Celebrating Jubilee

This summer 25 Racine Dominican Sisters will celebrate special anniversaries, or Jubilee, in ministry. The Racine Dominicans have a 148 year history of serving in Wisconsin and nine other states. They are a community of sisters and lay associates who live by the mission "committed to truth, compelled to justice."

"Let the truth
be your delight."

- Catherine of Siena to an Augustinian hermit of Lecceto

75 Years

Sister Emiline Bash

Though grateful for the wonderful teachings of the Loretto Sisters in her early years, Mary Helen Bash was quickly drawn to the “friendliness, kindness and goodness” of the Racine Dominicans when her family moved from Toronto to Center Line, Michigan, and she entered St. Clement School. “They were gifted teachers in so many ways,” she recalled.

In particular, high school teacher S. Elaine Hegeman inspired her. “I loved the way she knew how to train and how to treat people.” When S. Elaine asked Mary Helen, “What are you going to do with the rest of your life?” it prompted her to consider the question seriously. She fondly remembers people like S. Celine, who shared food with a poor family living near St. Clement’s. “Caring for the poor has been important to the Racine Dominicans through every era. It’s not just a part of recent times.”

Mary Helen entered the Racine Dominicans and became Sister Emeline. “This has been the most exhilarating life anyone could have,” she reflected on her 75 years in the community.

She has loved each of her ministries, but particularly meaningful were her encounters with young people when she was dean of students at Michigan’s Madonna University in Livonia and as pastoral minister at St. Clement Parish in Center Line. Helping a young, pregnant student estranged from her parents through the heart-wrenching challenges facing her remains an experience dear to S. Emeline. And assisting a young man with no religious upbringing through the RCIA program and encouraging him in his dream to become a priest has given her a lasting friendship to this day.

Knowing people often have stereotyped perceptions of religious life, she wishes they could appreciate “all we have to offer. They don’t understand the many blessings sisters have – the friends, the education, the contemplative opportunities, the many joys and challenges that create a satisfying life.”
 

Sister Monica Gabriel

Monica Gabriel greatly admired her Racine Dominican teachers, and she knew she wanted to do what they did – teach. “The example of the sisters who taught me in grade school was the strongest influence in my decision to join the community,” she reflected.

Following her first profession, S. Monica began teaching at St. Clement’s in Center Line, Michigan, and immediately loved it. “The enthusiasm of the children was wonderful,” she said.

Just this spring S. Monica heard from one of those children. “I was your student at St. Clement back in the 1930s,” wrote Alton Grobbel. “Your kindness to me when my mother died in 1936 I much appreciated. I apologize that it took me 74 years to thank you, but I sincerely do thank you.”

After teaching grades 5-7 in her early years, S. Monica, a gifted artist, taught high school and college art, never losing her love for teaching students of any age.

Nor did she lose her joy in being a Racine Dominican. “We live and study and pray together.” She said. “We have good times with one another and encourage each other in living the Dominican charism.”

When S. Brenda Walsh visited her at Golden Living Center recently, S. Monica said: “I do feel connected to all the sisters at Siena Center. I have fond memories of walking up and down the halls and stopping at rooms to chat and say a prayer. I have fond memories of you all.”

And many sisters, students and former colleagues fondly remember S. Monica. Redemptorist Fr. Dick Mevissen recently wrote, “I have warm memories of her as an artistic, visionary, immensely talented woman whom it is my pleasure to be connected with in spirit.” He affectionately recalled stories of teaching with her for 14 years at the Redemptorist seminary in Waterford, Wisconsin.

Sister Barbara (Columba) Messman

Barbara Messman was drawn to the Racine Dominicans because “I knew they had a chapel in every house.” In 1932 she approached St. Clement’s convent in Center Line, Michigan, to enroll in high school, and from that day on, she felt comfortable with and came to greatly appreciate the sisters. She knew she wanted to be among them and to be “under the same roof with Jesus.”

When she was received into the community in 1933, Barbara became Sister Columba, later returning to her baptismal name after the Vatican II Council. She taught grades 1 through 12. Among her fondest memories is the time she prepared 60 second graders at Nativity School in Detroit to perform the Christmas program as they understood it. To maximize her teaching time, she incorporated the Nativity story into religion class; during English class the children dramatized the story. The second-grade actors took their responsibilities very seriously but tended to improvise the dialog as they went along. “It was quite a revelation when Caesar ordered his attendants to go to Bethlehem and enroll,” she recalled, “because he wanted to see what a Big Shot he was!”

S. Barbara’s 75 years of ministry “have been a long, long journey,” she noted, “and I wouldn’t trade it for all the kingdoms of the world.” She sees the Racine Dominicans “like the rest of the World Family, we are on a journey.”

She has great faith in the younger members of the community and believes “we learn a lot from one another.” To someone considering religious life today she offers, “Be honest with yourself and with God.”

