Sr. Marjmarie Zuiker

ARTIST, PASTORAL MINISTER

School Sister of St. Francis Marjmarie (Adelma) Zuiker died Nov. 9 at Sacred Heart Convent in Milwaukee. A Chicago native, she entered the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1939.

Sister Marjmarie was a teacher, artist, homemaker, pastoral minister and director of religious education in Wisconsin, Illinois, Nebraska and Indiana. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she served as an artist and homemaker at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Glenview (1970-73), as an artist at St. Maurice (1973-74) and as pastoral minister at Our Lady of Victory (1982-83).

She is survived by her sister, School Sister of St. Francis Irene Zuiker.

Fr. John Shirley

MISSION LEADER, AUTHOR

Augustinian Father John T. “Jack” Shirley, 76, died Nov. 27 after a four-month struggle with cancer.

A Chicago native, he attended Our Lady of Solace School and St. Rita High School. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1953-56 before entering the Augustinian program of formation. He was ordained a priest in 1965.

He returned to Chicago in 1977, first at St. Rita Monastery and later at St. Clare of Montefalco Parish, to work with the Augustinian Mission Band, which preaches parish missions and conducts spiritual retreats.

He then served in Racine, Wis. He returned to St. Nicholas of Tolentine Monastery in Olympia Fields in 2008.

Sister M. Aloysia Elizabeth Lundergan

TEACHER

Holy Cross Sister M. Aloysia Elizabeth Lundergan, 95, died Nov. 9 in Notre Dame, Ind.

Sister Aloysia was an elementary school teacher and taught at St. Thomas (1935-44).

Sr. M. Deofilia Piaskowy

TEACHER, ORGANIST

Franciscan Sister of Chicago M. Deofilia (Frances JoAnn) Piaskowy, 90, died Nov. 28 in Lemont.

A Chicago native, she was baptized at St. Florian Church.

She entered the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago in 1934. She served as a teacher and organist from 1937-87, including assignments at Five Holy Martyrs, St. Pancratius, St. Stanislaus Bishop & Martyr in Chicago, as well as other schools in Illinois and Indiana.

In 1987, she began ministering as director of the gift shop and as receptionist at Our Lady of Victory Convent in Lemont.

Sr. Marie Benson

TEACHER

Providence Sister Marie (Winifred Mary) Benson, 88, died Dec. 6 in St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind.

A Chicago native, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1939 and received the name Sister Marie Ralph.

Of her 70 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered for 41 years teaching in Indiana, North Carolina, Maryland and Illinois. She began her years of teaching as a music and classroom teacher. Assignments in the Archdiocese of Chicago included St. Andrew (1953-54); St. Mel (1954-59); St. Agnes (1968-69); St. Alexander, Palos Heights (1969-73). In 1982, she left teaching and served in the business office of Mother Theodore Guerin High School in River Grove until the following year.

Sr. Eleanor Stech

TEACHER, ADMINISTRATOR

Adrian Dominican Sister Eleanor (Paul Ellen) Stech, 83, died Dec. 6 in Adrian, Mich.

A Chicago native, she graduated from Aquinas High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology and a master’s degree in biology from DePaul University.

Sister spent 21 years in education, as a pastoral minister and in formation in Michigan, Illinois, California. In Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Sister Eleanor was the co-founder of Centro Catalina, a center for economically poor women and children where she ministered for eight years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she was pastoral minister at St. Philip Neri Parish (1972-73); co-provincial at St. Dominic Provincial House in Hometown (1973- 76) and a teacher at Regina Dominican High School (1976- 78).

Sister Eleanor is survived by a brother, Robert, and a sister, Rosemary Zambon.

Sr. Cecil Steffen

MUSICIAN

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Cecil (Edmund) Steffen, 90, died Dec. 8 in Sinsinawa, Wis.

A Chicago native, she entered the congregation in 1946 and taught piano and music to elementary and secondary students for 26 years.

Sister Cecil served as a professor of music, composer and liturgist at Dominican University (formerly Rosary College), River Forest, for 30 years. She served in Oklahoma; New York; Maryland; Washington, D.C.; Wisconsin; Illinois; and Minnesota.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Cecil taught at Rosary College/ Dominican University, River Forest and served as liturgist there (1960-64, 1975-2001). She also taught at Queen of Peace, Burbank (1965-71).