Divine Word Brother Stephen Kerekes, 90, died Jan. 24 in Techny.
Born in South Bend, Indiana, he entered the Divine Word Seminary in New York in 1945. He entered the novitiate in Techny in 1950. After 10 years of seminary studies, he joined the Trappist order and was admitted to the cloistered life at Our Lady of Gethsemane Monastery in Kentucky. 

In 1964, he returned to the Society of the Divine Word as a brother candidate, worked in the Divine Word vineyards in New York and professed first vows for a third time.

He professed perpetual vows in 1968 and prepared for his first assignment in Papua New Guinea. After brief stops in the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan, he arrived in Papua New Guinea in November of that year.

During his time there, he managed and taught at St. Joseph Vocational School before becoming harbor master and manager of the Mission Supply Store in Alexishafen. He also served as postmaster and supervised the local radio station. He maintained communication with missionaries in the outer regions, coordinated weekly shipments and handled emergency requests.

In his spare time, he became a master clockmaker.

In 2002, Brother Stephen returned to the United States and was assigned to Divine Word Residence in Riverside, California. He moved to Techny in 2014.

Daughter of Charity Barbara (Richardine) Kauss, 76, died Feb. 3 in the Daughters of Charity Province of Congo, Africa, from injuries sustained in an automobile accident while being driven to the airport.

Born in Waukegan, Sister Barbara graduated from Holy Child High School in 1959 and joined the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in 1960 from Mother of God Church in Waukegan.  

Sister Barbara taught in Texas and Puerto Rico before being sent to what was then Zaire, which became the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997.

Sister Barbara served in many roles while on mission in the Congo including the oversight of three secondary schools in Bikoro, Kinshasa, and Mbandaka.  Sister Barbara’s final mission was in Tarime Mara, Tanzania.

Sister Barbara is survived by her brother, David Kauss.

Divine Word Father John “George” Bergin, 79, died Feb. 8 in Techny. He was an educator, counselor and missionary priest for 50 years.

Born in Wisconsin, he entered the Society of the Divine Word Seminary at East Troy in 1952 and professed first vows in 1958. After being ordained in 1967, Father Bergin was assigned to Divine Word’s seminary in East Troy, where he served as a teacher and dean of students for six years.

He also taught and served as a counselor, vocation director and youth minister in Massachusetts and worked for the Mission Office in Techny.

After decades of teaching and counseling, he returned to Techny in 2013 and remained active, saying Mass and hearing confessions at nearby parishes and convents. He also was the vice rector at the Divine Word Residence, a home to more than 60 priests, brothers and novices.
Father Bergin is survived by his brother, Divine Word Father James Bergin.

BVM Sister Isabel (Acarda) Miller, 96, died Feb. 17 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Iowa, she entered the BVM congregation in 1939 and professed final vows in 1947.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Isabel taught at St. Pius, St. Callistus, St. Gertrude and St. Eulalia, Maywood. In retirement, she volunteered at St. Joseph Hospital and Cudahy Library at Loyola University, Chicago. She also taught in Rock Island, Illinois and in New York, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska and Mississippi.

She is survived by a brother, John Miller.

Father Lawrence M. Duris, 74, died unexpectedly on Feb. 19. He had served as pastor of St. Ailbe Parish since 2009.

Born in Chicago, Father Duris attended St. Anthony School, Cicero; St. Peter School, Skokie; Quigley Preparatory Seminary; and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary before being ordained in 1969.

He served as assistant pastor at St. Ethelreda (1969-1971) and Holy Cross Parish (65th Street) (1971-76). He was administrator (1976-1980) and pastor (1980-1991) of St. Laurence Parish (Dorchester Avenue) and pastor of St. Philip Neri (1991-2009) before being named pastor of St. Ailbe. In addition, Father Duris served as dean of Vicariate VI (Mid-Southside City) from 1987 through 1995

For the past year and a half, Alyssa Mostyn, principal of St. Ailbe Catholic School, had the opportunity to know Father Duris.

“Father Larry was a gentle soul but so fiercely dedicated to helping those in his community,” said Mostyn. “He loved being in the black community and worked tirelessly to serve all.”

Mostyn added that Father Duris “affectionately called the local Jewel his ‘ministry center.’ In true Father Larry form, his grocery trips took much longer than the average person’s because of how many people he stopped to listen to, talk to, and minister to.”

