Sinsinawa Dominican Sister John Eudes (Mary) Courtney, 95, died Dec. 22 in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. 

Born in Chicago, Sister John Eudes made her first religious profession in 1949 and her final profession in 1952. She taught high school English for 30 years, and she served as a pastoral minister, community organizer and librarian, along with four years in transportation. She served in Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky.

Sister John Eudes was inspiration for the character of Mary Clancy in the book “Life with Mother Superior” by Jane Trahey and the 1966 movie “The Trouble with Angels” starring Hayley Mills as Mary Clancy. Trahey and Sister John Eudes, then known as Mary, were high school friends at Providence High School, Chicago.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister John Eudes taught at Visitation (1961-1963) and ministered as a neighborhood organizer and prison visitor while living at Annunciation Convent (1971-1972).