Mercy Sister Evelyn Marie (de Chantel) Paznek, 90, died Nov. 5.

Born in Minnesota, she traveled to Milwaukee to care for a relative who was ill. While there, she met Mercy Sister Rosaire Ward, and was so impressed with the work of the Sisters of Mercy she decided to become one.

She entered the novitiate of the Sisters of Mercy in Des Plaines in 1949. After making temporary vows in 1952, she began teaching and served in nine different Mercy elementary schools in Illinois while earning her bachelor’s degree from Saint Xavier College (now University) after school, on weekends and during the summers.

In 1980 she was assigned to Queen of Martyrs Parish, where she would teach and minister for over 20 years until her retirement. She told people the highlight of her life was starting the first kindergarten at Queen of Martyrs School.

Holy Family of Nazareth Sister M. Ignatius (Marie) Remian, 99, died Nov. 5 in Des Plaines.

Born in Chicago, she entered religious life in 1939. Between 1939 and 1986, she served as a medical technologist at St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital in Chicago, as well as in hospitals in Texas. In the 1940s, she was involved in doing research on the Rh factor. She was also instrumental in planning and designing an 18,000-square-foot clinical and anatomical pathology department at St. Mary of Nazareth Hospital and served as the department’s director.

From 1992 to 2002, she ministered at Holy Family Medical Center in Des Plaines as the liaison between doctors and patients’ family members in the surgical waiting room. She retired from active ministry in 2003 at the age of 83.

She is survived by her youngest brother, Arthur.

Hospital Sister of St. Francis M. Marciana (Mary Louise) Lynch, 96, died Nov. 12 in Springfield, Illinois.

Born in Chicago, she entered the congregation in 1939 and professed vows in 1941.

She served as a maternity staff nurse and supervisor at HSHS hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin during the early part of her career, and was administrator of St. Mary’s Hospital in Streator, Illinois (1970-1974). She was the director of materials management for Hospital Sisters Health System in Springfield (1976-1999), then became staff assistant for materials management until 2006.

BVM Sister Marion (John Patrice) Murphy, 82, died Nov. 15 in Dubuque, Iowa.

She was born in Chicago and entered the BVM congregation in 1953 from Our Lady of the Angels Parish.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Marion was an elementary teacher at Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Odilo; principal at Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of the Angels, and Santa Maria del Popolo; pastoral coordinator and administrative assistant at Holy Family Parish, tutor at the Westside Employment Education Center and volunteer at the Holy Family Parish food pantry. She also taught in Portland, Oregon.

School Sister of St. Francis Sister Katherine Mary (Laverna) Kramer, 96, died Nov. 22 in Milwaukee.

Born in Chicago, she was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1940 and made her final vows in 1948.

Sister Katherine Mary ministered in education and support services in Illinois and Wisconsin for over seven decades. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Joseph, Wilmette (1951-1958); at St. Clara (1958-1962), where she also served as principal (1962-1967); at St. Joseph, Waukegan (1967-1969); and at St. Mary, Buffalo Grove (1969-1972), where she also served as principal (1972-1986).  

In retirement, she volunteered at St. Joseph Convent, Milwaukee (2008-2011), and served in the ministry of prayer and presence at Sacred Heart in Milwaukee from 2011 until she died.

School Sister of St. Francis Sister Rosemary (Mary Shawn) O’Brien, 87, died Nov. 28 in Milwaukee.

Born in Milwaukee, Sister Rosemary was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1950 and made her final vows in 1958.

Sister Rosemary ministered in education in Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado and California. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she served as support staff for Friends of the Children, Schiller Park (1980-1981) and taught at St. Domitilla School, Hillside (1981-1986).

Sister Rosemary is survived by a twin sister, Florence Ann Timm.

Adrian Dominican Sister Andrea (Joseph Helen) Broutin, 86, died Nov. 30 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Detroit, she was in the 68th year of her religious profession.

Sister Andrea ministered in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Rita Elementary School (1951-1954) and St. Joseph School, Homewood (1954-1960).

Josephite Father John Joseph McBrearty, 87, died Dec. 1. He was the oldest active Josephite pastor.

Born in Donegal, Ireland, he came to Chicago after finishing school and worked here for four years before discerning a vocation to study for the priesthood with the Josephites. He entered the community in 1958 and was ordained in 1968.

He ministered in Washington, D.C., Alabama, Texas, Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Sister of the Living Word Mary Ann Grausam, 78, died Dec. 5 in Chicago.

Born in Minnesota in 1940, Sister Mary Ann made her final vows in 1967. She joined the Sisters of the Living Word in 1975. She taught in schools in Iowa and Michigan, and served as a pastoral minister in Mississippi and Illinois. She was the novice director for 14 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was the director of religious education at St. Martha, Morton Grove (1979-1992) and in 2015 entered Resurrection Life Center in Chicago, where she served in the ministry of prayer and presence.

Sister Mary Ann is survived by her sisters Patricia Burdick and Nanette Helgeson and her brothers Robert, Michael, Tom, John and James Grausam.

BVM Sister Eliza Kenney, 86, died Dec. 5 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Phoenix, she entered the BVM congregation in 1951.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Eliza was a music program director within the fine arts department at Loyola University and music department chairperson at Mundelein College. She was a music teacher in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and served as the curator at Mount Carmel in Dubuque.