Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Mary Bridget (Rosemary Patricia) Murphy, 84, died Dec. 7, 2024.

Born in Chicago, she attended St. Peter Canisius School and Notre Dame High School for Girls before entering the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur in 1957.

She taught at St. Victor, Calumet City (1962-1966), before being assigned to schools in Ohio, where she completed a master’s degree in education.

In 1972, Sister Mary Bridget began serving as a clinical reading instructor at St. Peter Canisius and St. Robert Bellarmine schools in Chicago, supervising the teachers in the area of reading and teaching them skills to help them help their students. In 1975, she became principal of St. Robert Bellarmine, a post she held for six years.

She returned to Ohio to serve in provincial leadership and secondary education. In 1987, she became principal of Notre Dame High School in Chicago at a time of decreasing enrollment and higher costs, due to fewer sisters on the faculty. She spent the remainder of her professional life ministering to the school and its alumnae.

In 1993, she was appointed president of the school, and in 2003, she became president emeritus.

School Sister of St. Francis Mary Alma Mayer, 97, died Dec. 18, 2024, in Milwaukee.

Born in Michigan, she was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1945, made her first profession of vows in 1947 and made her final vows in 1953.

Beginning in 1947, Sister Mary Alma ministered in Illinois and Wisconsin. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Martin (1947-1952) and St. Matthias (1956-1979), where she also served as religious education coordinator (1975-1979).

Sister Mary Alma served as the sacristan at St. Joseph Chapel in her community’s Milwaukee motherhouse from 1979 until her retirement in 2015.

Sister Mary Alma is survived by her brother, Rolland Mayer, and her sisters, Janet Wieber and Katherine Coffman.

Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth Elaine Marie (Deodata) Klugiewicz, 94, died Dec. 10, 2024, in Des Plaines.

Born in Chicago, Sister Elaine Marie joined the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in 1947 and professed her perpetual vows in 1956. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago in 1964 and taught at St. Ann, Assumption BVM and St. Michael, as well as at schools in Texas.

After earning her master’s degree in library science from Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest, in 1972, Sister Elaine Marie served as a high school librarian, first at St. Ann and then at Holy Family Academy until 1984.

Sister Elaine Marie was one of the founding core members of the Nazareth House of Prayer in Schiller Park. She also served as director of religious education at St. Patricia, Hickory Hills; and for six years, Sister Elaine Marie was a local superior at Nazarethville Nursing Home. She was part of the formation Community in Grand Prairie, Texas, and later in Chicago. Before retiring to Nazarethville, Sister Elaine Marie ministered as the spiritual guide to the Associates of the Holy Family.

Divine Word Father Frank Drzaic, 90, a missionary in Paraguay and Croatia, died Dec. 17, 2024, in Techny.

Born in Omaha in 1934, he entered the high school seminary in 1949 and professed vows in 1954. He was ordained to the priesthood in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit at Techny in 1962.

For his first assignment, he was sent to Paraguay. During his time in South America, he was based in Hernandarias in Central Paraguay and in the city of Che’íro Kue (Cheiro-Cue), now known as Juan Emiliano O’Leary. He provided pastoral care, built schools and chapels, and started a medical clinic.

After 12 years as a missionary in Paraguay, Father Drzaic faced health issues and returned to the United States. He served in Texas and Mississippi for a decade.

Knowing that Father Drzaic was the son of Croatian parents and knew the language, his superiors then assigned him to the Austrian Province, where he worked in Croatia for three years. Following that appointment, he became a member of the Western Province and served St. Malachy Parish in Los Angeles.

In 1996, he was transferred back to the Chicago Province, where he served as an associate pastor for three parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago: Holy Trinity Croatian Catholic Church, St. Bronislava and Our Lady of Charity. Coinciding with his pastoral assignments, he was a part-time chaplain at St. Margaret Mercy Health Care Center in Hammond, Indiana; at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago, Indiana; and Oak Park Hospital in Oak Park.

Father Drzaic moved to Techny in 2013. Even in retirement, his curious nature led him to learn the Hebrew alphabet, delve deeper into Scripture and practice sacred music on the keyboard.

In addition to his seminary training, Father Drzaic held a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

School Sister of St. Francis Dorothy Sinibaldi, 91, died Dec. 23, 2024, in Milwaukee.

Born in New York State, Sister Dorothy was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1953, made her first profession of vows in 1955 and made her final vows in 1961.

Beginning in 1955, Sister Dorothy ministered in Illinois, New York, and Wisconsin. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Joseph School, Waukegan (1964-1967 and 1970-1974); and at St. Peter School, Skokie (1967-1970).

