Sister of the Living Word Virginia Thoen-nes, 89, died Dec. 8 in Chicago.

Born in Chicago, Sister Virginia was a Sister of the Living Word for 44 years, and a Sister of Christian Charity before that. She taught in the Chicago area and was principal of St. Gregory High School from 1976 to 1981.

She served in leadership for her community, and later as pastoral associate at various parishes in the northern suburbs. She was very involved in Church Women United and other justice works at St. Edna Parish in Arlington Heights. She lived the past eight years at Resurrection Life Center in Chicago.

She is survived by her siblings Martha Kastens and Richard Thoennes.

BVM Sister Mary Christine (Christophil) Athans, 87, died Dec. 7 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Sister Mary Christine was born in Joliet, Illinois, and entered the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1955. She made final vows in 1963.

She was an adjunct professor at Loyola University Institute of Pastoral Studies and Catholic Theological Union, both in Chicago. She was assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Illinois in Champaign. She also taught at universities in Minnesota and California. She began her ministry by teaching high school and elementary school, including St. Eugene School.

Sister Mary Christine wrote extensively on Jewish-Christian relations, including her book “In Quest of the Jewish Mary: The Mother of Jesus in History, Theology and Spirituality.”

She served on more than 20 boards and committees, including the Chicago-Jewish Scholars Dialogue sponsored by the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Chicago Board of Rabbis and the United Jewish Federation of Greater Chicago.

She is survived by siblings Catherine Athans and Cyril Athans.

Father George H. Clements, 87, died Nov. 25. He was pastor emeritus of Holy Angels Parish.

Born in Chicago, he attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary, becoming its first African American graduate, and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1957.

After ordination, Father Clements was assistant pastor of St. Ambrose and St. Dorothy parishes. He served as pastor of Holy Angels from 1969 to 1991 and later ministered in the Diocese of Nassau in the Bahamas, West Indies, and the Archdiocese of Washington. He retired in 2006.

Father Clements was active in the civil rights movement, marching with Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago, Alabama and Mississippi.

Father Clements, an advocate for adoption, is survived by his four sons, 15 grandchildren and his sister.

He requested that his body be donated to the Loyola University School of Medicine. A memorial service is scheduled for Jan. 26, 2020, Clements’ 88th birthday, at St. Sabina Church.

Sister of the Living Word Rosaria (Margaret Anna) Schlechter, 89, died Nov. 13 in Chicago.

Born in Minnesota, she made her final vows in 1954. She was a Sister of the Living Word for 44 years, and before that, a Sister of Christian Charity.

Sister Rosaria taught at St. Martha, Morton Grove, for nine years; was a teacher of the blind at Holy Trinity School; and served for 22 years at St. Raphael School in Englewood, where she also was the principal. She also served in Minnesota.

She lived her last few years at the Living Word Center in Arlington Heights and at Resurrection Life Center in Chicago in the ministry of prayer and presence.

Adrian Dominican Sister Lila Watt, 90, died Nov. 21 in Adrian, Michigan.

Born in Elmhurst, Illinois, she graduated from Josephinum High School. She was in the 68th year of her religious life.

Sister Lila ministered in Michigan, Florida, the Bahamas and Illinois.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Queen of Apostles, Riverdale (1966-1968); St. Kilian (1968-1969); Aquinas High School (1969-1972); Immaculata High School (1972-1973); St. Casimir High School (1976-1979); St. Procopius (1981-1983); and St. Barbara (Throop Street) (1983-1987). She was assistant director at Metropolitan School of Business (1973-1976), parish secretary at St. Rita of Cascia (1988-1989), secretary for the Catholic Youth Office (1989-1990); and executive secretary for the St. Joseph Carondelet Child Center (1990-1991) and the Midwest and Upper Midwest Mission Chapters, Hometown (1991-1995).

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Susan Ostrowski, 65, died Nov. 15 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin.

Born in Wisconsin, Sister Susan made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa Dominican in 1979 and her perpetual profession in 1984.

She taught for 35 years in New York, Florida, Illinois and California. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Epiphany (1989-1993).

She is survived by a sister, Sharon Ostrowski; and three brothers, Bruce, Michael and Mark Ostrowski.

Deacon Thomas Ryan, 94, died Oct. 31. He was ordained in 1992 and served at St. Christina Parish.

Deacon Ryan was a U.S. Navy World War II veteran, worked for 32 years for People’s Gas, was a former secretary of the 19th Ward Democratic Organization and was a past Man of the Year of the Mount Greenwood Civic Association.

He is survived by his wife of 74 years, Connie; his children Constance Ryan, Thomas E. Ryan, JoEllen Martin, Martin Ryan and Patrick Ryan; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Divine Word Father Andrew Biller, 87, a missionary in the Philippines for four decades, died Nov. 2 in Techny.

Born in Missouri, he entered Divine Word Seminary at East Troy, Wisconsin, in 1949. He professed religious vows in 1953. Following ordination to the priesthood in 1961, Father Biller was sent to the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., to take graduate courses in guidance and counseling. He then served at Divine Word colleges and seminaries and as a pastoral minister in the Philippines from 1963 to 2002.

After returning to the United States, he was semi-retired but provided pastoral care for the Vietnamese community of St. Thomas of Aquinas in St. Louis. Father Biller moved to Techny in 2012.

He is survived by four sisters: Ruth Athay, Mary Searcy, Alberta Cooper and Rita Ward.

School Sister of St. Francis Lorraine (Aquinette) Quella, 97, died Oct. 5 in Milwaukee. She ministered in education for more than 75 years.

Born in Hammond, Indiana, she was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1938 and made her final vows in 1946.

Beginning in 1942, Sister Lorraine ministered in Nebraska and Illinois for more than seven decades. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Holy Angels School in Chicago for 65 years, from 1946-2011.

Benedictine Sister Eleanore (Rita) Hillenbrand, 95, died Oct. 29 at St. Joseph Court-St. Scholastica Monastery.

Sister Eleanore, a native of Chicago, attended St. Hilary School and St. Scholastica High School. She entered the Benedictine Sisters of Chicago as an aspirant in 1942 and professed her final vows in 1947. She later earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and a master’s in English from DePaul University.

She taught at the elementary and high school levels. Sister Eleanore served as St. Scholastica’s English Department chairperson, the Benedictine Sisters’ director of studies, executive secretary to the prioress, and in other community positions. She served predominately in Illinois, but also in Colorado.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Eleanore taught in parish schools at St. Hilary, St. Symphorosa and St. Lambert in Skokie and at St. Scholastica High School (1957-1992).