And 78 years after first knocking on that door in Center Line, she still spends her time doing what she most enjoys: “Dropping in at the chapel. This is what attracted me in the first place back in 1932.”

Sister Carla (Carlotta) Romero

Known for her quick wit, S. Carla Romero can charm people in two languages – English and in her first language, Spanish. Growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Eufrasine (named for her father, Epifaino) Romero encountered the Racine Dominicans as her teachers at Our Lady of Guadalupe School. At age 18 she left her home and family for Racine to join the community, a year later receiving the name Sister Carlotta, which she eventually shortened to Carla.

That sense of humor and an indomitable spunk served her well in many missions throughout Michigan, Wisconsin, New Mexico and Illinois. When asked what she enjoyed most about her ministry as a teacher, she quickly responded, “Everything!”

After 46 years in ministry, S. Carla retired to Siena Center in 1981, where she continued to teach. She would often visit the homes of Siena Center’s Spanish-speaking food service workers and help them learn English. “She was always heading out to someone’s house with her big white teaching board in the car,” recalled S. Vivian Giddings, S. Carla’s close friend.

S. Marlene Hetzel, Coordinator of Food Service, added, “I really admired how she could tease people and make them laugh, whether in English or in Spanish.”

For the past four years, S. Carla has lived at Golden Living Center in Kenosha, where her spunk and humor continue to thrive. “You never know what she’s going to say,” chuckled S. Vivian, who visits her weekly, often pulling a favorite treat, such as S. Marlene’s cookies, from her pocket for S. Carla. She is rewarded with a spirited smirk and perhaps a teasing comment in Spanish.

S. Carla continues to enjoy her favorite foods – chocolate milk, eggs, and drumsticks. The medical workers rely on these to disguise the taste of her medications so she will take them!

Sister Catherine (Huberta) Verbeten

Catherine Verbeten remembers witnessing how the Racine Dominican Sisters at Holy Name convent lived, worked and recreated together. Her family lived next door to them in Kimberly, Wisconsin, for most of her grade school years, and they were her teachers.

Catherine wanted to join the community, but her parents felt she should wait a few years before making that decision. Upon finishing high school, she worked in the family’s store until she was 19, when her parents allowed her to go to Racine and join the Dominicans.

A year later she became Sister Huberta at her reception. Now a professed sister for 75 years, S. Catherine, who returned to her baptismal name in the 1960s, reflected upon those years.

“I appreciated having time for prayer and being able to socialize with all the members of my living group on every mission,” she recalled. “In later years, it was a pleasure, rather than a task, to spend my time caring for Alzheimer patients.” She feels being a sister has given her the opportunity to embrace ideals and work she would not have been able to do outside the community.

S. Catherine taught grades 2-8, and especially enjoyed teaching younger children their prayers. Being a reading specialist also gave her great joy, enabling her to give extra time and attention to those who needed it, and to challenge those who learned quickly.

From childhood on, she has always appreciated the Racine Dominicans as excellent teachers. With changing times, she has also gained respect for the gifts the sisters have brought to the realms of health care, business, child care and other ministries.

S. Catherine now enjoys spending her time “in prayer, visiting the sick, and lending a helping hand in the work of the community when there is a need.” And always an avid reader, she continues to enjoy biographies, newspapers and historical fiction.

Deceased Members of the Class of 1935

                              + S.  Cathy Grimm                   + S. Rose a Lima Bos
                              + S. Renata Hausladen          + S. Ellen Grace Rice
                              + S. Mary Patricia Mason        + S. Agnes Simmon
                              + S. Catherine Wildenberg    + S. Amy Massart
                              + S. Frederick Wiemer            + S. Michaeline Brechtl
                              + S. Grace Gement                  + S. Anne Ashenbrener
                              + S. Callista Schara                 + S. Margaret Mlodzik

70 Years

Sister Oda Marie DeGroot

Growing up in Northland, Michigan, Mary DeGroot saw how happy her aunt, Racine Dominican Sister Lambert, and her sister, Sister Alma, were. “I thought the convent would be a good place for me, too,” she said. So, at age 21, Mary left the farm in upper Michigan and traveled to Racine.

A year later, when Mary was received into the community, she was given the name Sister Oda Marie. Oda was a name special to her mother.

She enjoyed over 60 years of ministering in food service and mission work at various locations in Wisconsin and Illinois. “I enjoyed cooking to keep the sisters healthy, and also for the priests in River Forest,” she said, referring to the Dominican House of Studies.

Her 14 years working with Bro. Regis at the Salvatorian Mission warehouse in New Holstein, Wisconsin, held great meaning for S. Oda Marie. Her brother, Fr. John, was a Salvatorian priest. She helped in the warehouse and made gifts to be sold in the gift shop, among them her famous Red Riding Hood dolls and embroidered pillow cases. She deeply appreciated the brothers’ and priests’ dedication to helping people in need. “They would ship food and clothing to the poor people in so many places around the world,” she recalled.

