Sister Joan Cecile Lacombe
1923-2009
In one of the closing paragraphs of her autobiography Sister Joan Cecile wrote:
What a glorious vocation I’ve had. I am grateful to my God, my parents, brothers and sisters, teachers, priests, and my Dominican family for the beautiful life that I have had. I thank God every day for all of you.
She was of Irish and French ancestry. Her grandparents had settled in Alpena, Michigan, and there her father, John LaCombe, was born and grew up. There he met and married Henrietta Rabiteau. The first two of their twelve children, Margaret and Cecil, were born there. John LaCombe was a lumberman, and he moved with the lumber camps, finally settling his family in Munising, a town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. There they brought ten more children into the world. Ann, Isabel, Lucille, Sylvester, James, Francis, William, Arnold, Marian Catherine (the future Sister Joan Cecile), and Vivian. Marian was the eleventh of their twelve children, and she was born on Good Friday, March 30, 1923, “during the last winter blizzard.” Of her parents, Sister wrote:
“Papa,” as we called our father, often entertained us with fascinating stories of his life and experience in the lumber camps. He had a keen sense of humor. Both my parents were Catholic and were hospitable and charitable. I remember “Mama” as always wearing an apron, forever in the kitchen preparing delicious meals for our large family.
The LaCombes were poor in money and possessions, but rich in love. When Marian was six years old, her father became ill with severe heart problems and was unable to work. His older sons and daughters found employment and managed to support the large family. She especially wrote of her older sister Margaret, who cared for her younger siblings for many years. Special mention was made of her mother’s sister, Aunt Belle and her husband, Uncle Armour, with whom Marian and Vivian spent some months every summer.
They arranged dental and eye checkups every year and bought our school shoes and supplies. My aunt, who was a beautiful seamstress, made our clothes for school, including coats, leggings, and hats. I am forever grateful for these two dear people.
Marian began her education at Sacred Heart School with the Adrian Dominican Sisters. She loved the sisters, and made up her mind that she would some day be one of them. She graduated from eighth grade in 1937 and attended Mather High School. She wrote, “When we transferred to the public school, most of [us] far surpassed the [elementary] public school students because of the excellent teachers we had.” Her sophomore year was one of sadness because of the death of her father in November 1938.
In 1939 Mother Mary Gerald Barry visited the sisters in Munising. Marian and her mother met Mother Mary Gerald and discussed Marian’s vocation. They decided that she would enter the Adrian Dominicans in January 1940. On January 28, 1940, sixteen years of age, she accepted the postulant’s veil in Adrian. She received the habit and her religious name on August 7, and professed her first vows on August 12, 1941.
Within a few days she began her teaching ministry at what she called her “favorite mission,” St. Scholastica in Detroit, with primary children, a level that she loved. She taught there for nine years. At the wake Sister Patricia Janowicz said:
As a child, I was blessed to have Sister Joan Cecile as my first and second grade teacher at St. Scholastica School. It was a blessing, but in some ways it wasn’t, because you could not get away with doing anything wrong. I could not be quiet or sit still in church, so I had to sit next to Sister on the boys’ side. Believe me, I didn’t move.
She sure could push swings high at recess, and enjoyed our giggles. Best of all, she enjoyed fun and laughter, especially when Father would throw candy through the open windows to disrupt class. She shared her gifts and love and gentleness with me, as a child and adult.
As a result of summer study at Siena Heights College (now University), in August 1950 Sister Joan Cecile received a bachelor’s degree with a major in history and minors in English and Latin. The next year she began three years as a first grade teacher in Illinois, two years at St. Mary in Elgin and a year at St. Rita in Chicago. The next five years were spent in California, where she taught first and second grades at Holy Cross in Santa Cruz. In the summer of 1956 her mother visited her, and she treasured the memory of that visit since her mother died in May 1957.
The next fifteen years were again in Illinois with little children: two years at St. Celestine in Elmwood Park, a year at St. Ailbe in Chicago, six years at St. Kilian in Chicago as superior and principal, and six years at Queen of Apostles in Riverdale, three years with first graders and three years as religious education coordinator. At the wake, Sister Patricia McCarty, principal and superior at Queen of Apostles at that time, remembered a visit from her deaf aunt and uncle.
We went down to meet Sister Joan Cecile and her first graders. She immediately welcomed us and said to the children, “Do you remember Jesus and how he took care of the deaf people, the lame, and the blind? Well, Sister Patricia’s uncle and aunt are deaf. They cannot hear you, so let’s give them a big smile so they know that we are happy to see them.” I’ll tell you, the room glowed.
My aunt worked in a candy factory, and she had brought a large pink and white lollipop for each of the children. Sister Joan Cecile said, “When Sarah and Edwin give you a lollipop, look at them and give them a BIG smile and say ‘thank you’ so they can read your lips.” That experience was one I never forgot, and I am quite certain that the children remembered, too. Sister Joan Cecile was such a sweet soul, and we are blessed that she walked with us.
In February 1964 Loyola University in Chicago awarded Sister Joan Cecile a master’s degree in education, with a major in administration and supervision. During 1973-74 she studied at The Catholic University in Washington, DC, and earned a master’s degree in religious education that she received in August 1974.
