adrian Dominican Sister Carolyn (Angelita) Nelson, 87, died April 13 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Chicago, she was in the 67th year of her religious life.

Sister Carolyn ministered in education and congregation administration and as a pastoral associate in Illinois, Iowa and Michigan.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Mary, Star of the Sea (1952, 1963-1965) and was provincial administrator for the St. Dominic Province, Hometown (1975-1979).

She is survived by a sister, Judith Verhaeghe.

Adrian Dominican Sister Margaret (Thomas Owen) Mehigan, 93, died May 19 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Chicago, she attended Academy of Our Lady High School before entering religious life 74 years ago.

She ministered in Michigan, New Mexico, Arizona, Iowa, Puerto Rico, Florida, California and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Clare of Montefalco (1955-1957); taught and was guidance director at Aquinas High School (1957-1966); was guidance director at Mother of Sorrows, Blue Island (1971-1974); was provincial administrator for St. Dominic Province, Hometown (1979-1981); did clinical pastoral education at Lutheran General Hospital, Park Ridge (1982); was chapter prioress for the Midwest Dominican Chapter, Hometown (1982-1985); and provided pastoral care at Ravenswood Hospital (1998-2001).

Springfield Dominican Sister M. Jeanine (Catherine Patricia) McGinley, 99, died Aug. 17 in Springfield, Illinois.

Born in Chicago, she was baptized at St. Clement Parish. She joined the Dominicans at the age of 16, and in 1938 professed her vows at Sacred Heart Convent, Springfield.

Sister M. Jeanine gave almost her entire teaching ministry to kindergarten and primary school children in Illinois. She taught in Springfield, East Moline, Elgin and Chicago, including at Our Lady of Grace School.

School Sister of St. Francis Georgia (Virginia) Brost, 93, died Aug. 21 in Milwaukee.

Born in Wisconsin, she was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1946 and made final vows in 1954.

Sister Georgia ministered in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin for more than seven decades. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Blessed Agnes (1951-1952), St. Cyprian, River Grove (1956-1959) and St. Catherine Laboure, Glenview (1964-1966). 

Sister Georgia is survived by three brothers: Father Frederick Brost, David Brost and John Brost; and three sisters: Janice Brost, Patricia Nickley and Donna Tamasaki.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Baptist Stohrer, 93, died Aug. 31 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Urbana, Sister Baptist made her first religious profession in 1947 and her perpetual profession in 1950.

She primarily taught music in elementary and high schools for 20 years before beginning a 40-year tenure in music at Rosary College/Dominican University, River Forest. She served in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Baptist taught at St. Cajetan (1947) and taught music at Rosary College/Dominican University, River Forest (1972-2013). She served as university ministry liturgist at Dominican University (2013-2014).

Jesuit Father Paul V. Mankowski, 66, died Sept. 3 in Evanston due to a brain hemorrhage.

Born in Indiana, he earned a degree in classics and philosophy from the University of Chicago before entering the Society of Jesus in 1976. He was ordained in 1987 and he professed final vows in 2012.

His other degrees included a master’s in classics from Oxford University, a Master of Divinity and a licentiate in sacred theology from Weston Jesuit School of Theology, and a doctorate in comparative Semitic philology from Harvard University.

Father Mankowski taught at Xavier University (1983-1984) and was a professor of Old Testament languages at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome (1994-2009). He also taught at Graham School of General Studies at the University of Chicago (2010-2011).  Father Mankowski spent a year as acting pastor of Sacred Heart Church English Language Parish in Amman, Jordan, before, in 2012, becoming a scholar-in-residence at Lumen Christi Institute, University of Chicago.