A lover of travel, S. Oda Marie enjoyed a trip around the U.S. with S. Vivian Richter, going to Germany with Salvatorian S. Dora, and to Holland with her blood sister, S. Alma. There they met S. Oda Marie’s cousins with whom she carried on a correspondence for many years.

Like her aunt and sister, S. Oda Marie has enjoyed her 70 years of religious life. “Everybody is good to me,” she said. S. Oda Marie continues to enjoy using her creative talents to make gifts for people – sewing, stitchery, and especially embroidering pillow cases. “I’m thankful to God for giving me a good life,” she said.

Sister Helene Marie Doll

Helen Antoinette Doll knew from a very early age that she wanted to become a sister. When she was growing up in Wauzeka, Wisconsin, her family belonged to Sacred Heart Parish, where Fr. Louis Bettinger was pastor. “Through him I got to know the Racine Dominicans,” she recalled. His sister happened to be S. Marie (Rose Dominic) Bettinger.

“The sisters would come to teach summer vacation school in Wauzeka,” she said. “One summer, S. Rose Dominic and S. Marie Claire brought me back to Racine to see the convent and also to visit my Aunt Mary in Kenosha. This meant the world to me.” She was 17 and had just graduated from high school. That September she entered the community, and at her reception a year later she was given the name Sister Helene Marie.

She has happy memories of teaching elementary school around Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois and New Mexico. Especially meaningful for her is knowing that children she taught to play the organ many years ago are now playing the organ for worship in their parishes.

When she served in pastoral ministry, S. Helene Marie enjoyed visiting people in need. In her later years, when she could no longer go out to visit parishioners, she would call them. “I kept in touch and prayed with them on the phone,” she recalled fondly.

Ironically, S. Helene Marie served for 30 years at St. Luke parish and school in Plain, Wisconsin – which was the home parish of S. Marie and Fr. Louis Bettinger.

S. Helene Marie would like people to know the Racine Dominicans are a versatile community. “We are for everyone in need – not only people with physical needs, but also those with spiritual needs.” Throughout her 70 years as a sister, her relationship with God has continued to grow and deepen.

Sister Regina Williams

Religious life has been very fulfilling for S. Regina Williams. “It has offered me untold opportunities to grow in relationship with God, offering me years of teaching experience from grade school through college, and offering me multiple chances to serve God’s people, especially those in need,” she reflected. She has ministered as a teacher, college professor, tutor, and as an advocate for justice and rights.

S. Regina greatly enjoyed her 14 years teaching English at Dominican College in Racine. “I treasured the students, whom I still miss,” she said.

When the college closed, she worked at the Justice and Peace Center in Milwaukee that was “established by the Capuchin Fathers and was the first of its kind,” she noted. “Each staff member represented one of the eight religious orders in the Milwaukee area. As a center, we studied and developed expertise on select current political issues, wrote extensively, gave workshops, and presented national speakers for the religious groups. We kept in close contact with our legislators as we worked for justice.”

For over 30 years, S. Regina lived and worked in inner-city Milwaukee. She became a member of the Faith Community for Worker Justice, a group of men and women from various religious denominations. “We worked closely with local unions to promote justice in workplaces,” she recalled. One of the many programs for which the group lobbied was “Justice for Women,” targeting women who cleaned large buildings at night, most of whom worried about their children at home. “If one woman was unable to work, the rest had to absorb the extra duties with no remuneration, even though their pay was low and their work already time-consuming,” she said.

With consistent effort and after much work, the Faith Community for Worker Justice had an impact. The women received more just working conditions and remuneration.

Deceased Members of the Class of 1940

                              + S.  Marie Celine Quintana            + S. Mary Raynoha
                              + S. Rose Thering                             + S. Teresa Ulrich
                              + S. Rita Bowers                                + S. Phyllis Murphy
                              + S. Rose Therese Stitgen

60 Years

Sister Lois (Giovanni; Juanita) Aceto

As a child, Lois Aceto fell in love with the Racine Dominicans. Her mother, sacristan for Kenosha’s Holy Rosary Parish, would bring her along when going to see Ss. Norbert and Lawrence about sewing vestments and altar cloths for Mass. Lois liked the atmosphere at the motherhouse – and the treats the sisters gave her!

At 14, she entered the community and three years later became Sister Giovanni. Her early ministry was in teaching, but when the opportunity for mission work presented itself, she immediately seized it.

Serving in Bolivia for 18 years transformed S. Lois (known as S. Juanita there). “It was the first time I actually saw poverty and learned what it meant,” she reflected. She stood with oppressed people in striving for justice. Under the Bolivian dictator, speaking openly was extremely dangerous, so much of her work was done under cover. She survived three Bolivian revolutions, was arrested twice, and contracted a variety of serious illnesses. Yet, she loved the people and the ministry. “We saw small signs of progress” toward obtaining justice, she noted, and that made it all worthwhile.

