Sister Mary Incarnata Hlavac
1912-2009

In her testimonial at the wake, Sister Marie Schoenlein called Sister Incarnata “a great lady” who became known as the “Mother Teresa of Cleveland.” She testified that while others were just talking about helping the poor and homeless, Sister Incarnata, in her 70’s, was doing it.

Sister Incarnata Hlavac was the daughter of Rudolph and Anna (Kullak) Hlavac. At the age of sixteen, Rudolph Hlavac had emigrated from Czechoslovakia. Anna Kullak, aged thirteen, had come with her mother and younger brother and sister from Poland. The two met and married in Cleveland. Their first child, the future Sister Incarnata, was born on November 1, 1912, and baptized Anna Veronica, followed two years later by her sister Rose. In the epidemic of 1919, the mother died of influenza. The father placed his two daughters with their Grandmother Kullack, until his remarriage, after which the little girls returned to him and their stepmother. The family was then blessed with two sons, Rudy and Joseph.

Anna obtained her elementary education at Nativity School in Cleveland with the Adrian Dominican Sisters. During her last year, her Aunt Margaret Kullak, known as Sister Thecla, was missioned at Nativity. When Anna graduated from eighth grade, her aunt urged her to attend St. Joseph Academy in Adrian. Anna did attend St. Joseph Academy for a few months but then went back home.

On December 29, 1929, however, she returned as a postulant in the Adrian Congregation. She was immediately sent to Holy Name School in Detroit, where she taught second grade from January to June, 1930. One night in February a fire started in the basement. No one was hurt, and most of the damage was in the basement, but the house had been filled with smoke, some rooms had to be painted, and the drapes had to be washed. The sisters had to leave the convent and live in the school for a time. She wrote, “Though only seventeen years of age, with the grace of God and the assistance of my mentors and principal . . . I survived and enjoyed the class of forty-eight youngsters.”

When she returned to Adrian in June, the sisters at Holy Name gave her “two brand new habits.” On August 7, 1930, with her group, she received the habit and her religious name. Her father and little brother Rudy were present, which made her very happy. With her group, she professed her first vows on August 11, 1931.

Within a short time she was on her way to Chicago, where she taught second grade at Queen of Angels School for two years. She spent a year with middle grade students at St. Mary in Elgin, then taught sixth grade for six years at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Chicago. In 1940 she was missioned to her home state of Ohio, where she spent three years at her home parish, Nativity, in Cleveland, and five years at Blessed Sacrament in Toledo. As a result of summer study, in 1940 she received a bachelor’s degree from Siena Heights College (now University) in Adrian, with a major in social science and minor in Latin. She also earned a nurses’ aide certificate in 1942.

In summer 1949, again as a result of summer study, John Carroll University in Cleveland awarded her a master’s degree in education. It was in fall 1948 that she received what she described as the “greatest shock of my life.” She was assigned as superior and principal at Guardian Angels, a new school opening in Clawson, Michigan. During her six-year term there, she taught middle grade and junior high students. That was Sister Janet Hudspeth’s first mission. She arrived at Clawson in December 1951, and at the wake she spoke of Sister Incarnata as a much loved administrator.

The sisters lived in two classrooms on the second floor of the school. They were lent a television for the holidays, and Sister Incarnata let me watch it for a long period. I had never seen a television before. Since we were living in my classroom, I did not teach for a couple of months, but finally finished the year with fifth graders.

Sister Incarnata was so good to the sisters, and ran an excellent school. At the end of the school year she needed a first grade teacher and I volunteered. I taught sixty first graders in the rectory basement. The school mushroomed, and we taught in every available space. Sister Incarnata never raised her voice to anyone, had a great sense of humor, worked as hard as any of us, and certainly kept the Rule.

During Lent, Sister Incarnata instructed Sister Janet to write to her two brothers in the Marine Corps each week, revealing that during World War II she herself was not allowed to write to her brothers during the penitential season. Once every year she invited the sisters’ parents to dinner, which she, with the help of another sister, cooked. “As far as my parents were concerned, Sister Incarnata was a saint!”

At the end of her term, Sister Incarnata taught second grade for a year at St. Henry in Cleveland. In 1955 she was assigned to Our Lady of Sorrows High School in Farmington, Michigan, where she taught religion, English, Latin, and art for four years, and served as principal from February to June 1959. In October 1958, she returned to Cleveland for the funeral of her beloved stepmother, Stella Hlavac.

Sister Incarnata’s next assignment sent her to St. Gabriel High School in Detroit for four years as a teacher of English, Latin, religion, and mathematics, after which she spent a year at Hoban Dominican High School in Cleveland. She was happy to be back in Cleveland, as that gave her an opportunity to visit her aging father. After a few summers of study, she received a certificate in theology from Siena Heights College. Again, in 1964, she became a superior and principal, this time at St. John Nepomucene in Cleveland. After four years she requested freedom from that responsibility, and she then spent seven years at St. Henry with middle grade students. In summer 1974, after some summers of study, Siena Heights College bestowed on her a certificate in pastoral theology.

In 1975 she had finished over forty-four years of teaching, and was sixty-three years of age. The time of open placement had arrived. She decided to leave the classroom, and accepted the position of pastoral minister at St. Catherine Parish in Cleveland. There she lived with the Ursuline Sisters and ministered to elderly, homebound parishioners for eight years. Her ministry was publicized in the area newspapers. She wrote, “I loved the senior parishioners and formed a Golden Age Club, which they enjoyed.” These years also included a period of sadness when her father died in 1977.

