After profession Sr. Karen taught at St. Vincent in Davenport and St. Austin in Minneapolis for a year each before going to St. Mary’s in Ottumwa for four years. While at St. Vincent’s, a 2-way radio system was arranged for a student who had to miss school because of rheumatic fever. The system was so sensitive that he could hear pages being turned in the classroom.
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Sister is remembered fondly for her love of sewing, her generosity, and her Irish humor; admittedly, her laughter got her into trouble from time to time. Reflecting on the ups and downs of religious life, Sister Lucille declared that “it takes both the thorn and the blossom to make a beautiful rose.”
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She was volunteer clinical laboratory consultant to Hospital Sacre Coeur Laboratory in Milot, Haiti, training technicians and facilitating a new clinical laboratory with automated instruments. She also served as a volunteer consultant and teacher for other labs in Haiti, and as curriculum consultant for the MT Educational Project at the National Public Health Laboratory of Haiti.
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Sister Maribeth is remembered as doing everything she undertook to perfection. One person commented that she never heard her complain. She was an excellent reading teacher and loved her students.
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Sister was involved for many years with the Animal Aid Humane Society, eventually becoming the executive director of the AAHS shelter in Moline, IL. She was honored by Governor Vilsack for her service on the Disabilities Policy Council in 2006.
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Lucille Catherine Takes was born in Cascade, Iowa, in 1925. She entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1954 and made her final profession in 1960 receiving the religious name Mary Carla. Her life as a Sister of Humility was one focused on a ministry in education. Starting in 1960 Sister Carla was director of student services at Ottumwa Heights College for ten years and then the registrar for another ten. She was the registrar at Assumption High School from 1979 to 1995. From 1998 to 2002 she worked in the library at Marycrest International University until her retirement. During retirement Sr. Carla dedicated many hours and years to volunteering at the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center.
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Sr. Cecelia received a BA in music from Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan. Her ministry of teaching music and academics found her at schools in Montana including St. Mary (1941-59), St. Peter & Paul (1969-73), and Our Lady of Lourdes (1973-88) in Great Falls and St. Leo (1966-68) in Lewistown. She also taught music at St. Pius X in Rock Island, Illinois. From 1988 - 2012 Sr. Cecelia worked in hospital ministry in Great Falls, Montana.
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I see my ministry of prayer as one small quilt piece of its own color and design. It is combined with many quilt pieces made by thousands of people, adding to the beauty of this quilt presented to our God in praise, gratitude, asking forgiveness, requesting mercy and our concerns. This is a most vivid picture in my mind.
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Sr. JoAnne volunteered at the Homeless Veterans Stand Down each year. She was a passionate advocate for juvenile justice and received the Justice Reform Consortium Justice Award. She spent years visiting a woman at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville.
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Sr. Jonita’ s first two years “on mission” were at St. Mary’s High School in Marshalltown, Iowa, from 1951 to 1953. Sr. Marian Smith says that the two of them would walk to Jackson’s bakery on Saturday and pick up all kinds of wonderful baked goods. From Marshalltown she went back to Ottumwa Heights where she taught biology to the academy students. She was there at the time of the fire in 1957 and moved with the Heights faculty, first to the mansion on Elm Street that had recently been purchased by the congregation. When classes could begin at the former Naval Air Base outside Ottumwa, she moved to the BOQ (Bachelors’ Officers Quarters) with the sisters, novices and college students from foreign countries.
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She earned a master's degree in Asian languages and literature from the University of Iowa and a doctoral degree from the University of Washington in Seattle. From 1983-85 she was a research fellowship awardee, studying at Beijing University and Sichuan University, China.
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Sr. Joanne Di Iulio was born in Silvis, and entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1948. Her first vows were pronounced in 1951.
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While studying at Marquette University she was a teaching assistant and went on to become an instructor of biology at Marycrest College and Teikyo Marycrest/Marycrest International in Davenport. She was also the director of the spirituality center at Marycrest International University
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After the Salvation Army left Ottumwa in 2014, Sr. Donna and several volunteers organized a committee to continue the tradition of serving Thanksgiving dinner to the public. In their second year, they served 720 home deliveries and around 200 dine-in guests. Sr. Donna was quoted then, “We had lots and lots of people working behind the scenes...it’s a wonderful day of the legacy of truly thanks-giving.” Sr. Donna herself leaves a legacy as an outstanding teacher, community volunteer, and compassionate friend. I think she can be sure that her conviction that “a teacher’s job is to instill in young people the desire to learn” has borne fruit beyond measure.
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The article has descriptions of special events held at the Agency and revealed how Sr. Connie had become part of families there. Of special significance were Connie’s efforts to enable students to know their Crow history and language. The bi-lingual program included aides and teachers who were fluent in Crow and could teach in that language and in English. In fact a former professor of Connie’s had linked her with a teacher from England who had a bi-lingual program for natives of Bangladesh. They had committed to sharing outcomes of their experiences.
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