For the past 20 years, S. Lois has worked for justice in southeastern Wisconsin. She started Hesed House for homeless men coming out of prison, launched a chaplaincy program, and initiated a library and GED preparation program in the Racine County Jail. Her language fluency prompted her to be recruited as an advocate for Spanish-speaking people in the court system. She began a mediation program in Racine courts and trained its first facilitators. And she continues to strive for restorative justice to Racine County. She has taught in the criminal justice departments of both UW-Parkside and Carthage College. S. Lois appreciates the freedom being a sister has given her in serving people in need, and she is grateful for the continued support of the Racine Dominican community through the various ministries she has pursued.

Sister Marietta Bertelsen

“I wanted to give my life completely to God,” Sister Marietta Bertelsen recalled. “And it was God who drew me to the Racine Dominican community.” As a young girl, she promised God she would be whatever God wanted her to be when she grew up. Having had Racine Dominicans as teachers at Sacred Heart School in Racine, “I realized they had dedicated their lives to God,” she said. And when her great-aunt, S. Angela Heegeman, came with S. Raymond to visit, “It was obvious that their lives were dedicated to God. The Racine Dominicans were and still are a great community.”

Serving for 60 years first as a teacher and principal, then as a hospital and nursing home chaplain, and finally as a bookkeeper and volunteer, S. Marietta has experienced meaningful times in her various ministries. She especially treasures special moments within the community: when she was received “and I knew my commitment was permanent”; when she went through novitiate training; when assembly decisionmaking and voting were opened to all professed members; and when “I was not only allowed, but encouraged to study theology.”

Being a sister means everything to S. Marietta. “It means I dedicated my life to love and serve God by doing what I could for people, whether as a teacher, chaplain, bookkeeper or member of our orchestra,” she reflected.

S. Marietta would like people to know the Racine Dominicans are a wonderful group of women who care about and support one another in showing the love of God to others. “Jesus reached out to the poor and the rich, the sick and the suffering, sinners and saints, Pharisees and publicans, men and women, Jews and Samaritans,” she said. “The Racine Dominicans continue to do the same. We discern God’s will for us and then do our best to carry out that will.”

Sister Eugenia Kaster

Growing up on the family farm near Pulaski, Wisconsin, Gardina Kaster seldom saw her aunts, Ss. Cornelia, Esther and Maryjo (Arnold) Vander Loop, yet she followed in their footsteps by entering the Racine Dominican community. Though she had 10 brothers, six of the older boys had left home to serve in World War II, so Gardina helped with the farm work.

“One night I had a powerful experience while saying my prayers,” S. Eugenia recalled. It profoundly moved her, and though she had not considered becoming a sister before, the next morning after finishing her chores, she casually said, “Ma, you don’t care if I go to the convent, do you?” She was shocked by her daughter’s question, but assisted Gardina in pursuing this goal. Two years later, Gardina became S. Eugenia.

Having been surrounded by brothers (and two sisters) for 19 years, convent life required some adjustment. “It was so weird to be among all women!” S. Eugenia marveled. Yet for the past 60 years, she has treasured those women. Being in community has richly sustained her: “To pray together, to have the same priorities, to never be alone in striving for a goal.”

She has fond memories of her 20 years as a teacher. She was especially delighted one day when a second-grader suddenly jumped up, shouting, “I can READ!”

S. Eugenia also served as a nurse for 10 years, and then as a chaplain and pastoral minister for 20 years – when she was commonly called “Pastor Kaster!” Touching people’s lives through each of her ministries has been meaningful and has left her with special memories.

She would like people to know that “the pursuit of justice that can bring peace is contagious,” and she encourages all to, “Let it grab hold of you!” These days, S. Eugenia enjoys reading all kinds of fiction and non-fiction, along with crocheting.

Sister Jeanne d'Arc Kimler

Sister Jeanne Kimler cannot remember a time when she didn’t want to be a sister. “The struggle was which community I should choose!” the South Milwaukee native said. “Having had Dominicans in grade school and Franciscans in high school made it a wrenching process.” Eventually, the prayers of the Dominicans won out, and for the past 60 years “it has been a great fit.”

S. Jeanne herself went on to become a teacher, serving at Assumption Grotto in Detroit and various schools in Wisconsin, including Dominican College. She was also principal at Holy Cross in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, before returning to school and serving as a social worker at the Racine County Human Services Department.

Among the meaningful relationships and moments of her ministries was the time a young college student confided to S. Jeanne that she was pregnant and feared telling her parents. “After discussing a plan with her, we went together to see her parents,” S. Jeanne recalled. “It was an event I’ll never forget and a blessing in its outcome.”

Through the years, she has “grown more and more grateful to be a sister and a friend to women who have embraced the charism of Dominic as they continue to impact the society in which we live,” she reflected. “Our diversity in ministries emphasizes to me the great gifts God has shared with all of us.”

S. Jeanne would like people to know the Racine Dominicans serve God’s people in many different ways. “We try to live the gospel message with and for them,” she noted. “Our presence among the people underscores the call we feel to do this.”