“His dedication to the neighborhood was palpable. He never stopped inviting all, Catholic and non-Catholic, to everything St. Ailbe had to offer,” said Mostyn. “He was dedicated to Catholic education and saw the school as the primary way to spread the Word of God to young people.”

Father Duris took great joy in cooking for others, appreciated art and loved his dog, Max.

Visitation hours will be 9-11 a.m. on Feb. 28, followed by the funeral Mass at 11 a.m. at St. Ailbe Church.

Bishop Francis Kane will be the main celebrant of the funeral Mass, while Father Edward Upton will be the homilist. The final commendation will be delivered by Bishop Joseph Perry.

Interment will take place at Holy Sepulchre in Alsip, Ill. 

Father Duris is survived by a sister, Christine Cooper, and two brothers, James and David.

Sister of Christian Charity Mary Ann (Carol) Eultgen, 84, died Dec. 27 at Sacred Heart Convent, Wilmette.

Born in St. Louis, she entered the convent in 1947, and made first vows in 1951 and perpetual vows in 1957.

She taught at St. Mary, Riverdale (1951-1954); and St. Aloysius (1955-1956); as well as in other Illinois communities, in Iowa, Minnesota and Louisiana. She later worked as a pastoral minister in the St. Louis area.

After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September, she returned to Sacred Heart Convent in Wilmette, where she died three months later.

Sister Lorraine Lawrence, a Religious of the Sacred Heart, died Jan. 24 in California. She was 100 years old.

Sister Lorraine was born in Libertyville and attended St. Joseph School there and Holy Child High School in Waukegan.

She studied at Barat College and earned a degree in medical technology at St. Therese Hospital in Waukegan. After working for several months at an Iowa hospital, she discerned a vocation to religious life.

She entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1938 and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science and a doctorate in chemistry.
She returned to Barat College to teach for five years. While there, she was featured in a 1954 Chicago Tribune article about her work as a ham radio operator at the college.

She began teaching in California in 1955, and, after more than 20 years, retired from teaching to serve the society in a number of roles.

Sister Lorraine is survived by her sister, Mary Neal, and her brother, John Lawrence.

Felician Sister Emilie Marie Sierakowski, 99, died Jan. 24 in Our Lady of the Angels Convent.

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, she entered the Felician Sisters in 1938 and pro-fessed her final vows in 1946. She ministered in elementary and high schools as a principal, music teacher and organist in Illinois, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

She served as a music teacher (1955-1972) and then as the principal (1972-1978) of St. Joseph High School. She later taught music at St. Turibius School (1978-2009).

Adrian Dominican Sister Mary (Rose Maureen) Hemmen, 81, died Jan. 24 in Adrian, Michigan.

orn in Detroit, she was in the 62nd year of her religious life.

Sister Mary ministered in Michigan and Illinois. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Laurence (1965-1967) and was principal of St. Celestine, Elmwood Park (1970-1974).

Franciscan Sister of Mary Doris (Gwendolyn Sandra) Ashcraft, 82, died Jan. 26 in Missouri. 

Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she became Catholic at the age of 12. She entered the Sisters of St. Mary in 1955 and she professed final vows in 1962. 

In 1975, she moved to St. Francis Hospital in Blue Island, as sacristan and patient visitor. Sister Doris remained at St. Francis for 35 years as chaplain assistant, chaplain associate, pastoral mission advocate, patient advocate and spiritual mission advocate, until the hospital became a for-profit institution in 2008. 

Sister Doris is survived by a stepsister, Theresa J. Cippola.

Sister of St. Joseph Roseann Eck, 88, died Jan. 31.

She had been a member of the community for 71 years.

Sister Roseann taught at St. Margaret Mary; St. John Fisher; St. Mary, Riverside; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Melrose Park; St. Francis Xavier, LaGrange; St. Joseph Military Academy and Alexine Learning Center, LaGrange Park; and St. Leonard, Berwyn.

Deacon Richard Baum, 78, of LaGrange Park, died Jan. 23.

Deacon Baum was originally ordained for the Diocese of Galveston-Houston, and was incardinated into the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1986. He served St. Anne Parish and at the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary as associate director and then director of the diaconate formation program (2002-2005).

