In Memoriam: Sisters Regina Marie Bevelacqua, Dolores Hudson, Colette Kraemer, Georgia Jean Kruml, Raymunda Orth and Sarah Stauble

IN MEMORIAM Sister Regina Marie Bevelacqua

Sister Regina Marie Bevelacqua shared her conviction and passion for our “special brothers and sisters” in a January 4, 1968 column in The Record newspaper, in which she wrote: “There are little saints among us that go unrecognized. It is not the exterior that makes a saint but the beauty that lies within. I am speaking of our brothers and sisters [with intellectutal disabillities] who never grow up but will remain as Christ commanded us, ‘Unless you become as little children, you shall not enter the kingdom of Heaven.’”

Her challenge to us: “I challenge you to learn one such child and you will be shown that what lies within the child is the great mark of a true Christian—LOVE!”

Ursuline Sister Regina Marie Bevelacqua died on April 7, 2021, at Nazareth Home-Newburg. She was born in Morgantown, West Virginia, to the late Battista Bevelacqua and Minnie Agnesti Bevelacqua, on May 24, 1935, and named Mary Virginia.

Sister Regina devoted her life to persons with intellectual disabilities. When asked, she said this special call came when she was in the eighth grade. One day she saw Donnie, one of the six-year-olds, thrown out of his class. Then she saw that he was not picked up by the school bus. She questioned why, only to be told: “He is handicapped.” She responded by working with him, and thus began her life’s mission.

Mary Virginia left Donnie in 1955 to join the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville. In 1965 she began teaching special education classes in the Archdiocese of Louisville. For more than 20 years, she served as principal of the Monsignor Pitt Learning Center, which later became the Ursuline-Pitt School. She also taught for one year at the Ursuline Child Development Center.

Concerned that development opportunities for adults with intellectual disabilities were scarce, Sister Regina directed the Harvest Home for women from 1986 to 1998. In 1993, she and Ms. Mary Jo Payne co-founded St. Mary’s Center in Middletown. Calling the two “Diminutive Superheroes on behalf of special people,” Bellarmine University named them to the Gallery of Distinguished Graduates in 2019. Sister Regina served as the executive director of St. Mary’s Center until 2020.

Prior to her work with those with intellectual disabilities, she was a teacher at St. Peter, St. Ann, St. Joseph and St. Boniface schools in Louisville, and at St. Joseph School in Columbia, South Carolina.

She was a Special Olympics coach for more than 50 years and played a role in the development of the first Special Olympics games in Chicago in 1968. Sister Regina Marie was selected as a Community Hero torchbearer for the 1996 Olympic Torch Relay, carrying the Olympic Flame along Spring Street in New Albany, Indiana, and handing it on to the next U.S.A. runner. Sister also received a WLKY Bell Award in 2018.

Sister Regina is survived by several nieces and nephews, her close friends, Mary Jo Payne, OSU-A, and Mary Ann Daunhauer, OSU-A, as well as her community of Ursuline Sisters and Associates.

May the strength and true consolation of the Holy Spirit be in you all, so that you can sustain and carry out vigorously and faithfully the charge laid upon you.

—Saint Angela Merici Prologue to the Counsels

“In the early hours of the morning of August 22, 1938, I was born to Calvin and Margaret Hudson in Cumberland, Maryland. I was their fifth child and second daughter; the middle child and middle girl of a family of nine. My parents named me Dolores Mae.” So wrote Sister Dolores Hudson in 1997. Sister Dolores died at Nazareth Home-Clifton on April 2, 2021.

“My childhood was a very happy time. My father worked for the B&O Railroad and my mother stayed home to raise us.” Dolores attended St. Mary grade school and graduated from St. Mary High School in Cumberland, where she had been taught by Ursulines. While in high school, Dolores Mae worked at Sacred Heart Hospital to pay tuition, and she also enjoyed taking part in functions at Saint Mary Parish.