To someone who may be considering religious life, S. Jeanne would counsel, “You can be and do so much more in this community than if you were alone. The encouragement of others, the example from them, and the support they give are there for you each day!”

Sister Carolyn Leffler

Dorothy Leffler was taught by Racine Dominican Sisters at Assumption Grotto School in Detroit from third through eighth grades. “In high school I would go back to Grotto and visit my former teachers,” she said. After receiving a brochure about the work of the community, she started thinking seriously about becoming a sister. “With the consent of my parents, I left for Racine after completing two years of high school.”

When she was received into the community, Dorothy was given the name Sister Carolyn, by which she has been known since 1948. Those teachers at Grotto had a strong influence on her, as S. Carolyn went on to teach for 56 years, and she has been substitute teaching for the past three years. “I could not have chosen a better vocation than continuing to work with God’s little children!” she declared. She taught primary grades in schools around Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois, the last 34 years teaching in the Detroit area.

S. Carolyn appreciates the fact that the Racine Dominicans are not a community that stands still. “This community is up and doing, is open to new ideas, and is willing to try new ideas,” she said.

To someone considering religious life, she “would stress from my own experience how I have observed the creative dynamism our community has had within its members over the years,” she reflected. “How we have had the power to enter into and engage in the realities of life – locally, nationally and globally!

S. Carolyn still enjoys getting back into the classroom and continues to love teaching. She knows she is appreciated, as many of the teachers at St. Germaine School in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, specifically request her for their substitute when they need to be away from their classroom. She also enjoys visiting sick and elderly people who can benefit from her assistance.

Sister Mary Ellen Paulson

When Catherine Ann Paulson was a small child, she proudly informed her family she was going to become a sister when she grew up. They laughed, and thereafter she kept her ambition to herself until her senior year of high school. The Dominicans left her hometown of Mauston, Wisconsin, when Catherine Ann was five years old, but she grew up hearing about the wonderful Racine Dominicans, like S. Phillip, who taught her mother at St. Mary’s in Tomah.

“I never talked to a Dominican until after high school graduation,” Sister Mary Ellen (Catherine Ann) recalled. One day she and two friends stopped to visit S. Phillip in Tomah. “She asked me when I was going to join the convent. I was embarrassed in front of my friends, but the seed was sown.”

The Racine Dominicans impressed the young woman with their laughter, friendliness, and their faith. “They listened and gave all a sense that they cared,” S. Mary Ellen said.

Now celebrating 60 years as a Racine Dominican herself, she notes, “I have always been proud of my calling and the tremendous grace to answer the call with prayers daily for the students I’ve had in school.” She has a list of all the students she has ever taught — from her third graders when she was a postulant to all those she has encountered these past 25 years as a substitute teacher for the Milwaukee Public Schools — and she prays for them daily. Parents have asked not to be forgotten, so she has also added them to her prayer list!

Having served as a superintendent, principal, teacher of all grades, and school psychologist, S. Mary Ellen continues to enjoy her ministry as a substitute teacher – which she calls itinerant preaching. Gardening also brings her joy, as does writing, poetry in particular, and “I especially delight in proclaiming the Word at liturgy.”

Sister Yvonne Renner

Joan Renner never wanted to be anything other than a sister. She admired her Franciscan teachers, and she especially liked it when their Chinese sisters came to talk to her class.

When her mother realized Joan was serious about joining a religious community, she said, “I want you to meet my Dominican cousins.” Joan was impressed with Ss. Ernestine and Cordula, and after visiting the motherhouse in Racine, she decided this was the community for her.

She entered as a high school sophomore, and two years later was received as Sister Yvonne. She began teaching at the Dominican School of Music and was sent to study at Chicago’s American Conservatory of Music, where she majored in music theory and minored in organ.

While attending school, S. Yvonne gave private lessons in piano, voice and organ. A demanding era, yet also enjoyable, was the seven-year period when she taught grade school fulltime and continued giving private music lessons after school. “It was challenging to balance both duties,” she reflected. Along with planning lessons and teaching all day, she often taught music into the evening hours.

In 1964, S. Yvonne returned to music as a full-time ministry, to which she has devoted herself for the last 45 years. In addition to serving as liturgy coordinator for Siena Center, she has been a parish liturgist. “Accompanying worshippers as they pray has always been meaningful for me,” she said. “It’s still a highlight.”

S. Yvonne witnessed a significant shift in liturgical music resulting from the Vatican II Council. “It was a whole different experience,” she recalled. “Parishioners, teachers and children began interacting in new ways” as lay people became more participative in liturgy.

With her liturgical work, S. Yvonne has always given private lessons and enjoyed connecting one-on-one with her students. “You’re able to have a special rapport,” she noted, “which extends far beyond the years of formal study.”

