About Us In Memoriam From the founding of the new Holy Family Province in May 2007 through the present day, we have entrusted the souls of these sisters to new life in the Lord. We remember their contributions to our community and our ministries, and we pray they are enjoying their place at the heavenly banquet. 
 Sr. M. Alberta Jurewicz
Jan. 30, 1931 — April 29, 2010
A native of Shenandoah, PA, Sr. Alberta Jurewicz joined the CSFNs in 1947. She was a long-time teacher at schools in the New York metro area and Worcester, MA.
From 1992 - 2004, she served as a hospital chaplain at St. Vincent Hospital in Manhattan. On Sept. 11, 2001, she and her colleagues watched in horror from the hospital windows as the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsed in lower Manhattan. She reflected on that experience in the summer ''08 issue of the CSFN newsletter, ''Nazareth Connections,'' following Pope Benedict XVI''s April 2008 visit to New York:
"...the greatest, most soul-wrenching moment of that week for me was on Sunday when [the pope visited] Ground Zero in Manhattan, where he silently knelt in prayer, blessed the sacred ground and the candle, then with the heart of His Divine Master, met individually with families of those who were incinerated, and those who rescued the living.
"...No one can find adequate words to express what happened that day....The Holy Father''s visit, therefore, helped alleviate some of the horror whose memory I know will last the lifetime of all who were there."
From 2004 until recently, Sr. Alberta assisted with parish ministry at St. Stanislaus Kotska Parish in Brooklyn, NY. Her most recent contribution to ''Connections'' can be found on p. 4 of the spring 2010 issue, a warm remembrance of Sr. Rose McCormack''s entrance into the congregation.
Please check back for a complete obituary to be posted soon to these pages. Thank you.
 Sr. M. Rosella (Jean) Wyborska
Feb. 11, 1933 — April 20, 2010
A native of Philadelphia, Sr. Rosella was a long-time teacher and principal at schools in Brooklyn, Jamaica, Ansonia, Riverhead and Southampton, NY, as well as Worcester, MA, and most recently in Philadelphia.
More recently, Sr. Rosella worked as an archivist at the Torresdale convent.
Services have been held. Please check back for Sr. Rosella''''''''''''''''s complete obituary. Thank you.
 Sr. M. Estelle Paciorka
Jan. 19, 1911 — April 14, 2010
Sr. M. Estelle (Agnes) Paciorka, 99, died April 14, after 82 years of religious life.
The Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated at Immaculate Heart of Mary Convent, Marian Heights, 1428 Monroe Turnpike, Monroe, CT.
Please check back for Sr. Estelle''s complete obituary. Thank you.
Mass of the Resurrection: 10:30 am Friday, April 16, in the Marian Heights Chapel, Monroe, CT.
 Sr. Mildred Marie Talemal
May 19, 1914 — March 26, 2010
The day she was born, Mildred Marie Talemal was baptized at St. Michael Church, Derby, CT. With her father Felix a native of Sicily and her mother Rosalia of Poland, each speaking only their native language, the couple quickly learned English so they could communicate with each other and their four children.
First-born Mildred Marie attended Lincoln School in Ansonia, CT, and Nazareth Academy in Philadelphia. She sought entrance to the CSFNs after her high school graduation without her father’s approval. He brought her back to Connecticut where she worked and looked after her three younger brothers.
At age 21, she returned to Torresdale and entered the community. As a novice, she received the name Sr. M. Matylda. She returned to her baptismal name as soon as it was permitted after Vatican II.
Sr. Mildred Marie earned a B.A. from Manhattan College, NY, and a master’s from Marywood College in Scranton, PA. During her 50-year-plus teaching career, she particularly focused on preparing students for careers in business. She taught in Baltimore, MD; Pennsylvania; Worcester, MA, and Brooklyn, queens and Long Island, NY.
Her limited knowledge of Polish caught up with Sr. Mildred Marie when she taught at St. Mary’s School in Worcester, where she was expected to teach the language. Solution: She and a more fluent sister traded the Polish class for a religion class.
Such ingenuity followed her throughout her teaching career; she was known by parents and students as an excellent teaching. Her students were well prepared in typing, stenography and other commercial subjects.
Sr. Mildred Marie was considered a “kind and gentle mother” by both the school communities she served and her extended family. She also is remembered as a loyal friend who regularly assured her fellow sisters: “Don’t worry; our Lord will take care of it.”
Cane in hand and armed with her quick smile, she retired to Monroe, CT, in 1991. She died quietly the morning of March 26.
