(1934-2026)

Sister Carmen Álvarez’s long journey to becoming an Adrian Dominican Sister began during the more than two weeks she was imprisoned in her native Cuba for the work she was doing in her local parish.

As a young woman, Carmen volunteered to help out in the parish, and became the person responsible for teaching catechism and providing other help to the parishioners. After the priest was forced out by the Castro regime, she took on many of his duties as well.

“My education was limited, but my desire to live what was taught at home made me the person I am today,” she wrote in her autobiography. “I did not need a degree to do the work of God to hopeless people in a Communist country.”

Carmen Rose Álvarez grew up having Christian values modeled for her by her parents, Fermín Álvarez Guzman and Cora Alberto Álvarez, to whom she was born in the outskirts of Havana on September 28, 1934. Her sister Mirta came into the family two years later.

Little is known of her early years other than that she attended a private school, Arturo Montori, and earned a certificate in business education. During a retreat at some point, it became clear to her that she should answer Jesus’ “knock on her door” by ministering in her parish since at that time the priest could only come once a week.

When Fidel Castro came to power in 1959, a crackdown on the Church began, and as her work with her parish grew after the priest was forced to leave, she apparently came to the attention of the regime. She refused to cease her activities, however, and at the time of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961 she was arrested and put in prison, where she spent seventeen days in miserable circumstances, including having to sleep on the floor and being given only one meal a day. During this time, she continued her ministerial work, encouraging the other prisoners not to lose hope and reciting the rosary each day with many of them.

She was released at two o’clock one morning and stepped outside the prison gates to find her father, who had been looking for her since her arrest, waiting in a rented car.

Concerned for her safety after what had just happened, her parents convinced her to leave the country, and she came to the U.S. to live with cousins in Miami, Florida. After she got there, she found her way to the Centro Hispano, a refugee center that was staffed by the Dominican Sisters of Catherine de’ Ricci, and offered her services to them. The experience inspired her to join their congregation. In September 1964, she traveled to the de’ Ricci Sisters’ novitiate in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, to begin her life as a religious.

Read more about Sister Carmen (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Services, Adrian.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

 

Vigil and Funeral Recordings

Note: To view recordings with closed captioning, they must be viewed on our public video library rather than through the links below.

Recording of Sister Carmen's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Carmen's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Leave your comments and remembrances – if you don't see the comment box below, click on the "Read More" link.

(1941-2026)

Joan called forth from her students the values and virtues buried deep inside, and isn’t it likely that those same young women called forth virtue in Joan? That’s how her life was, filled with family and friendships that enriched her life and prepared her for this lasting time with God.

Sister Susan Van Baalen’s funeral homily for Sister Joan Krajewski, from which this quote is taken, honored a woman whose more than twenty-two years in ministry at Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette, Illinois, helped shape the lives of thousands of young women – and who was, in turn, shaped by them.

Joan Marie Krajewski entered the world on May 28, 1941, at a hospital in Highland Park, Michigan, an enclave of Detroit. She was the first child of Walter and Genevieve (Ringvelski) Krajewski, who lived on Detroit’s east side; her brother, Daniel, was born about seven years later.

As the oldest child and, especially, as the only girl, she was “nicely spoiled” by her father, with whom she was very close. “I loved my mother, her sense of humor and everything, but I could always talk much more easily with my dad,” she said in her life story.

Sister Joan described her home life as “kind of a ‘Leave it to Beaver’ home.” Her father worked as a tire checker for what was then called U.S. Tire, later known as Uniroyal, while her mother worked in a school cafeteria. One set of grandparents had a farm where she spent her summers, while the other set of grandparents lived with Joan and her family – as did her aunt and the aunt’s two boys until Uncle Gene came home from his military service in World War II.

“My grandparents took care of us while my parents were at work,” she wrote. “My two cousins and I were called the ‘Hole in One Gang.’ We climbed trees, went through the alley collecting pop bottles and taking them to the store for money. I was a real tomboy. We had wonderful times together.”

