Sister Irene Leduc
1925-2008
Sister Irene LeDuc was humble and unassuming, but she was also a great woman who was known and loved by many for her thoughtfulness and generosity. Sister Joan Sustersic, Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, told those assembled at the wake that Sister Irene “was a truly unique individual, whose quiet presence and artistic talent touched most of us. She would happily share the shirt off her back, but she was also a very private individual.” Sister Dorothy Worthy compared her to “dear St. Joseph, working quietly and helping others, doing everything for the One she had chosen to serve.”
The woman described in this way was born to Irene (Passeno) and Charles LeDuc on January 16, 1925, in Cheboygan, Michigan, and baptized Irene Dolores. The youngest of six children, to her family she was affectionately known as “Dee Dee.” The family lived between Cheboygan and Mackinaw City, located at the top of Michigan’s “glove,” and owned a business, a resort called Island View Shores, on Lake Michigan. Irene helped take care of the cabins, making beds and doing whatever else was necessary. Artistically talented, she also created souvenirs that were sold at the resort. In addition to operating the business, her father held a position as dock master in Mackinaw City.
Irene attended Central Public School in Cheboygan for almost all of her elementary education. For a year she attended a Catholic school, but disliked it, and her parents respected her wishes and let her continue at the public school. In June 1943, she graduated from Cheboygan High School, and spread her wings. She left home, and found a job with Western Union in Battle Creek, miles down the “glove,” not too far from the Indiana border. The pastor of the parish in Battle Creek was Monsignor Walsh, Mother Augustine’s brother, and he introduced Irene to the Adrian Dominican Sisters. She also met the Mercy Sisters, but was not attracted to them.
After a trip to Adrian, she decided to enter the Adrian Congregation. On July 2, 1944, she became a postulant, and she received the habit and her religious name on January 3, 1945. She took the name Sister Charles Irene for both her parents. After the novitiate year, she professed her first vows on January 5, 1946. For the second semester of that year she was kept in Adrian, where she studied at Siena Heights College (now University).
Her first teaching assignment was to St. Jude School in Detroit, where she spent two years as a teacher of second and fourth grades. She was then sent to Elmwood Park, Illinois, to teach second grade at St. Celestine School for two years. Brought back to Detroit, she taught grades two and three at St. Ambrose School for four years. During summer 1953 she finished the requirements for a bachelor’s degree with a major in social studies and minors in English and biology, and Siena Heights College awarded the degree to her. In 1954 she was assigned to a school in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, St. Gregory in Newberry, for six years. There she ministered on all levels—kindergarten, primary, middle grades, and junior high. She then spent four years at St. John Seminary in Plymouth, Michigan, as a member of the housekeeping staff.
Sherburn, Minnesota, was the site of her assignment in 1964. There, at St. Luke Parish, she ministered in religious education on all levels, kindergarten through eighth grade. In 1970 she was again assigned as a teacher of first grade at St. Mary in Elgin, Illinois.
From 1971 on, Sister Irene’s ministry was at the Motherhouse in Adrian. For sixteen years she served on the housekeeping staff at Weber Center, then ministered for thirteen years as sacristan in Holy Rosary Chapel until it was closed for renovation in January 2000. During these years, Sister Irene also kept herself busy doing many other things—arranging centerpieces in the cafeteria and other places for big events, working outside to beautify the grounds, planting flowers and weeding, sharing items that she kept in “nooks and crannies,” in the “potato room” in the Madden Hall basement, and in various other places. She loved all of nature, including bugs, fed the squirrels and stray cats, collected rocks.
At the wake Sister Shirley Ruder spoke of Sister Irene’s performance at Transformations, a gathering of the entire Congregation, in summer 1989.
Irene loved to dance! Will we ever forget her appearance at Transformations when she appeared on stage, dressed to the “T,” flowers in her hair, and made up like the finest Hollywood star, and did she love it! She stole the show when she appeared.
Sister Irene lived in the Regina Residence until 2006, when her health declined and it was necessary for her to move into the Maria Building. God took her to eternity during the Christmas season of 2008, on December 29, at the age of eighty-three and in the sixty-third year of her religious profession.
The wake-remembrance service held for Sister Irene was on January 4, the first in the new year of 2009. Sister Joan Sustersic extended sympathy to Sister Irene’s family, and summarized her life and ministry. She also spoke of Sister Irene’s last days:
It was difficult for her to move, as she had pain in her legs much of the time. Her eyes gave her problems. . . . and she found it difficult to see. She was a fervent religious, participating in the Office and Mass when she was able, and constantly praying the rosary. She lived her life of poverty and truly lived a simple life.
In the past few weeks, she experienced a further decline. On Sunday, December 28, she wasn’t eating and was sleeping a great deal. On Monday, December 29, sisters were invited to sit with her as she prepared to meet her God.
Sister Shirley Ruder, a member of Sister Irene’s “crowd,” gave a beautiful remembrance. In part, she said:
If you have been on campus very long, you probably saw Irene working in some capacity. She loved nature and all things that pertained to it: gardening, flowers, animals. I believe that she was a self-taught environmentalist. She had many talents and used them lovingly to serve her sisters and community.