Sister Jean Anthony Ver Voort

Sister Jean Anthony Ver Voort believes the gift of faith from God and the support of her parents led her to leave her home in Freedom, Wisconsin, and travel to Racine when she was almost 15 years old. After becoming a sister, she taught grades one through 12 at various times in many schools around Michigan and Wisconsin before becoming a reading specialist. She had many meaningful experiences with her students and their families. “The most often recalled experiences is a tragic one,” she reflected. “It was when one of my second-graders was kidnapped enroute to school.”

Her 60 years as a Racine Dominican have given S. Jean Anthony much joy. “It is the fulfillment of a deep desire of mine and brings me great happiness,” she said. She has appreciated superiors she has had and the opportunity for prayer life. She believes the lives of Racine Dominicans speak to the people they encounter.

Sister Judene Walsh

Although there were many priests and sisters among Edna Walsh’s relatives, she hadn’t really considered religious life for herself. When she attended her sister’s reception into the Racine Dominicans, however, Sister Pauline’s radiant joy prompted Edna to rethink her direction. A month later she left her Sheboygan Falls home to enter St. Catherine’s Convent. “It’s been a happy journey,” she said.

When she was received into the community at age 17, Edna became Sister Judene. Her 60 years in religious life have been “energizing and life-giving.” She has ministered as a music teacher, elementary teacher and principal, adult education tutor, pastoral minister, secretary, Siena Center coordinator, volunteer and community service provider.

Joining the staff at the newly established Urban Day School in Milwaukee in 1968 was a unique experience for S. Judene. “In addition to teaching in an integrated central city school, we were part of the civil rights movement and freedom marches with Fr. James Groppi,” she reflected. She looks upon those experiences as her apprenticeship to teaching at Milwaukee’s Mary Bethune Reading Center and Adult Learning Center three decades later.

S. Judene knows that, “as with every vocation, to be a sister is a daily walk. Study and prayer, as well as the everyday experiences of community and professional life are constant calls to be and do the work of a faithful disciple.”

She appreciates that the Racine Dominican community is “ever on the alert to hear and feel the cries of the poor and needy, especially those alienated and marginalized by unjust systems,” she said. “Seeking out truth and responding in the ways of justice are the community’s special call and gift.” Along with serving as secretary for the Mission Fund and on several community committees, S. Judene enjoys a long walk each day, “looking, seeing and feeling nature’s gifts.”

Deceased Members of the Class of 1950

                              + S.  Chris Prince                   + S. Dorothy Doerfler

50 Years

Sister Karen (Mary Ralph) Fredrickson

Until she was in seventh grade at St. John School in South Milwaukee, Karen Fredrickson knew she was going to get married and have at least a dozen children! “I suppose being the oldest girl and helping to care for all my brothers and sisters influenced me from very early on,” she reflected. But then she had Ss. Therese Van Thull and Regina Williams as teachers and things changed. “They had a huge influence on me,” she recalled. “Their influence and a sense that this was what God wanted of me drew me to the Racine Dominican community.”

After finishing eighth grade, she entered the community and went on to become a teacher and guidance counselor, devoting herself to caring about and influencing young people just as her mentors had done.

For the past 29 years, S. Karen has served at St. Catherine’s High School in Racine. “I often find myself in awe when I am meeting with today’s teens,” she noted. “Sometimes they are dealing with so much as they try to find a balance in their lives, and at the same time they are wonderfully generous, caring and compassionate as they reach out to others. I try to honor their potential by hoping for the ‘more to come’ in each person.”

She finds strength in sharing community life with other Racine Dominicans who hold similar values. “I know this is not something that I could do on my own,” she said. “I cherish the support, challenge, questioning, caring, friendship and community of my sisters as we minister to the needs around us.”

S. Karen would like people to know the Racine Dominicans “seek to stand with those who are most in need of our support and efforts for justice, and that we will work in whatever ways we can to make life better for everyone.”

Sister Clarice (Estelle) Sevegney

At age five, little Clarice Sevegney knew she wanted to be like the sisters who taught during the summers in her Upper Michigan town. “I told my parents I wanted to go to church alone,” she recalled. “They let me, but they kept an eye on me as I walked.”

When she was 13, her grandmother told a friend, Racine Dominican S. Therese de Lisieux, of Clarice’s interest in religious life. S. Therese began writing to the girl, and the next year Clarice went to Racine and became an aspirant.

When received into the community three years later, she became Sister Estelle; in the 1960s, she returned to her baptismal name. Most of her years in ministry were spent as a director of religious education in Wisconsin and upper Michigan. “I’ve always enjoyed teaching,” noted S. Clarice. “Especially teaching children and adults about the faith; it deepens my own faith.”

In the 1980s, when working for the Diocese of Marquette, MI, she trained lay leaders in the RENEW program. “We served 90 parishes,” S. Clarice recalled with a bit of awe. “Many of those people still serve as lay leaders in the diocese.”

