Father Joseph Nam Dao, 65, died July 10 in Ohio. He was associate pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Highland Park.

Born in Vietnam, he attended Blessed Phung Minor Seminary and St. Theresa Major Seminary in Vietnam and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 2000.

Father Dao served as associate pastor at St. Margaret Mary; Sts. Faith, Hope and Charity, Winnetka; and Immaculate Conception.

Father Claudio Diaz, classmate and pastor of St. Aloysius, remembered Father Dao as “a mixture of an old soul with a child’s twinkle in his eyes.” He added that Father Dao “endured many hardships in Vietnam and came to Chicago with the sole purpose of serving the people of God in the archdiocese.”

Deacon Frank DeVita, 97, died July 10. He was ordained in 1974 and served at Divine Providence Parish, Westchester.

Deacon DeVita served as a combat medic in World War II and attained the rank of staff sergeant. After the war, he continued to serve in the reserves and National Guard, where he attained the rank of first lieutenant. He worked for 31 years as an insurance agent and manager.

As a deacon, he assisted in hospital and parish ministry.

His wife, Blanche DeVita, predeceased him. He is survived by his children Maria Burg, Anthony DeVita, Michelle Fong and Jean Ferri; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Deacon Mario Avila, 68, died July 10. Deacon Avila, who lived in Westchester, was ordained in 1992 and served at St. Malachy-Precious Blood Parish, where he was a pastoral associate.

He is survived by his wife, Juanita, the director of religious education at St. Malachy-Precious Blood; children Mario Jr., Wendy Ruth and Christine Olivia Avila; and brothers Jose Castulo, Alejandro and the late Julio Avila.

Sister of St. Casimir Genevieve Kripas, 94, died June 25 in Lemont.

Born in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, Sister Genevieve was in the 75th year of her religious life. She made her first religious profession in 1944.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Genevieve taught at Nativity BVM (1944-1946); St. Bartholomew, Waukegan (1946-1947); and Holy Cross (1947-1950). She was a nurse at St. Theresa Hospital, Waukegan (1950-1953); and a registered nurse at Holy Cross Hospital (1953-1954) and Loretto Hospital (1954-1958). Sister Genevieve was a nursing home administrator at Holy Family Villa, Palos Park, from 1984 to 1993. She also ministered as a nursing home administrator in Nebraska and Pennsylvania for over 20 years.

Sister Genevieve served as moderator of the SSC Auxiliary from 1999 to 2012.

She was a minister of prayer and presence from 2014 to 2019 at Franciscan Village in Lemont.

Mercy Sister Mary Ralph Orlinski, 101, died June 25. She was a Sister of Mercy for 82 years.

Born in Chicago, Sister Ralph entered the community in Des Plaines in 1936 and professed perpetual vows in 1942.

She ministered first as a nurse in Aurora, Illinois, then started a 60-year teaching career in Elgin, Illinois, in 1940.

She taught at Our Lady of Mount Carmel; Resurrection; St. Finbarr; Precious Blood; St. Joseph, Libertyville; St. Stephen, Des Plaines; St. James; and, for 35 years, at St. Catherine-St. Lucy, Oak Park.

When Sister Ralph retired from St. Catherine-St. Lucy in 2000, the pastor, Father Dan Whiteside, said, “Sister Ralph has laid the foundation of not only our education, but also of our lives. She taught thousands of children about trying their hardest always, about sharing and being nice, about helping others and saying our prayers every day. And she called each one, ‘Honey.’”