Sister Georgiann Novak
1916-2011
Sister Georgiann Novak wrote:
Daily I thank God for gifting me with my vocation, with blessings galore—blessings of many wonderful, prayerful, holy women who have been my companions on this journey, who have been a support whenever there was a need in joy or sorrow.
She was the first sister to die in the year 2011. God allowed her time on earth to number almost ninety-five years, and took her to eternity on January 24.
Sister Georgiann was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 13, 1916, the fourth child of Wenceslaus and Anna (Minarik) Novak, preceded by Jim, Frank, and Helen, and followed by Joseph.
Both parents were from small towns near the city of Pilsen in Czechoslovakia, also known as Bohemia. Her father was baptized Vaclav, or Wenceslaus, in America sometimes called James. He came to America at the age of nineteen. Anna Minarik left her native country for America at the age of seventeen. Shortly after her arrival in Cleveland, she began a job obtained for her by her aunt, who had also paid her passage to America. This was work as a domestic for a wealthy couple, who taught her English, and helped in her advancement. In this work she became an excellent cook, and lived with her employers until her marriage. They attended her wedding, took interest in the births of her children, and helped with advice about legal affairs and financial matters when needed.
It was in Cleveland that Anna Minarik and Wenceslaus Novak met and married. Wenceslaus Novak worked in the steel mills until he lost his arm in a railroad accident, and his younger brother was killed. At that time the Novak’s were the parents of two small boys and had just moved into a new home. This was a very hard time for them. After his accident, Wenceslaus opened a fruit store which prospered and supported his growing family.
Georgiann obtained her education at St. John Nepomucene School. In her autobiography she wrote, “This was the first Adrian Dominican school in a metropolitan city.” In 1930, when she was in eighth grade, her father died at the age of forty-six. Her sister Helen, older than Georgiann by five years, had expressed a desire to join the Adrian Dominican Sisters, but she put off her entrance in order to work and help support the family. After graduation from eighth grade, Georgiann continued her education at St. John Nepomucene Commercial High School for two years.
When Georgiann finished school in 1932, Helen entered the Adrian Dominicans. Also, at that time, the family moved to a large farm about sixty miles from Cleveland. Georgiann helped on the farm for a while, then obtained a position as a typist in a Savings and Loan Association in Cleveland, lived with her aunt, and often spent weekends on the farm.
On January 7, 1939, almost twenty-three years of age, she joined fifteen other young women in the Adrian Dominican postulate. They received the habit and their religious names on August 2. Georgiann became Sister Mary Bernarda. A year later, on August 7, 1940, they professed their first vows.
All of Sister Georgiann’s assignments were in Michigan. Within a short time she was on her way to Resurrection School in Lansing, where she taught for five years, third grade at first, and then a combination of fifth and sixth grades. In 1945 she was transferred to St. Alphonsus in Dearborn as a teacher of primary students, then of junior high. There she and Sister Mildred Huber became fast friends and home visit companions. Although they did not know each other before their entrance, they had both been born in Cleveland and lived on farms in the Cleveland area.
During the summers Sister Georgiann studied at Siena Heights College in Adrian, and in August 1950 the College conferred a bachelor’s degree upon her with a major in home economics and minors in history and English.
In January 1951, she received an unexpected transfer to SS. Peter & Paul in Ruth, where she taught on the junior high level, and also taught clothing in the small high school there. She continued on the secondary level at St. Ambrose in Detroit, where she taught business subjects, religion, and clothing from 1955 to 1960. During the summers, she studied at Michigan State University in Lansing, and in August 1957 she received a master’s degree with a major in home economics education and minors in clothing and home management.
She wrote, “August 1960 brought an unwelcome change with more responsibility.” She was assigned as superior and principal at Our Lady of Victory in Northville, with a faculty of four sisters and a lay teacher. The next year there were six sisters and a lay teacher. At the wake Sister Marcine Klemm spoke of that time.
It was during that time, 1964-65, that two of the Filipina Sisters were here, Sisters Evangelina and Esperanza. They had completed their studies at Siena Heights College and were having a year of “practicum teaching” at Our Lady of Victory School. Both sisters always spoke lovingly of Sister Georgiann for the many kindnesses shown to them . . . especially when they went shopping to buy “fresh fish” and rice so that they could prepare their native foods.
Also, during this time, in 1962, Sister Georgiann and her siblings attended the funeral of their beloved mother.
When her term as principal ended in 1966, Sister Georgiann was transferred to Our Lady of Sorrows in Farmington as a teacher of history, clothing, and religion on the secondary level. After three years, she asked to return to the elementary level. Her request was granted, and she became a junior high teacher at St. Agatha in Detroit for the next two years. There, however, she found that the students’ behavior was comparable to that of high school sophomores.
In 1971, when she was considering becoming a school clerk, she received a call from Sister Marie Wiedner, who was at that time the Secretary General of the Congregation. Sister Marie requested that she come to Adrian and work in Secretarial Services at the Motherhouse. After consulting Sister Sarah Cavanaugh, her Provincial, Sister Georgiann agreed, and she began over seventeen years of service at the Motherhouse.