In retirement, Sister Dorothy ministered as a volunteer and through her prayer and presence in New York and in Wisconsin.

Father John S. Plotkowski, 76, died Nov. 25. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and former pastor of St. Zachary Parish, Des Plaines.

Born in Chicago, Father Plotkowski attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College of Loyola University and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1974.

Father Plotkowski was associate pastor of St. Marcelline, Schaumburg; St. Stephen Protomartyr, Des Plaines; Our Lady of Hope, Rosemont; and St. Mary, Buffalo Grove.

From 1982 to 1986, Plotkowski was on the faculty of Quigley Preparatory Seminary. He also served as pastor of St. Simeon, Bellwood, and St. Zachary. He retired in 2018.

Father Marcel J. Pasciak, retired archdiocesan priest and one of Plotkowski’s classmates, remembered Father Plotkowski as a very personable, outgoing man who “was well-liked by everybody and very lively.”

Marianist Father Timothy Dwyer, 89, died Nov. 18 in San Antonio. He had been a member of the congregation for 70 years.

Born in St. Louis, he first encountered the Marianists at DeAndreis High School there and entered the novitiate after graduating. He made his first vows in 1954.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in 1957, he taught high school in Texas and then in Switzerland, where he entered the Marianist seminary in 1964.

After being ordained in 1968, he taught and was a chaplain at St. Michael High School in Chicago, and then in a school in Texas. He then started to do retreat work, religious formation and provincial administration.

He ministered in Missouri, Texas, New Jersey and Ontario, Canada, including seven years as provincial superior of the St. Louis Province.

Benedictine Sister Margaret Ann (Mary Denis) Holtz, 92, died Nov. 30 in St. Joseph Court, the infirmary of St. Scholastica Monastery. She was a member of the Benedictine community for 74 years.

Born in Pennsylvania, Sister Margaret Ann visited her aunt Sister Gertrude Holtz, OSB, on a family trip to Chicago. She entered the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago in 1950.

For decades, Sister Margaret Ann taught primary grades at schools throughout the Archdiocese of Chicago, including Queen of All Saints, St. John Nepomucene, St. George and St. Hilary, where she also served as assistant principal. She also taught at Mother of God School, Waukegan; and in Colorado.

As was the practice in religious communities at the time, Sister Margaret Ann took college courses while teaching; in 1964, she earned a bachelor’s degree from DePaul University.

In the late 1970s, Sister Margaret Ann moved from teaching into positions of financial responsibility for both schools and community. She served in the business office of St. Scholastica Academy, Chicago, eventually becoming treasurer. Her ministry also included an appointment as treasurer of the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago. In her later years, Sister Margaret Ann coordinated monastery resources and housekeeping staff.

Father Philip C. Cleary, 71, died Nov. 3 in Mexico. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and former associate pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish on Hermitage Avenue.

Born in Chicago, Father Cleary attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, Niles College of Loyola University and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in Mundelein before being ordained in 1979.

He then served as associate pastor at St. Boniface Parish and Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish. From 1982 to 1984, Father Cleary served as president of the Association of Chicago Priests and was elected to the National Federation of Priest Councils Executive Board in 1983.

During that time, Father Cleary learned about Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos (NPH), a nonprofit organization that cares for orphaned and abandoned children in Latin America and the Caribbean. His initial plan was to volunteer for one summer at NPH’s main orphanage in Mexico, he told people, but he ended up making a lifelong commitment to the children of NPH.

Father Cleary served as national director of NPH Mexico before becoming executive director of NPH International. He resided at NPH’s main home in Miacatlán, Morelos, Mexico. He later became chaplain for the Diocese of Cuernavaca in Mexico and retired in 2023.

Joliet Bishop Ronald Hicks, one of Cleary’s closest friends, remembers Father Cleary as a mentor, role model and friend who “lived life with great dedication.” Bishop Hicks spent a year in Mexico volunteering for one of NPH’s orphanages before entering Mundelein Seminary.

“He (Father Cleary) not only provided spiritual guidance but also a real dedication to the mission of improving the children’s lives,” Hicks said. “Because of watching his priesthood and how he lived it, he inspired me to enter the priesthood myself.”

Father Daniel J. Collins, 93, died Nov. 16. He was a retired priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago and former pastor of St. John Vianney Parish, Northlake.

Born in Chicago, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1958.

Father Collins served as assistant pastor of St. Francis Borgia; St. Issac Jogues, Niles; Our Lady of Mount Carmel; and St. Christopher Parish, Midlothian. He then served as associate pastor of St. Leonard, Berwyn, and later as pastor of St. John Vianney.