Father Robert L. Ebrom, 76, died May 1. He was a former faculty member at St. Patrick High School.

Born in Chicago, Father Ebrom attended Queen of All Saints School, Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1971. Father Ebrom was assistant pastor of St. Cletus, La Grange, and associate pastor of St. Maurice Parish, All Saints-St. Anthony and St. Luke, River Forest.

He was also a faculty member at Quigley Preparatory Seminary, St. Rita of Cascia High School, St. Patrick High School and Fenwick High School, Oak Park.

“He was a wonderful brother, and a very bright and well-read priest,” said Father Joseph Mulcrone, director of the Chicago Catholic Office of the Deaf. “Although his health declined, he made praying for others his ministry,” said Mulcrone, who remembered his classmate as a good teacher who loved teaching young people.

Deacon August “Sonny” Annoreno, 79, died April 29. He was ordained in 2006 and served at Our Lady, Mother of the Church.

He was also an active volunteer with the St. Jude Police League, conducting prayer services at wakes and visitations for members of the Chicago Police Department and their families.

Deacon Annoreno is survived his wife, Barbara, and his sister, Josephine Zima.

Divine Word Brother Joachim (Marion) Brignac, 88, died March 29. He was one of the Society of the Divine Word’s first missionaries of Cajun descent.

Born in New Orleans, Brother Joachim was inspired to a life of service by his mother, a public health nurse. After high school, he worked as an adagio dancer, but that career was cut short by a motorcycle accident. He entered the Society of the Divine Word in 1953 and professed vows six years later.

He served as a maintenance engineer in Louisiana for 14 years before being assigned to the Chicago Province in 1979, where he maintained the buildings and property at the Divine World Theologate in Chicago and the Divine Word residence in Bordentown, New Jersey.

One of his lasting accomplishments is the stage in the gym at Elizabeth School in Bronzeville. The project took him four weeks to build and gave countless numbers of students and teachers satisfaction.

In 2003, he was reassigned to the Southern Province and moved to Bay St. Louis, but in 2005, Hurricane Katrina damaged the Divine Word properties in Bay St. Louis and retired residents, including Brother Joachim, were sent to Techny.

Providence Sister Marceline (Elizabeth) Mattingly, 106, died April 24 in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Born in Kentucky, Sister Marceline entered the Sisters of Providence in 1933 and professed final vows in 1941. She was a teacher, pastoral associate and activity director at the motherhouse, and she served Indiana, Illinois and Washington, D.C.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Francis Xavier, Wilmette (1935-1938); St. Genevieve (1946-1948); St. Andrew (1948-1949), St. Leo (1949-1953); Providence High School (1955-1956). 

Sister Marceline is survived by a brother, Jerry Mattingly.

Providence Sister Joan (Ignatius) Matthews, 93, died April 25 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Born in Ohio, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1947 and professed final vows on in 1955. She taught music in elementary and high schools in Illinois; Indiana; Maryland; Washington, D.C.; California; and Massachusetts, and she taught music to children with special needs. In 2003, Sister Joan returned to the motherhouse and offered music opportunities to the sisters, with a specialty of sing-alongs. 

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Mel (1950-1952); St. Francis Xavier, Wilmette (1955); and Immaculate Conception (Talcott Avenue, 1955-1959).