Hospital Sister of St. Francis M. Marciana (Mary Louise) Lynch, 96, died Nov. 12 in Springfield, Illinois.

Born in Chicago, she entered the congregation in 1939 and professed vows in 1941.

She served as a maternity staff nurse and supervisor at HSHS hospitals in Illinois and Wisconsin during the early part of her career, and was administrator of St. Mary’s Hospital in Streator, Illinois (1970-1974). She was the director of materials management for Hospital Sisters Health System in Springfield (1976-1999), then became staff assistant for materials management until 2006.

BVM Sister Marion (John Patrice) Murphy, 82, died Nov. 15 in Dubuque, Iowa.

She was born in Chicago and entered the BVM congregation in 1953 from Our Lady of the Angels Parish.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Marion was an elementary teacher at Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Odilo; principal at Blessed Sacrament, Our Lady of the Angels, and Santa Maria del Popolo; pastoral coordinator and administrative assistant at Holy Family Parish, tutor at the Westside Employment Education Center and volunteer at the Holy Family Parish food pantry. She also taught in Portland, Oregon.

School Sister of St. Francis Sister Katherine Mary (Laverna) Kramer, 96, died Nov. 22 in Milwaukee.

Born in Chicago, she was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1940 and made her final vows in 1948.

Sister Katherine Mary ministered in education and support services in Illinois and Wisconsin for over seven decades. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Joseph, Wilmette (1951-1958); at St. Clara (1958-1962), where she also served as principal (1962-1967); at St. Joseph, Waukegan (1967-1969); and at St. Mary, Buffalo Grove (1969-1972), where she also served as principal (1972-1986).  

In retirement, she volunteered at St. Joseph Convent, Milwaukee (2008-2011), and served in the ministry of prayer and presence at Sacred Heart in Milwaukee from 2011 until she died.

School Sister of St. Francis Sister Rosemary (Mary Shawn) O’Brien, 87, died Nov. 28 in Milwaukee.

Born in Milwaukee, Sister Rosemary was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1950 and made her final vows in 1958.

Sister Rosemary ministered in education in Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado and California. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she served as support staff for Friends of the Children, Schiller Park (1980-1981) and taught at St. Domitilla School, Hillside (1981-1986).

Sister Rosemary is survived by a twin sister, Florence Ann Timm.

Adrian Dominican Sister Andrea (Joseph Helen) Broutin, 86, died Nov. 30 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Detroit, she was in the 68th year of her religious profession.

Sister Andrea ministered in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Rita Elementary School (1951-1954) and St. Joseph School, Homewood (1954-1960).

Josephite Father John Joseph McBrearty, 87, died Dec. 1. He was the oldest active Josephite pastor.

Born in Donegal, Ireland, he came to Chicago after finishing school and worked here for four years before discerning a vocation to study for the priesthood with the Josephites. He entered the community in 1958 and was ordained in 1968.

He ministered in Washington, D.C., Alabama, Texas, Virginia, Louisiana and Mississippi.

Sister of the Living Word Mary Ann Grausam, 78, died Dec. 5 in Chicago.

Born in Minnesota in 1940, Sister Mary Ann made her final vows in 1967. She joined the Sisters of the Living Word in 1975. She taught in schools in Iowa and Michigan, and served as a pastoral minister in Mississippi and Illinois. She was the novice director for 14 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was the director of religious education at St. Martha, Morton Grove (1979-1992) and in 2015 entered Resurrection Life Center in Chicago, where she served in the ministry of prayer and presence.

Sister Mary Ann is survived by her sisters Patricia Burdick and Nanette Helgeson and her brothers Robert, Michael, Tom, John and James Grausam.

BVM Sister Eliza Kenney, 86, died Dec. 5 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Phoenix, she entered the BVM congregation in 1951.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Eliza was a music program director within the fine arts department at Loyola University and music department chairperson at Mundelein College. She was a music teacher in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and served as the curator at Mount Carmel in Dubuque.

Divine Word Father David Mayer, 80, died Dec. 6 in Techny.

A missionary in Japan for almost 45 years, Father Mayer served as professor of American literature and language at Nanzan University in Nagoya and was an expert on the works of Flannery O’Connor, James T. Farrell, Japanese-American writer Toshio Mori and urban ethnic writers.

In his book “The American Neighborhood Novel” (University of Nagoya Press: 1986), Father Mayer developed the genre of the neighborhood novel, fiction that either celebrates or criticizes the values and relationships of an urban group closely knit by their common identity and physical presence.

Born in 1938 in Missouri, Father Mayer professed religious vows in 1958.

In addition to degrees from St. Mary’s Seminary in Techny, he earned a master’s degree in English from Georgetown University and a doctorate in English from the University of Maryland.

Ordained in 1966, Father Mayer taught at Divine Word College in Epworth, Iowa, until 1968. He began teaching at Nanzan University in 1974.

A prolific writer, Father Mayer penned academic works, essays and book reviews, as well as fiction and poetry.

Father Mayer returned to the United States for home leave in spring of 2018 and stayed for health reasons.

Sister of St. Joseph-Third Order of St. Francis Marianne Wiora, 93, died Dec. 7.

In her 70 years of religious life, she was a teacher, principal, missionary and pastoral minister who did education with the elderly.

She served in the Archdiocese of Chicago; in South Bend, Indiana; and in Puerto Rico.