My most memorable visit with her took place a few hours before she died. Sister Ruth Rabideau and I were with Charlie (our crowd’s nickname for Irene) saying the rosary and watching for any visible changes. Her breathing was shallow, but she was very peaceful. I decided to talk to her, as I wanted her to know how much we appreciated the many gifts and talents she shared with the community. These included her love and care of the gardens on campus, as well as her special love for mother cats and kittens. I think she had a few challenging moments about these pets, but she seemed to always find somewhere to care for them. They would not go hungry if she could help it.
She did not stir while I was thanking her. My last words to her were, “Now, Charlie, when God comes to take your hand and lead you home, please tell Him that you would like to take care of His beautiful gardens.” She heard me, I’m sure, because a few second later she opened her eyes, wide-eyed, and smiled a beautiful, huge smile. What a wonderful and memorable moment!
Judy Lavelle, an associate, said in part
Sister Irene came into my life about thirty-five years ago when I began staying at Weber when I attended meetings here on campus. At first, she was rather quiet but friendly. As we got to know each other better . . . there was time to play, to listen, and to pray.
She got to know the Academy alumnae because on the weekend that we stayed at Weber she decorated the dining room, did a lot of work, and helped us with themes. Eventually, she was nominated for, and awarded, the Academy Rose—an honor for those who have contributed much to the Academy but are not Academy graduates. . . . I know that I am a better person for having her in my life.
Sister Dorothy Worthy shared thoughts.
I have personal remembrances of her goodness to me. I remember her as an excellent teacher of the little ones. I needed decorations for my classroom, and she dug down into that bottomless trunk of charity to help me before the supervisors came. In fact, she helped everyone to decorate! The superior gave her the name “Sister Putt-putt” because she was always flying around helping everyone.
Sister Therese Haggerty also shared memories:
In the days before Residence Services, Sister Irene and I were asked by Sister Marcella Hess to move the sisters from Madden Hall to other places—Roncalli, Regina, Maria, or Weber. She’d come with a big cart and we’d push the people’s things wherever they wanted them. She was always kind and thoughtful, and I was impressed at her gentleness.
In the early days, before I knew her well, I was going from building to building. She came up to me and said, “Is your name Haggerty?” I admitted that it was. Then she said, “I have something for you,” and handed me this brick [held it up]. On the brick it says, “Haggerty.” I took the brick and kept it on my windowsill. It may be that Haggerty bricks kept Madden together.
Sister Nadine Foley, who was Prioress of the Congregation at that time and living in Ratisbon House, said in part:
Sister Irene had her own job description in her head, and lived it. She had an uncanny relationship with nature. Across the street from Regina, where the two houses are now, the property was just a thicket of brush that had been overgrown and left there. Among other things, there were rose bushes. Sister Grace Flowers was cook one day, and decided that she wanted roses for the table. She pushed her way into the thicket, found the rose bushes, and picked some roses. When she got back home, she discovered that she had lost her keys, so she tried to retrace her steps to find them. She wandered around in the thicket and looked, but she didn’t find her keys. Someone said, “Call Irene.” So Irene was called. Grace wanted to go back into the thicket with Irene, but Irene said, “No, I’ll go by myself.” She went in, and in ten minutes she was back with the keys. She was almost like a Native American in her relationship to the earth.
Margaret O’Malley, who served as Director of the Office of Worship from 1994-2002, said:
During that time Sister Irene was sacristan in Holy Rosary Chapel. On paper, that meant that I was her supervisor. The reality was that she only answered to God! . . . She was into recycling before it was politically correct. I was given tours of the potato room on more than one occasion. . . . She collected many things and always had what people needed. One of the things that she collected was empty boxes. . . .She also hid rosaries all over the campus. She would put them in decorative vases or under plants. Then, no matter where she was on campus, if she had a few minutes, she could pull out a rosary, sit quietly, and pray.
Sister Laura Pautz, a nurse on 3rd floor in Maria, said in part:
Sister Irene told us about how her family would go to the seashore when she was young, and they collected seashells. She had wonderful memories of how her mother and she would collect them. She said her mother was a shell artist and made beautiful pieces. She never sold them but gave them as gifts. Sister Irene loved to listen to music. She also loved to dance, and she even gave the first shift girls a little dance lesson several months ago. Sister brought joy to the 3rd Floor Maria community.
Sister Theodora McKennan remembered Sister Irene’s kindness and helpfulness.
During a home visit one summer during the time when I was missioned in Peru, I had a few days to spend in Adrian. My purpose here was to do something about my two large trunks full of history books which I had left in the trunk room—I had been told to get rid of them.
After convincing the Siena Heights Library to agree to take the books, I went back to the Madden Hall basement and was staring down at the trunks when Sister Irene came along and offered to help. She said that she would put an ad in the paper and could easily sell the two trunks. . . She told me not to worry about the books, she had a method of whisking things through the tunnel that then connected the trunk room with Sacred Heart Hall and would take care of that, too. . . . My problems were obviously being solved by a professional!
The funeral liturgy held for Sister Irene took place on January 5. Father James Barnett, OP, of the Ashram Community on campus, was the presider at the Mass, and Sister Christine Matthews was the homilist.
As Sister Joan said, the things that Sister Irene did were not “big,” but she served the Congregation well. And, in Sister Laura’s words, “We all feel blessed to have known her!”