 Sr. M. Rosaline Pylilo
Feb. 9, 1914 — March 12, 2010
The former Stella (Stanislaus) Pylilo, one of seven children, attended Sts Cyril and Methodius School in Brooklyn where she was taught by the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
Young Stella joined the CSFNs in 1928 at Torresdale, Philadelphia, and professed her final vows as Sr. M. Rosaline in 1938.
During her 33 years of teaching, Sr. Rosaline taught at elementary and high schools in Philadelphia, as well as in Paterson,NJ; Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens, NY; Connecticut, and Massachusetts. She was among the first group of CSFNs who staffed Little Flower Home for Children in Wading River, NY.
She held bachelor and masters degrees in English from Manhattan College in New York; she also did graduate study at Pius X School of Liturgical Music.
Considered a gifted teacher by her peers, her students and their parents, Sr. Rosaline also was known for her talents in music, in art and as a seamstress. Following throat surgery in the early 1970s, Sr. Rosaline lost her voice; she could no longer share her singing with sisters and students, and eventually, she left the classroom settings she loved.
Now she turned her efforts to fundraising for the community, particularly through the long-time Lawn Festival at Monroe, CT. Recognizing her great regard for all those she met, the CSFN Generalate in Rome invited her to serve as a hostess there from 1978-82.
Sr. Rosaline loved to travel; she and Sr. Consolata, one of Rosaline’s younger sisters, traveled all over the U.S. to visit family. Impairment of her hearing and vision led to her early retirement in Monroe, CT , where she died quietly the morning of March 12.
 Sr. M. Leonard Kania
Sept. 21, 1921 — February 25, 2010
Long-time elementary school teacher and die-hard Cubs fan, Sr. M. Leonard (Adeline)Kania was a Chicago native who grew up in St. Hyacinth Parish on the city’s northwest side. Taught by the CSFNs at St. Hyacinth, Adeline joined the community in 1938 and graduated from Holy Family Academy, Chicago, in 1939. She earned a bachelor''s in philosophy from DePaul University.
Sr. Leonard began her 65-year teaching career in 1941, teaching primary grades at St. Blase in Argo, IL. She taught youngsters at Holy Trinity and St. Ladislaus, Chicago; St. Michael on South Shore Boulevard; St. Valentine, Cicero; St. Emily, Mt. Prospect, and St. Patricia, Hickory Hills, all in Illinois.
Sr. Leonard spent almost 30 years at St. Patricia’s, 18 years as a 1st-grade teacher and 12 years as a part-time math lab instructor. She particularly enjoyed one of the many benefits of her tenure there – the opportunity to teach the children of her former students. When she was transferred, parishioners packed the church for Sr. Leonard’s farewell mass.
Sr. Leonard was known for her devotion to Mary, for her love of her students and of teaching, and for her kindness to all she encountered. She worked for many principals; one described her as follows: "Good teachers explain, superior teachers demonstrate and great teachers inspire. Sr. Leonard was all three."
In addition to teaching, community life and the Cubs, Sr. Leonard was devoted to her family, including her surviving sister, Bernadette, and many nieces and nephews.
In 2006, Sr. Leonard transitioned from part-time teaching to retirement to Nazarethville, Des Plaines. She remained active, helping out whenever possible, including brief stints on the switchboard to afford the receptionists extra breaks.
After a brief illness, Sr. Leonard died quietly at home the morning of Feb. 25.
 Sr. M. Caritas Domagalski
July 22, 1917 — February 23, 2010
A native of Chicago’s South Side who grew up in St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Sr. M. Caritas Domagalski celebrated her diamond jubilee on 2009, 75 years as a Sister of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
At that time, she traced her vocation back to the second-grade classroom of Sr. Redemptoria, who asked her 60 students to identify the evangelical virtues. Only Louise Domagalski knew the answer: poverty, chastity and obedience. “Sister replied, ‘That means you’re going to be a Sister.’ So I went home and asked my mother why Sister said that, and Mother told me those are the virtues sisters must practice. That remained with me until I entered in 1934.”
In addition to St. Michael’s, Sr. Caritas attended commercial high school for two years before joining the CSFNs; she graduated from Holy Family Academy in Chicago. She held a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from DePaul University, and took numerous courses in music, eventually playing both piano and violin. Her long career took her to many elementary schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago, as well as to hospitals in Texas, where she served as sacristan and did office work. At Ascension/St. Susanna parish in Chicago, she served as local superior and school principal.