Dolores entered the novitiate in July 1957 receiving the name Sister Joseph Ann, made first vows in 1959, and began teaching first grade at St. Elizabeth of Hungary School in Louisville. Next it was St. Helen School for two years, followed by Saint Peter School in Columbia, South Carolina, and then back to Cumberland to SS Peter & Paul School. “I loved the little ones and wanted to keep teaching the first grade.” She taught first grade for seventeen years.

Sister Dolores earned a bachelor’s degree in education with a full scholarship from Ursuline College, Louisville, and masters’ degrees in elementary education and education administration and supervision from Frostburg State College in Frostburg, Maryland.

In March 1977, her father died at age 71 of a heart attack. “I was glad I was still in Cumberland so I could help my mother with the great loss.” However, in September, she became principal of St. Francis de Sales Elementary School in Morgantown, West Virginia. Farewell to teaching first grade!

Next, she was principal of St. Vincent de Paul School in Louisville from 1984 to 1987, and then returned to Cumberland as head of St. John Neumann School until 1997. After she left that school in September of that year, a playground was named in her honor.

Next, her ministry was with people at the other end of life, at the Ursuline Sisters’ licensed nursing facility, Marian Home, as coordinator of the PreRetirement Program, and then as co-coordinator for the Sisters living at the Ursuline Motherhouse.

Sister Dolores liked to listen to country music and watch Hallmark movies on TV. Her favorite song was “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” She also had said that “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein was one of her favorite books.

Sister Dolores is survived by her sister, Mary Margaret Wilhelm of Bedford, Pennsylvania, and brother, James Hudson of Cumberland, as well as her community of Ursuline Sisters and Associates.

Therefore, my most loving mothers, if you love these dear daughters of ours with a burning and passionate charity, it will be impossible for you not to have them all depicted individually in your memory and in your heart.

—from Saint Angela Merici’s Second Legacy

IN MEMORIAM Sister Colette Kraemer

Sister Colette Kraemer blessed us by planning her own funeral liturgy, in which she proclaimed the love of God for each of us and the joy that awaits us for all eternity. The readings and the hymns complimented each other, expressing her life. All that was missing was her voice as we sang songs of God’s love

for us.

Sister Colette Kraemer was born on March 6, 1932 and died on May 3, 2021, at Baptist Health in Louisville. Baptized Shirley Helen Kraemer, she began attending St. Elizabeth of Hungary grade school in second grade, where the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville were teaching. About that experience, she said, “The Ursuline Sisters always impressed me as being very happy, really good teachers and interested in what they were doing, so that all impressed me as a kid.”

By seventh grade, Shirley had decided to become an Ursuline; by age 15, she was certain of that decision and entered a new program for high school girls that the Sisters had established at Ursuline High School in Columbia, South Carolina. Before beginning her senior year at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, she was accepted into the postulancy. The following year, Shirley became known as Sister Colette. She celebrated her 70th jubilee in 2020.

Sister Colette’s teaching ministry extended over 30 years. In Louisville she taught at St. George and St. Martin of Tours parish elementary schools, and at Sacred Heart Model School, Angela Merici High School and Sacred Heart Academy. From 1997 to 2007, Sister Colette was the director of Mission Effectiveness for Sacred Heart Schools on the Ursuline campus.

Sister served on the Ursuline Sisters Leadership team (1988-1996), and as director of the Ursuline Life Office and co-director of the Ursuline Associate program. She was a member of the boards of trustees of Sacred Heart Schools, Holy Cross High School, Holy Rosary Academy and Pitt Academy. In 2009, Sister Colette was inducted into the Holy Cross High School Hall of Fame “in recognition of her long career as an educator at Angela Merici and Bishop David high schools,” which merged to become Holy Cross High School. In 2006, she received the Francesconi Award of Integrity from Sacred Heart Schools for her contributions to SHS.

