Deacon Ismael Pineiro, 78, died Dec. 20, 2022. He was ordained in 1983 and had served outside the Archdiocese of Chicago for many years.

Deacon Pineiro was born in Puerto Rico, one of 14 children. He married his wife, Virginia, in 1968, and they had three children.

After he was ordained a deacon, he served at St. Peter Canisius Parish and later in Clermont, Florida.

His wife predeceased him. He is survived by his children Ismael Jr., Laura and Maria; seven grandchildren; and his siblings Francisca, Ana, Mercedes, Carmen, Marta, Ana Maria, Laura, Juan, Domingo, Luis and Martin Jr.

Benedictine Sister Margarita Walters, 83, died Nov. 20, 2022, in St. Joseph Court Infirmary.

Sister Margarita was born in New York and moved with her family to Wilmette, where she attended St. Joseph School. After graduating, she enrolled at St. Scholastica High School and graduated in 1956.

Shortly after Sister Margarita finished high school, she moved to California and spent the greater part of her adult life there. She was married and eventually widowed. As her five children grew to adulthood, her success in the business world began to be less important to her than a yearning for a deeper relationship with God. After she tested that call with short memberships in the Carmelites and a small Italian community, she finally entered St. Scholastica Monastery in 1995.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Margarita served as director of alumnae relations for St. Scholastica Academy High School, director of the development office for the school, and following her profession of vows, the vocation minister for the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Barbara (Rosellen) Sheehy, 91, died Nov. 28, 2022, in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Chicago, Sister Barbara made her first religious profession in 1951 and her perpetual profession in 1954. She was a teacher, principal and diocesan assistant superintendent, and she helped develop and lead a workplace computer training program. She ministered in the District of Columbia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, Illinois and Massachusetts.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Barbara was principal at Queen of Peace, Burbank (1973-1986).

Divine Word Brother George Haegele, 75, who worked in accounting and business administration for the Society of the Divine Word for decades, died Dec. 3 , 2022, in Techny.

Born in Chicago, Brother George grew up in St. Sabina Parish. He professed first vows in 1968 and perpetual vows in 1974.

He served as treasurer for Divine Word Seminary in Perrysburg, Ohio; business manager for the Divine Word community in Pittsburgh; and treasurer for the Society of the Divine Word New Jersey District.

He worked as a bookkeeper for the Divine Word Missionaries at Bordentown, New Jersey, and in pastoral care in East Troy, Wisconsin. He also served as chairman of the Society of the Divine Word Chicago Province Budget Committee and as a member of the province’s Finance Committee.

Brother George retired in Techny in 2017.

Divine World Father Mark Weber, 68, died Dec. 14, 2022, in Chicago. Father Weber served two terms as his community’s provincial and was its general secretary for formation and education internationally. He also served as a missionary in Ghana.

“Mark was an advocate for those in need, a leader who preferred working with his hands rather than governing with a pen,” said Divine Word Father Roger Schroeder, Louis J. Luzbetak, SVD professor of mission and culture at Catholic Theological Union, and a good friend of Father Weber.

Born in Iowa, Father Weber was ordained to the priesthood in 1982, He spent almost eight years in West Africa: two years as a seminarian and six years as a missionary priest. In 1983, he became chaplain and teacher at St. Paul Technical School in Kukurantumi, Ghana. By 1989, tropical illnesses, such as malaria and typhoid, took a toll on him and he returned to the United States.

Upon his return, he joined the staff of the 8th Day Center for Justice in Chicago. For most of the 1990s, Father Weber worked on the formation staff of Divine Word Theologate in Chicago and eventually was named rector.

After his time there, Father Weber served St. Anselm Parish in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. Divine Word Missionaries have staffed the predominantly African American parishes of St. Anselm and St. Elizabeth (now among the former parishes united as Our Lady of Africa Parish) since before World War II. Father Weber lived and worked at the parish for five years, including three as pastor.

In 2005 and 2008, Father Weber was elected as Chicago provincial. When Father Weber’s second term as provincial superior ended, the religious order’s international leaders chose him as the generalate’s secretary for formation and education. His one request when accepting the position was to make his base at St. Anselm Parish in Chicago instead of Rome. In the role as formation and education secretary, he traveled the world to meet with Divine Word formation directors and candidates and to improve the congregation’s formation and education processes.

He is survived by four sisters: Jeanne Kluesner, Ann Their, Joan Weber and Marilyn Mootz; and a brother, Michael Weber.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Joann (Antonia) Feist, 88, died Dec. 6, 2022, in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Bloomington, Sister Joann made her first religious profession in 1954 and her perpetual profession in 1957.

She taught for 46 years at all levels of formal education and in community adult learning centers, specializing in teaching science and computer skills. Sister Joann also served as a chaplain for one year and in fundraising for five years. Sister Joann served in Wisconsin, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska, Alaska, Alabama and the District of Columbia.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Joann taught at St. Luke, River Forest (1956-1961 and 1976-1979); St. Barnabas (1965-1968 and 1989-1990); Unity Catholic High School (1980-1983, 1984-1985 and 1986-1988); Mother McAuley High School (1988-1989); Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity, Winnetka (1991-1994) and St. Thomas More (1997-1998). She ministered as a teacher at Maria Shelter (1994-1997) and Connections Adult Learning Center, now the Learning Center, (2000); and as a teacher and grant administrator at Malcolm X College (1998-1999). She worked in the Development Office at the Mission of Our Lady of Mercy Home (2000-2005). 

She is survived by a sister, Genevieve Feist, and a brother, Bill Feist.