For the past three years, S. Clarice has ministered to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in California. “Primarily, this is a ministry of presence,” she reflected. “These folks are on the margins, not because of who they are, but because of who we (society) are.” They face the social stigma of being homosexual. “This isn’t a choice they made, yet they have to deal with guilt and shame often in their lives.” Her presence among them and simple acceptance of their humanity allows these people to feel cared for. And seeing a sister in this ministry has inspired three young women to want to remain in contact with S. Clarice in search for meaning in their own lives.

Sister Sharon (Karen Marie) Simon

Raised in a faith-filled family, becoming a sister seemed natural for Sharon Simon. “My relationship with religious started long before I became a Racine Dominican,” she reflected. She appreciates the dedication of her teachers from first grade through high school. “They were much more serious about educating me than I was about being educated!”

Especially influential were Sharon’s seventh and eighth grade teachers, Ss. Jeanne d’Arc (Kimler) and Dominica (Agnes Schaaf). “They knew how to relate to adolescents,” she said. “I wanted to be like them, even though I didn’t have a clue what being ‘Dominican’ meant.”

Upon finishing eighth grade, Sharon wanted to enter the community, but her mother insisted she experience high school first. Sharon was deeply disappointed at the time, only later appreciating her mother’s wisdom.

After high school, she did join the community and a few months later became Sister Karen Marie. She taught for two years and was then encouraged by S. Rita Martin to study religious education. After the Vatican II Council, she both became a religious educator and returned to her baptismal name, S. Sharon.

Directing parish religious education led to pastoral ministry for 18 years, until she was elected to community leadership in 2002. Through her various ministries, “walking in the Dominican tradition with other sisters who profess the same beliefs, live the same values, and strive for goals of the gospel,” has been very meaningful for S. Sharon.

Appreciating her own vocation, she would encourage those considering religious life to “trust their heart and take the next step to discern what God is calling them to. If it is a good fit, they will know it; if not, it may help them further discern what God wants them to pursue,” she said. “Being a Dominican is a wonderful way to live your faith in the company of others. I am happy to be called ‘sister’.”

Sister Roslyn (Mary Andrew) Skaletski

As a child growing up on the Skaletski Farm near Green Bay, Wisconsin, young Roslyn was attracted to the sacred, especially in the context of church ritual. “I pretended to say the Stations of the Cross in my parents’ bedroom,” she recalled. “Helping the sisters after summer catechism classes was my favorite thing to do, along with saying the family rosary each day, especially during Lent.”

After finishing high school, Roslyn worked as a secretary at a local vocational school. “I was restless,” she said. “I thought I could do more with my life.” A lover of music, she decided to take voice lessons from S. Irene McCarthy at St. Peter and Paul Parish. After hearing of the young woman’s desire to attend college, “S. Irene encouraged me to visit Dominican College in Racine. I was so impressed with the joyfulness and kindness of S. Irene and other Racine Dominican Sisters, I decided to join them.”

Being a sister gives S. Roslyn many opportunities to be a gospel witness on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis. “It’s like the Lord is saying to me, ‘You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you to be my heart, hands and feet to do my work,’” she reflected. As she spreads God’s love, she recalls her first encounter with S. Irene and the Racine Dominicans.

S. Roslyn would like people to know what a powerhouse of force and action the Racine Dominicans are “when a concerted effort is needed to step out in faith to accomplish a task. Our mission – committed to truth, compelled to justice – requires dedication to God’s Word and willingness to be led by the Holy Spirit through study, prayer and contemplation,” she said.

These days S. Roslyn’s ministry is creating ways and means to help children who have difficulty in learning, as well as preparing teacher workshops.

Sister Jolene Van Handel

An old vocation flyer showing a picture of her former babysitter ended up in the Van Handel curler drawer, so Eunice saw it frequently. “I knew I wanted to be a sister by the end of grade school, but my parents urged me to finish high school first,” she said. When a friend left to join the Racine Dominicans, she gave Eunice’s name to S. Rita Martin, “who began writing to me, along with S. Lois Vanderbeke.” After two years of correspondence and visiting a few communities, she went to Racine, which “convinced me that was where I needed to be.”

At 18 she entered the community and two years later was received as Sister Jolene. In 50 years of vowed life, she has served as a religious educator, teacher, high school principal and pastoral minister. Teaching vacation bible school every summer was a highlight for her, but she has also experienced hard times in ministry. “The most difficult day was when I had to tell the staff and students at East Catholic High School that the archdiocese was closing our school and all other Catholic high schools in Detroit,” she recalled.

Dedicated to providing youth a quality, faith-based high school education, she and others worked tirelessly for three years, resulting in the opening of Cristo Rey High School in Detroit.

Through the challenges, joys and struggles of ministry, S. Jolene has appreciated “a community of sisters to support me in what I am doing and to encourage me when I get discouraged,” she said. She loves her work as a pastoral minister at Nativity Parish in Detroit. “Though in one of the highest poverty areas, we are truly a faith family,” she noted. “We share one another’s joys and sorrows, and willingly sacrifice so all may live life more fully. What I receive from these people far exceeds anything I can give them.”