The time had come when sisters could find their own ministries, and Sister Joan Cecile accepted positions as religious education coordinator at parishes in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan nearer her family: at St. Louis the King in Marquette for two years, and at St. Mary and St. Joseph in Iron Mountain for two years. An article that she wrote about her vocation entitled “The Multiple Ministry” was published in the U. P. Catholic newspaper of April 9, 1976, and her picture appeared with her class in a later issue of February 3, 1978, and as a leadership and group development workshop attendee in the issue of November 17, 1978.
In August 1978 she was appointed vicaress at the Motherhouse in Adrian, and fulfilled this responsibility for four years. She became a pastoral minister at St. Hilary Parish in Akron, Ohio, in 1982 and ministered there for eight years. During this time, she studied at SS. Cyril & Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan, and in 1983 received a certificate in pastoral ministry.
She took a year’s ministerial sabbatical in 1990 and spent part of it in her home town of Munising, some time at Weber Center in Adrian, and a few months at Rockhaven in House Springs, Missouri. When her sabbatical ended, she served as a pastoral minister at St. Paul Parish in Owosso, Michigan, for almost two years. She left this ministry to care for her ill sister Margaret, now living in Escanaba, Michigan, who died in May 1998.
Sister Joan Cecile retired in 1998 after her sister’s death. For the next four years she lived at Dominican Convent in Detroit and volunteered her services as a tutor at the Dominican Literacy Center. At the wake, Sister Marie Schoenlein remembered that time.
Starting in 1998 Sister Joan taught some twenty adults how to read and write. . . . I remember Spencer. Sister said, “We won’t have any trouble with the color words. He’s black, I’m white. His last name is Brown and we both have gray hair.” . . . Eddie “Guitar” Burns, a renowned and accomplished Blues and Jazz musician who as a teenager used a broom stick to make the neck of his first guitar, learned to read at the age of sixty-seven. During his musical tours in Europe, he had to hire someone to read the airport monitors and his performing clues for him. . . . Sally, aged forty-eight, was a single parent who supported her family by getting up at 4:00am and car pooling to Novi where she prepared food at a Bob Evans Restaurant. She returned home at 3:00pm and came to the Center at 4:00pm four days a week. Being with Sister Joan and learning to read was the daily highlight in her life. No longer could her children call her “dummy.”
In 2002 Sister Joan Cecile returned to Adrian and lived in an off-campus apartment for four years. She wrote:
I am living with Sister Rosemary Asaro, my closest friend, going to Maria every day for Mass, and giving two days a week in the sewing room in Roncalli for my beloved elders, and enjoying praying, reading, and sewing for many sisters on campus.
She moved into the Dominican Life Center/Maria in 2006, where she remained until her death on July 20, 2009, at the age of eighty-six.
A wake-remembrance service was held for Sister Joan Cecile in St. Catherine Chapel on July 22. Present were her sister Vivian Rousseau, her brother Bill, many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews. Sister Jo Gaugier, Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, welcomed all present, extended sympathy, and summarized Sister Joan Cecile’s life and ministry.
Shane Branham, Sister Joan Cecile’s grandnephew, shared memories:
What we loved most during her visits were her stories. She was able to share stories of her family, her youth, our grandmother’s youth, our mother’s youth, and our own. . . . During a tour she gave me of this facility, she once pointed to the grand staircase in the main building and shared a story of having to clean those stairs as a young woman. . . . Even during our last visit, nearly two weeks ago, during her incredibly weakened state, she reminded us of how much she loved us.
Tara Branham, Sister’s grandniece, also shared.
When I was small, she taught me how to jump rope. We were so proud to have her as an aunt. . . . We were here a week ago Saturday, and we knew it was the last time we’d see her alive. It was the most beautiful Saturday I’ve ever experienced. We told her how much we loved her.
Tara read a testimonial from Shannon, who wrote in part:
Through my arduous growing up into adulthood, Sister was a constant. Wherever I traveled, wherever I lived, she was somehow always there. Letters of encouragement, remembering birthdays, celebrating every rite of passage. . . . Through her simplicity, her integrity, and her endless capacity for love, she taught us more about God than some of the greatest and most sacred of teachings. . . . She was a flesh and blood person who had the courage to live a life dedicated to the service of the spirit.
Rene Wilson, Sister’s niece, spoke in praise of her aunt.
When you’re a child you know when something is special. You know that something special is going to take place when every spot in your house is cleaned. Her visits stand out very strongly in my memory. . . . Her presence in our lives was very strong. Auntie Marian was very influential in my spiritual development, and I want to pay tribute.
To Sister Rosemary Asaro who was a devoted sister and companion to our aunt, we say “thank you.” Thank all of you sisters who shared her life.
Margaret Ann Rose, another niece, also praised her aunt.
Auntie has forty-one nieces and nephews. She was always very excited and wanted to hold all the new babies, and she was interested in all our accomplishments. . . . Auntie was very close to us and shared holidays. My children were able to experience her generous love and laughter. I asked them to share some of their memories. They said that she taught them many games. She loved puzzles. They said, “She let us be kids.” She was nice to be around. She was never in a bad mood.
Sister Joan Cecile’s funeral liturgy took place on July 23. Father Robert Kelly, OP, was the presider and homilist. Father spoke of how love is shown, and how Sister Joan Cecile showed love through service. “Her sewing machine was her keyboard.”
With Sister Jo, we thank God for Sister Joan Cecile and the beautiful life that she shared with us. Although we will miss her, we know that she is with our Creator God, happy for all eternity.