She spent a year as a secretary, then became Director of Secretarial Services, a position that she held for five years. When she left Secretarial Services, she worked for a year helping to begin the Data Department and the use of computers.
In 1978 she became secretary to the administrator of Maria Health Care Center. During 1980 she drove a sister to Ann Arbor for kidney dialysis, then assisted when the equipment was set up at Maria, so that dialysis could be done there. This duty came to an end when the sister died in September 1980. She continued as secretary to the administrator of Maria until 1988. At that time, although she intended retirement, for several years she took on the responsibility of secretary to the sister in charge of campus liturgy.
In 1979 her sister, Sister Helen Ann, came to the campus to handle the sisters’ financial records, so she and Sister Georgiann had many happy years together. Sister Helen Ann suffered from multiple sclerosis. Sister Georgiann wrote:
With an Amigo [an electric wheelchair] she could attend the programs at Madden, Lumen Chapel, Siena Heights, Holy Rosary Chapel, and, when weather permitted, take a ride on the grounds and visit our beautiful cemetery.
Sister Helen Ann died in 1995.
Sickness assailed Sister Georgiann also; and, after living for many years in Regina Residence, in 2004 she moved into the Dominican Life Center/Maria. God took her to eternity on January 24, 2011. She had spent the last forty years of her life in service and retirement on the Motherhouse campus.
A wake-remembrance service was held for Sister Georgiann on January 27 in St. Catherine Chapel. Sister Jo Gaugier, Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, welcomed Sister Georgiann’s niece Lorraine Sikora and nephews Clem Cody and John Gaydosh, as well as the many Dominican friends who had come to bid her farewell. She summarized Sister Georgiann’s life and ministry, and added:
Sister Georgiann will never be forgotten by her family, crowd, dear friends, and those who were her nursing care givers. All of us who experienced her patience in the inability to speak, her beautiful smile and warmth, even after the severe stroke she experienced, will not forget her.
Sister Mildred Huber, who was Sister Georgiann’s close friend and home visit companion, had been Sister Georgiann’s friend for sixty-two years.
I lived with her on my first mission at St. Alphonsus, Dearborn. She assisted me in getting started in the classroom. . . . We kept in touch throughout the years through snail mail. . . . When it was time for my first home visit, I asked her if she would be my companion. . . . Every home visit year I asked for her, and she continued to be my companion for as long as we needed one.
When one of my brothers-in-law called her “Bernie” she would look at him and respond with her gentle smile. I think she really enjoyed it. She called him “Red Cap” because he carried our luggage. . . . I have lots of nieces and nephews, and she entertained them all. They all loved her.
Sister Mildred spoke of Sister Georgiann’s inability to speak. Working with a speech therapist after her stroke brought no success. But when Resident Services would come to share brownies and ice cream and sing “Happy Birthday,” she would be surprised to hear Sister Georgiann speak the words of the song. When they were praying the Rosary together, she again would be surprised to hear Sister Georgiann’s response. She concluded that this was probably done by rote, because she wasn’t able to respond to a question that required the thinking process. She commended those who cared for her, who would joke with her and make her smile when they called her “Georgie” or “Georgie Porgie.”
She and Sister Georgiann watched DVDs on her laptop computer, shared the daily funnies and “Dear Abbie” in the newspaper, and Sister Mildred helped her send cards to her relatives.
Sister Georgiann was doing well until the middle of last week. On Wednesday it appeared that she was coming down with a cold. As the days progressed, her cough worsened and she was beginning to build up with fluid. I was with her for Friday’s meal in the dining area, and after that she was confined to her room. Her breathing labored as she was dealing with fluid buildup in her lungs. . . . Father Bob was present, along with sisters in her crowd and others. He led a beautiful prayer, to which we responded. After he blessed her with holy oil, he asked each one of us to do the same. What a special moment!
As I approached the elevator on Monday morning, I was informed that she had just breathed her last.
Sister Marcine Klemm spoke of the affection felt for Sister Georgiann by the Filipina sisters.
I had forwarded the announcement of her passing to the sisters in San Fernando, Pampanga. I received an e-mail in return expressing their sympathy, but also saying that there would be Masses said in the Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of Our Lady of Remedies for the respose of her soul and for her family and friends in their grief. Sister Zenaida reminded me that any time she visited Adrian, she always carried a card of gratitude from Sisters Evangelina and Esperanza.
Sister Georgiann’s funeral liturgy was celebrated on January 28, with Father Robert Kelly, OP, Motherhouse chaplain, as presider and homilist. Several more of her relatives had come for her funeral. Among his remarks, Father said:
The beauty of this Dominican woman was not in the clothes she wore, the way she carried herself, or the way she combed her hair. It was in her eyes and smile, because they were the doorway to her heart. True beauty was reflected in her soul, and it grew with each passing year.
Following the beautiful funeral liturgy, Sister Georgiann was laid to rest in the Congregational cemetery next to her beloved sister, Sister Helen Ann.