Sister Colette is survived by her sister-in-law, Reba E. Kraemer, and nieces and nephews, as well as her community of Ursuline Sisters and Associates. Her “much older” brothers, as Sister Colette would lovingly refer to them, Earl and Lloyd Kraemer are deceased.

Lord, You have called us to work in Your vineyard.

Thus You let us share your concern about the salvation of your people.

Let us see the task You have entrusted us with, let us hear Your call in our brothers and sisters, who look to us for direction;

in young people, whom we may accompany for part of their way;

Inspire us and guide us, so that together we may find the paths that lead to You.

—from Praying With Angela Merici Publisher: Editions du Signe

Sister Georgia Jean Kruml

Sister Georgia Jean Kruml, formerly known as Sister Francis Marie, completed her junior year at St. Patrick High School, Sidney, Nebraska, in 1952, then traveled all the way from western Nebraska to Louisville, Kentucky, to join the Ursuline Sisters. She graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in 1953. On May 15, 2021, at age 85, she completed her life’s journey at Nazareth Home-Clifton. Her funeral liturgy was celebrated on May 20, 2021, in the Ursuline Motherhouse chapel.

Her journey took her many places and into many ways of helping others. She ministered to her Sisters, especially at Marian Home and the Motherhouse, in ways big and small. She made sure that doors were locked, volunteered at the visitor entrance, and helped with computer issues. Along with Sister Carl Marie Hulsewede, she accompanied Sisters to hospital emergency rooms, whatever the hour, and even directed traffic during special events at the Motherhouse and Ursuline campus.

Sister Georgia Jean was the last Ursuline Sister on the faculty of Blessed Sacrament School, Omaha, Nebraska, where she ministered in the computer lab from 1977 to 1990. She also taught at Holy Name, St. Elizabeth and St. Athanasius schools and ministered to the children and Sisters at St. Joseph Children’s Home, all in Louisville.

For twenty-five years, she was well-known as a drummer in the Holy Name Band of Louisville. In 2006, she received the Outstanding Adult Volunteer Award from the Kentucky Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

When asked on her 60th jubilee what was a “grace filled” memory, she answered: “I have had so many. Whether I was cleaning and cooking, caring for children at St. Joseph Home, or teaching my Sisters how to use the computer, it all comes down to this: I love helping others.”

Sister Georgia Jean is survived by her sisters, Ursuline Sister of Louisville Theresa Kruml of Iowa City, Iowa, and Cecilia Ann Kruml of Lincoln, Nebraska, and her brother, Robert J. Kruml, also of Lincoln, as well as her community of Ursuline Sisters and Associates. She is the daughter of the late Francis George and Marie Mestecky Kruml. Her brother, Francis E. Kruml, died in August 2020.

Do not lose heart, even if you should discover that you lack qualities necessary for the work to which you are called. He who called you will not desert you, but the moment you are in need he will stretch out his saving hand.

—Saint Angela Merici

DONATION INFORMATION

The Ursuline Sisters of Louisville appreciate the support of those who share their financial resources with us.

We make every effort to ensure that you receive the maximum tax credit allowed by law. When making a donation, make your check payable to the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, and mail to Mission Advancement Office, Ursuline Sisters of Louisville, 3115 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40206, or use the enclosed remittance envelope.

The check must be processed through the Mission Advancement Office for the Ursuline Sisters to generate the proper documentation you will need for your tax-deductible donation.

Ursuline Society and Academy of Education (USAE) is the corporate title under which the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville do business. USAE does not include gifts received for the other corporation, Sacred Heart Schools (SHS), Inc. Gifts for Sacred Heart Academy and other campus schools are received by the SHS Office of Development and used exclusively for the schools and their programs.

IN MEMORIAM Sister Raymunda Orth

Sister Raymunda Orth claimed that she did not choose her ministries, but that they chose her! And she responded by loving each ministry, completing 73 years as an Ursuline Sister of Louisville. A native of Evansville, Indiana, she was born on November 2, 1928, and died at age 92 at Nazareth Home-Clifton, Louisville,

on May 28, 2021.

