KATIES IN ACTION
The Ripple Effect How one woman’s legacy of compassion lives on. BY PAULINE OO Judith “Judi” Gorman Krieger ’63 lived a life of compassion and concern for the suffering of others. Much like a dropped stone creates a ripple in a still pond, her good work and kindness has created and furthered opportunity for those in need. Almost two decades after her death, the Judith Gorman Krieger Scholarship is her legacy, recognizing a senior student who demonstrates generosity and empathy beyond her years with financial support. Gorman Krieger was a St. Paul resident, a mother of five and a nurse with a law degree. “My mom went to law school at 45 because she wanted another way to help people,” says Jill Richardson, one of her children.
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ST. CATHERINE UNIVERSITY • SPRING 2016
“She worked on a project that focused on women’s issues, especially domestic abuse and poverty, directed by the first woman on the Minnesota Supreme Court, Rosalie Wahl.” But what she really loved was nursing, “especially home care nursing,” adds Jacki Schrab, her other daughter. “It was important to her to see her patients in their homes, to interact with them and to allow them their dignity.” When Gorman Krieger died in 1998, she left an indescribable hole in many hearts. One was in that of her good friend Lois Rogers ’63. “Judi was an extremely humble person,” says Rogers. “Her story is a story of selfless giving. She quietly opened her heart and home to those in need, and routinely gave of herself to others. We created this scholarship as a way for us, her friends and classmates, to honor Judi’s memory and perpetuate her example of compassion for others.” The young woman honoring her memory this year — and expanding the radius of the ripple — is Ardo Jimale ’16. How this sociology major readily carves out hours for strangers in spite of her own adversities, though, is remarkable.
