Felician Sister Mary Placidia (Hedwig) Kuligot, 98, died Nov. 11 in Our Lady of the Angels Convent.

Born in Chicago, she attended Good Counsel High School and joined the Felician Sisters aspirancy. She entered the Felician Sisters postulancy in 1941 and professed her final vows in 1949. She ministered for 48 years as a teacher and tutor in elementary schools in Illinois and Minnesota. She later served in support services at St. Mary Hospital in Centralia for more than 20 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at Holy Innocents (1941-1942, 1968-1971); Good Shepherd (1943-1944); Sacred Heart (1944-1948, 1959-1965); St. Stanislaus, Posen (1965-1966); and St. Isidore, Blue Island (1971-1994).

Providence Sister Josephine (Louise Joseph) Paolinelli, 84, of Northlake, died on Nov. 17 at Amita Alexian Brothers Hospice in Elk Grove Village.

Born in Chicago, she attended Our Lady of Sorrows School and Providence High School. She entered the Sisters of Providence in 1956 and professed final vows in 1963. She ministered in education and as a business officer and treasurer in Indiana and Illinois. After retiring in 2007, she remained in the Chicago area, where she first cared for her mother and then ministered as a hospital volunteer. 

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Our Lady of Sorrows (1965-1968) and St. Genevieve (1969-1970) and was business manager at Providence-St. Mel High School; business office administrator at Sacred Heart of Mary, Rolling Meadows (1975-1980); treasurer for her community’s St. Joseph Province, Park Ridge (1980-1989); business manager (1990-1993) and director of finances (1993-2007) at Notre Dame High School for Girls; and volunteered at Guerin College Prep (2007-2008) and Gottlieb Hospital, Melrose Park (2010-2020). 

Providence Sister Mary Lee (Irma) Mettler, 88, died Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1951 and professed final vows in 1959.

She ministered in education, parish work and as a retreat director in Indiana, Illinois, Maryland, Texas, Mississippi and Tennessee.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Athanasius, Evanston (1954); and St. Mel (1959-1962).

Sister Mary Lee had many gifts which she shared generously. A woman of considerable artistic talent, she was known for her skill in photography and her beautiful and meticulous craft work. 

She is survived by a sister, Connie Rurka.

Claretian Brother Richard L. Paquette, 81, died Nov. 28 in Brookfield.

Growing up in Massachusetts, he learned about the Claretians from his mother, who had a devotion to St. Jude.

He joined the Claretians in 1959, attending St. Jude Seminary in Momence, Illinois, and completing his university studies at Indiana State University in 1964.

He served at the Claretian mission of Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Livingston, Guatemala, from 1964 to 1969 and 1984 to 1987. After returning to the United States, he served as a religion teacher and sports director of St. Ann’s Catholic Grade School, a Native American mission in North Dakota, until 1975.

He served at Holy Cross-Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish from 2003 to 2005. He also ministered in parishes in New Jersey and Tennessee.

In 2010, he retired and became a resident of the Claretian community in Oak Park. He moved to a nursing home in Chicago in 2016 because of chronic health issues, and from there to the British Home, his final place of residence.

Providence Sister Betty (Clare Patrice) Donoghue, 83, died on Dec. 1 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Massachusetts, Sister Betty entered the Sisters of Providence in 1954 and professed final vows in 1962.

She ministered as a primary teacher and in health care in Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and she was a spiritual companion to death row prisoners in the United States Penitentiary in Terre Haute.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Our Lady of Sorrows (1967-1958) and was a nurse’s aide at Norwood Park Home (1980-1981).