While Sister Incarnata was ministering at St. Catherine, she and Sister Marie Schoenlein, Provincial of the area at that time, met.

The people who drove her to help the homeless were somewhat hesitant to go into the areas, and especially when she wanted to take them to places of care in their cars. She said to me, “If I had a car, I could drive myself.” We agreed that if she got her driver’s license, I would come up with a car. Not too long after that, we met and she had her driver’s license in her hand. I found a secondhand car, a little red car, which she called her “red bomb.” And she went about caring for the homeless.

However, another problem arose when she tried to take them to the hospital, and the hospitals wouldn’t take them in, saying that they had to tidy up a bit. They were considered contagious to other patients. They were disheveled, unkempt. We explored St. Vincent for clothes, and shelters for showers. And then she suggested the fire station. I said, “That might be a good idea.” But she had a quizzical look on her face. “You weren’t thinking of using the fire hose, were you?” I asked, and she answered, “That did cross my mind.” We thought of other alternatives, however.

In 1983 Sister Incarnata’s Aunt Mary, a sister of Sister Thecla, moved into a newly built high rise in Lakewood, Ohio, Fedor Manor, a federal government residence for people living on low incomes. Sister Incarnata decided to move there also and minister to the residents. From 1983 to 1996 she visited the sick and hospitalized residents, led prayer services, served handicapped Catholic residents, and attended funerals. “I enjoyed ministry at the high rise and learned through the residents what it means to live alone and to be neglected.”

She was nearly eighty-four years of age when, in 1996, she decided to leave the high rise and move to Adrian. “The welcome in Adrian was very warm and heartfelt.” In 1998 she was joyfully welcomed at Guardian Angels School in Clawson, Michigan, when the school celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. Writeups in the parish bulletin and area newspapers lauded her and what she had accomplished there during her administration.

Sister Incarnata lived in the Dominican Life Center/Maria, serving the other sisters to the best of her ability, until June 26, 2009, when God took her to eternity at the age of ninety-six.

Her wake-remembrance service was held in St. Catherine Chapel on June 30. Present were her brother Rudy; nieces Jan Hlavac, Patricia Stedman, and Judy Hutchinson; nephews Lenny Hlavac, Jeff Hlavac, Mark Pokrandt, Bob Hanko, and John Hanko; and her many Dominican friends. Sister Joan summarized Sister Incarnata’s life and ministry, and added:

She was preparing in November to go to her God, probably sensing that her physical health was declining. She went from walker to Amigo to wheelchair. She found it difficult to lose her independence. Recently, her condition worsened. When she didn’t get to chapel, you knew that she was not feeling well. During the past week, she was confined to bed. Her brother Rudy and two nieces came to visit. Although Sister was not conscious, I’m sure she heard their prayers and words.

Sister Janet Hudspeth went to the podium.

We connected again when we were both members of the Great Lakes Mission Council. At an assembly, the musician asked for a volunteer to lead the singing. We were all stunned when Sister Incarnata came to the piano, turned around, and taught us the song. She was a constant revelation to me!

Every time I came to Adrian, I would visit her. . . . She was always around, doing things for others. When she was getting low, I came in and sat next to her bed. I leaned over and said, “Hi, Sister Incarnata.” She smiled. What a smile! Then she closed her eyes. We talked a little bit, and then I realized it was time for me to go. So we blessed each other, and I left.

Judy Lavelle, an Associate, also spoke.

We appreciate how Sister Incarnata became an integral part of our family. My sister described Sister as sweet, kind, caring, compassionate, and, I will add, a woman of wisdom and a woman of prayer.

After I joined the Cleveland Mission Group, my father became ill. Sister offered to sit with my father while one of us took my mother out for shopping or whatever. My dad loved it because Sister and he prayed together and she really took good care of him. Many times I brought dinner back and we all ate together. She took excellent care of my dad until he died in 1996.

Sometimes she would go out with us. We took her to a Chinese New Year’s celebration. Everyone was coming to the table to greet her. Sister won a large prize, and the applause was tremendous.

After my dad’s death, my mother needed help. My mother would call Sister, and they were off shopping, and then had lunch or dinner. Again, she gave excellent care to my mother. . . . “Thank you” is too small an expression to show our appreciation. My parents loved her, as did my sister and I. We are all better persons for having Sister Incarnata touch our lives.

Patricia Stedman, Sister Incarnata’s niece, said:

Growing up with Sister Incarnata in our family has been really special for us. Back when we were kids (and there were seven of us) Dad (her brother Rudy) and Mom took us to visit her at the convent on Sundays. . . . She’d give us a tour of the whole convent, the church, the chapel. She was the best “tour guide.” Even the past years, when we’d visit her here, she would take us around in her wheelchair, showing us all around. . . . I’ll bet you didn’t know that she had a secret life as a tour guide.

We remember receiving cards . . . written in the most beautiful cursive writing. None of us ever came close to writing like her.

When I graduated from college, I got my first job teaching first grade at St. Henry in Cleveland. Sister Incarnata was teaching fifth grade there at the time. . . . If I ever had a question, as first-year teachers always do, Sister Incarnata was there to help me. She was so smart and supportive.

Father Roland Calvert, OSFS, was the presider at Sister Incarnata’s funeral liturgy on July 1, 2009. The beautiful homily in her praise was given by Sister Mary Sue Kennedy. After the well-deserved homage, she was laid to rest in the Congregational cemetery.