Deacon Baum also was an optics engineer with Bell & Howell and Singer-Link (a flight simulation company) and a project manager with Northrup and Motorola. After retirement, he was a substitute high school teacher.

He is survived by his wife, Geraldine “Skip” Baum; his children Joseph Baum and Mary-Elizabeth Beavers; and granddaughter Amanda Baum-Wagner.

Deacon Thomas McGorey, 87, died Jan. 29. He was ordained in 1979 and served at St. John of the Cross Parish, Western Springs. He also served as associate director of the Office of the Diaconate for 13 years.

Deacon McGorey grew up in Chicago, raised his family with his late wife, Mary Kay, in Bellwood and retired to Burr Ridge. He worked for 29 years at Illinois Bell.

He is survived by his children, Katie Watson, Margie DiGangi, Pattie Bomher and Thom McGorey; 15 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; and his sister, Margaret McGorey.

Holy Family of Nazareth Sister Bernadette (Irene) Medrzyk, 97, died Nov. 30 in Des Plaines in the 79th year of her religious life.

Born in Chicago’s West Pullman neighborhood, she entered the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth in 1938 and professed her first vows in 1941. 

In 1943, she began her first of many teaching assignments at St. Michael (South Shore).

She also taught in Indiana and Texas and was one of three pioneers from the U.S. who began the parish school in Brisbane, Australia.

BVM Sister Mary Paul Francis Bailey, 91, died Jan. 1 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Born in Springfield, Illinois, she entered the BVM congregation in 1947 from St. Vincent de Paul Parish. She professed final vows in 1955.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Paul Francis taught at Holy Cross and St. Tarcissus, served as treasurer at Immaculata High School and was assistant professor of economics at Mundelein College and Loyola University, where she was also adjunct professor.

She also taught in Missouri, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Iowa.

Sister of St. Casimir Regina Sitkus, 92, died Jan. 6.

A native of Pennsylvania, Sister Regina entered the Sisters of St. Casimir in 1941 and made her final vows in 1949. 

Sister Regina taught and was principal in elementary schools in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Nativity BVM (1944-1947, 1962-1964); Providence of God (1947-1948); St. Bartholomew, Waukegan (1948-1950); All Saints (1957-1958); and St. Norbert, Northbrook (1958-1962). Most recently Sister Regina participated in the ministry of prayer (2009-2018) at the motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Casimir and then at Franciscan Village in Lemont.

BVM Sister Mary Johnellen Garrity, 90, died Jan. 8 in Dubuque, Iowa. 

Born in Chicago, she entered the BVM congregation in 1945, from St. Andrew Parish. She professed final vows in 1953.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Mary Johnellen taught first grade at St. Charles, ninth grade at St. Mary High School, history at Immaculata High School, and in retirement, she taught part time at Madonna High School. She also taught in New York, Iowa and Kansas.

She is survived by her sister, Irene Schultz.

Holy Family of Nazareth Sister Mary Luke Liss, 70, died Jan. 11, in the 53rd year of her religious life. 

Born in the neighborhood of Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish on the Northwest Side, she attended Schurz High School before entering the community in 1965 and professed final vows in 1975. 

She taught at St. Hyacinth as well as at schools in Mount Prospect and in Indiana and Wisconsin, and she was principal at St. Emily School, Mount Prospect.

Sister of St. Joseph Lorraine (Clare Joseph) Ruh, 92, died Jan. 11.

Sister Lorraine had been in religious life for 77 years. She taught at St. Barbara, Brookfield; St. Mary, Riverside; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Melrose Park; St. Francis Xavier, LaGrange; St. John Fisher; St. Leonard, Berwyn; St. Attracta, Cicero; and St. Joseph Military Academy. She also worked in the business office at Bethlehem Center, LaGrange Park and as a switchboard operator/supervisor at the CSJ Center.

She is survived by her siblings John Ruh and Dorothy Stepanik.

Sister of St. Joseph Margaret (John Patrick) Halligan, 90, died Jan. 14.

She had been a member of the congregation for 70 years.

Sister Margaret taught at St. John Fisher; Divine Infant, Westchester; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Melrose Park; St. Joseph Academy and St. Francis Xavier, LaGrange; and St. Barbara, Brookfield, where she was also religious education coordinator, coordinator of pastoral care and pastoral associate.

She is survived by her sisters Irene Spahn, Jane Motycka and Catherine Stotts.