Sister Jane (Dennis Marie) Weiss

As a little girl, Jane Weiss observed the devotion to young people and to teaching modeled by her Racine Dominican teachers at St. Aloysius School in Sauk City, Wisconsin. “I was impressed by the outward signs I saw of their prayer life,” she recalled. “And I appreciated their positive response to my interest in being a sister,” when her teachers invited her to visit the community in Racine.

In her 50 years as a Racine Dominican, S. Jane has been one of those models of devotion to teaching and caring for young people herself. After teaching junior high in Mineral Point, Racine and Madison, Wisconsin, she was encouraged to move to high school ministry. For the past 44 years, she has taught and then served as assistant principal at St. Catherine’s High School in Racine. “The Spirit guided me through members of the community, and I have been blessed with my niche in education,” she said.

She has appreciated living in community. “Through the many changes and challenges, community called me to prayer and reflection, to accountability for my talents and gifts, and to growth as a person, religious, and professional,” S. Jane reflected.

She would like people to know that the Racine Dominicans strive for truth through prayer, study and “sharing the fruits of our prayer and study, both of which lead to action in dealing with justice issues in our world.”

S. Jane would encourage anyone considering religious life to pray the Scriptures. “Open yourself to the Spirit working within you,” she offered. “Study communities – find out who is studying the signs of the times and seeking to respond to the injustices both in church and in society.”

In addition to her responsibilities at St. Catherine’s, these days S. Jane enjoys nature, reading, nature and geographic TV programs, music and visiting with family and friends.

Sister Janet (Juan Marie) Weyker

HER RACINE DOMINICAN TEACHERS AT ST. MARY’S SCHOOL in Lake Church, Wisconsin, inspired Janet Weyker to want to join them in their mission. “They were a happy and prayerful group of women who loved what they were doing,” she recalled. “My parents appreciated the sisters, too.” The Weyker family would bring them homegrown vegetables from the garden, baked goods at Christmas, and even take them on horse-drawn sleigh rides.

“Through the years I’ve had the privilege of being involved in a variety of ministries,” S. Janet reflected. “As teacher, the most meaningful moments were seeing children excited about what they were learning, and preparing special liturgies for school groups.”

As a pastoral minister, she shared intimately in people’s lives at times both of great sorrow and of great joy. “Having to break the news of an accident or death of a loved one, keeping vigil with a mother awaiting the birth of her stillborn child, helping with memorial or funeral plans were memorable ministry moments,” she said. As were celebrating the birth of a child, First Communions and weddings of young couples.

In her 50 years as a Racine Dominican, S. Janet has appreciated that “I have been free to answer the call to serve wherever the needs of God’s people and Earth have beckoned.” She enjoys both change and challenges, and her past six years at the Eco-Justice Center have certainly provided both.

“There is no such thing as a routine day,” she said. “My work and my being are intimately tied to the seasons of the year and contain an unending variety of experiences and endeavors. Everything I’ve done before coming to the Eco-Justice Center has prepared me for this work. It takes a farmer, teacher, artist, mentor, and administrator to carry out the many facets of environmental education and caring for Earth.”

 15 Years

Sister Linda McClenahan

Her San Jose Dominican teachers had a strong influence on Linda McClenahan as she grew up in Berkeley, California. She planned on entering religious life after high school graduation, but the VietNam War intervened. “I thought I should serve my country first,” she said. And she did just that on active duty for three years as a communications specialist followed by six years in the reserves.

For two decades, Linda held a number of jobs around San Francisco in the corporate world and teaching. Then one night she saw a story on “60 Minutes” about S. Joann Blomme’s ministry in Tutwiler, Mississippi. “The voice of God sounded just like Harry Reasoner,” she chuckled. Following that program, she wrote to S. Joann, and then to S. Diane Poplawski, vocation director at the time.

In 1991, Linda came to Racine for a “Choices of the Heart” weekend of vocation discernment at Siena Center, her first trip to Wisconsin. “Prior to that weekend, I felt like a puzzle piece wandering around the world, searching,” she reflected. “I finally found the puzzle I belonged in.” Within a year she entered the community.

The Racine Dominican passion for justice that first drew S. Linda to the community continues to inspire her today. “There are incredibly dedicated, passionate women here who are deeply rooted in spirituality which fuels and sustains peace and justice ministries,” she said.

She values the frequent faith-sharing around issues of importance and deeply appreciates the support she receives from the community. With community encouragement, she was able to pursue a masters degree in counseling, which formalized her ability to relate and assist people in need.

When fears about the future emerge, “being with so many sisters of deep faith helps allay those fears,” S. Linda said. “Their presence helps me keep worry at bay. I am just very grateful to be part of this community.”

Deceased Members of the Class of 1995

+ S. Amelia Marie Reyes

To read about other Racine Dominican Sisters, click here.