Mercy Sister Mary Ralph Orlinski, 101, died June 25. She was a Sister of Mercy for 82 years.

Born in Chicago, Sister Ralph entered the community in Des Plaines in 1936 and professed perpetual vows in 1942.

She ministered first as a nurse in Aurora, Illinois, then started a 60-year teaching career in Elgin, Illinois, in 1940.

She taught at Our Lady of Mount Carmel; Resurrection; St. Finbarr; Precious Blood; St. Joseph, Libertyville; St. Stephen, Des Plaines; St. James; and, for 35 years, at St. Catherine-St. Lucy, Oak Park.

When Sister Ralph retired from St. Catherine-St. Lucy in 2000, the pastor, Father Dan Whiteside, said, “Sister Ralph has laid the foundation of not only our education, but also of our lives. She taught thousands of children about trying their hardest always, about sharing and being nice, about helping others and saying our prayers every day. And she called each one, ‘Honey.’”