She was educated by the Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Sisters at both St. Catherine School, where she attended first grade, and St. Raymond of Penafort School. She also had two cousins who were Felicians, and between the two congregations, “I thought those were the only kind of Sisters there were,” she wrote. “The first time I saw a Dominican was when I went to Dominican High to register.”

Read more about Sister Joan (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Services, Adrian.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

 

 

Vigil and Funeral Recordings

Note: To view recordings with closed captioning, they must be viewed on our public video library rather than through the links below.

Recording of Sister Joan's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Joan's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Leave your comments and remembrances – if you don't see the comment box below, click on the "Read More" link.

(1934-2026)

Richmond, Virginia, was the birthplace of Barbara Nash Gentry, the only child of James and Catherine (Nash) Gentry, on October 13, 1934. Her parents bestowed Catherine’s maiden name on her as her middle name, following a Southern tradition of honoring both sides of the family.

When she was old enough for school, she attended public school for two years until James and Catherine transferred her to St. Paul School. There, she was taught by the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia, a congregation based in Bristow, and she was immediately drawn to the religious life of the Sisters who were her teachers.

Her high school years were spent at St. Gertrude High School, an all-girls’ school in Richmond also run by the Benedictine Sisters, and in September 1953, after having graduated that June, she made the roughly hundred-mile trip from Richmond to Bristow to enter the congregation.

She was received as a novice in March 1954 and given the religious name Sister Mary John. Little is known about her earliest years with the Benedictines, but in a brief autobiography she wrote that she had studied music in school and done well, and so, while still a novice, she was given charge of the Sisters’ choir when the choir mistress died.

Read more about Sister Barbara (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Services, Adrian.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

Vigil and Funeral Recordings

Note: To view recordings with closed captioning, they must be viewed on our public video library rather than through the links below.

Recording of Sister Barbara's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Barbara's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Leave your comments and remembrances – if you don't see the comment box below, click on the "Read More" link.

(1934-2026)

Sister Frances (always called Fran) Madigan concluded a brief version of her autobiography with this paragraph:

I am grateful to a God who has called me and continues to invite me to be a partner to bring the love of God to all creation. “Be still and know that I am God” is a mantra I hope to accomplish before the Last Judgement.

Those who knew her would certainly attest to the way she fully responded to the invitation from God which she referenced. As one of her friends, Sara Martinez, wrote in a remembrance shared at her wake:

She was always curious and genuinely interested in learning about other traditions, cultures, and ways of seeing the world. Even when she didn’t agree or share the same beliefs or customs, she never judged. Instead, she listened with an open heart, with compassion and understanding. She always tried to find the good in people and to understand them. She had a beautiful gift of making everyone feel heard, respected and valued.

Laverne Frances Madigan entered the world on August 30, 1934, in Cook County Hospital, Chicago. Her parents were Dennis and Josephine (DeSmidt) Madigan. Both Dennis and Josephine were first-generation Americans; Dennis’ father came from Ireland to Philadelphia, where Dennis was born before the family moved to Chicago, and Josephine’s parents came from Belgium to Chicago.

Dennis and Josephine met in Chicago. In time, the couple had seven children: Laverne, Dennis, Karen, Terry, Larry, Tom, and Frances. An older girl, a half-sister named Joan, was raised by Josephine’s mother for most of Laverne’s childhood.

Joan went on to enter the Congregation, becoming known as Sister Frances Karen, but withdrew during her novitiate year in 1949.

The children attended St. Laurence School, where Adrian Dominican Sisters were their teachers. “I loved school and I loved the nuns,” Sister Fran said in her life story. “They were young, joyful people who, really and truly, you could tell they were happy,” and she enjoyed being around them and looked for ways to spend time with them.

Read more about Sister Frances (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Services, Adrian.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

Vigil and Funeral Recordings

Note: To view recordings with closed captioning, they must be viewed on our public video library rather than through the links below.

Recording of Sister Fran's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Fran's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Leave your comments and remembrances – if you don't see the comment box below, click on the "Read More" link.