Sr. Caritas said the highlight of those ministerial experiences was her assignment as a local convent superior in Rome for six years. She recalled meeting Pope John Paul II for the first time during an event at Castel Gandolfo, the pope’s summer residence. As photographers were organizing a large group for a photo with the pope, Sr. Caritas was at the side of the group – but not for long. “John Paul put his hand on my neck and had me stand next to him. Over the years, I had many contacts with the Pope – I even baked him cookies. And now I am praying for his canonization.”
 Sr. Theophane Lemanska
Aug. 26, 1912 — February 12, 2010
A native of Chelsea, MA, Rose Lemanska was the fifth of nine children of Peter and Catherine Lemanska, who had emigrated from Poland. Five children, all sons, died at a young age. Of the four daughters, two – Rose and her sister Helen (Sr. M. Adeline) – joined the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth.
In her own words, Sr. Theophane later said she felt called to religious life as a CSFN while in 8th grade at St. Mary’s School, Worcester, MA. She and other girls would visit Sr. Akwitana’s 1st-grade classroom to observe Sister’s teaching methods. The girls also attended a weekly novena to St. Anthony , praying to become religious sisters. After graduation, five of them – including Rose – entered the CSFNs. They attended Nazareth Academy in Torresdale (Philadelphia), and served as postulants and novices there. Sr. Theophane professed her final vows in 1936.
For more than 60 years, she served as a teacher and principal in schools in Philadelphia; Long Island, Utica and Brooklyn, NY; Springfield, MA, and in several convents in Connecticut. In her own words, Sr. Theophane “taught the upper grades to love and serve God and the Church and to love one another.” Former students noted she was an excellent teacher.
Everyone who knew Sr. Theophane knew how much she cherished her family. She carried on an extensive correspondence, remembering holidays, birthdays and other family events with cards, letters and phone calls. She not only kept in close contact with her sisters, but also their children and their children’s children. When she and Sr. Adeline would visit their sister Jayne in Virginia, Sr. Theophane would enjoy playing outside with her nieces and nephews. Maybe they were not the Boston Red Sox, but we did hear she enjoyed playing baseball in her day.
In 2002, Sr. Theophane moved to the Marian Heights Infirmary in Monroe, CT. On the evening of Feb. 12, Sr. Ann Marie Keemon, director of the infirmary, had just finished praying the Rosary with Sr. Theophane and stepped out to get some water for her. In those few moments, Sr. Theophane lay back on her pillow, sighed and slipped quietly into the arms of Jesus.
 Sr. M. Eugene Mikrut
May 7, 1911 — January 14, 2010
One of five children, Rosalie Mikrut was born in the Pilsen neighborhood on Chicago’s west side. She attended St. Ann Elementary School and Holy Family Academy, Chicago, where she began to consider a vocation to religious life. She joined the CSFNs in 1927 at their convent in Des Plaines, IL.
Her teaching assignments included St. Ladislaus School(twice), St. Mary of Nazareth and St. Michael schools, all in Chicago. She spent 15 years teaching at St. Joseph School, a mission for African-American families in Chicago. In 1971, she began an assignment in Australia, teaching at St. Andrew School and serving as province treasurer. On her return to the States, she began her second tour of duty at ‘St. Lad’s.’ Her continued contact with some of her former students until her final days on earth is testimony to her impact in the classroom.
Long before she retired from teaching in 2000, Sr. Eugene assisted Sr. Angela Marie Struck in making rosary beads from dried rose petals and assembling rosaries. As Sr. Angela’s eyesight and health began to fail, she asked Sr. Eugene to take on the task. Sr. Eugene excused herself, citing the time constraints of teaching. After Sr. Angela died, Sr. Eugene had regular dreams with Sr. Angela asking her to make the rosaries. While she knew very little about making the beads from dried rose petals, Sr. Eugene learned by trial and error until she mastered the art. News of her talent reached many parts of the U.S. and the orders became too numerous for her to handle. She taught lay people the skill; one young lady continued to help Sr. Eugene with this project over the years.
In January 2000, Sr. Eugene became ill and could not continue this hobby that had become a ministry of spreading devotion to the Blessed Mother. With each rosary, Sr. Eugene set a booklet explaining the mysteries of the Rosary. Sr. Eugene’s lay volunteer and her family continued this practice on Sr. Eugene’s behalf.
In July 2000, Sr. Eugene retired to Nazarethville, where she was active until ill health required her move into nursing care. On Jan. 13 this year, two good friends – Carmen Vaughn, a former student, and Sr. Joseph Plewa, her companion of many years, kept vigil, prayed the rosary and shared fond memories of their days at St. Joseph Mission School. Sr. Eugene died quietly in her sleep the morning of Jan. 14.
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