Her long ministry as an educator took her into parish elementary and middle schools as a teacher of music at various grade levels, then into special education, and in later years as an assistant in the administration offices of the Ursuline Sisters, all in Louisville. Sister Raymunda also was a teacher of chorus and language arts, and then principal at West Side Catholic Consolidated Schools, St. Boniface Junior High School, Evansville, from 1974 to 1980, and teacher of grade five at St. Mary School, Madison, Indiana. Through the years she was a loyal advocate for adults with mental challenges.

Sister Janet Marie Peterworth proclaimed the homily at Sister Raymunda’s funeral liturgy on June 4, 2021. It was written by Sister Sue Scharfenberger, who resides at the Ursuline mission in Callao, Peru, and thus unable to be present. Sister Sue wrote:

“‘It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important.’ The wisdom of The Little Prince opens for us an understanding of time. And of relationships. Jesus was good at wasting time. On the hillside with 5,000. In the home of Martha and Mary. On the road to Emmaus.

“I was a young student when I took piano lessons from Sister Raymunda. That was a special time. No award performances. But I knew it was my time. Sister was wasting time with me.

“And much later in my life, when I felt pretty sure that I wanted to explore an Ursuline vocation, I went looking for Sister Raymunda. She took the time to listen. And even beyond her official ministries, Sister Raymunda took the time with those who needed to feel like a special rose.”

Sister Raymunda is survived by her sister, Suzanna Reker of Midland, Texas, sister-in-law, Frieda Orth of New Harmony, Indiana, several nieces and nephews, as well as her community of Ursuline Sisters and Associates. Several of her nieces and nephews were able to participate in her funeral Mass.

If according to times and circumstances, the need arises to make new rules or do

something differently, do it prudently and with good advice. And always let your principal recourse be to gather at the feet of Jesus Christ, and there, all of you, with all your daughters, to offer most fervent prayers. For in this way, without doubt, Jesus will be in your midst, and as a true and good master, he will enlighten and teach you what you have to do.

—from Saint Angela Merici’s

Last Legacy

Sister Sarah Stauble is indeed a person of kindness and faith, of compassion and competence. So reads the Citation for Honorary Degree Doctor of Humane Letters, Bellarmine University, given to Sister in 2004. Sister Sarah entered the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville on July 2, 1952; she had graduated from Ursuline Academy, Louisville, the previous year. The sixth of seven children, she was born on Febraury 13, 1933, and was named Lorine Elizabeth, her mother’s name. Sister Sarah completed her journey and went home to God on Sunday, June 13, 2021, at Nazareth Home-Clifton. For over 50 years, Sister Sarah served as teacher and, often simultaneously, in leadership roles for the Ursuline Sisters. She was elected president of the Ursuline Sisters of Louisville in 1992 and again in 1996, for a total of 10 years in that office. Previously she was a member of the Leadership team from 1968 to 1972, and from 1980-1988. Other positions include: a member of the Ursuline Formation Team and director of the Associate (Call) Community. Sister Sarah taught music at Holy Spirit School, St. Elizabeth School, Sacred Heart Model School, Sacred Heart Academy, the Ursuline School for the Performing Arts, Ursuline Special Education Learning Center, all in Louisville, and at St. Aloysius School in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, as well as at schools in Madison, Indiana, and Jackson, Mississippi.

Her ministry in the Louisville area included: member of the Bellarmine University Board of Trustees, chairperson of the board of directors of Day Spring, Inc., and volunteer at Wayside Christian Mission and St. Vincent de Paul Open Hand Kitchen.

Sister Sarah’s family members who were Ursuline Sisters were: her sister, (former Sister) Serena Stauble; her aunt, Sister Inez Staeuble; and her cousin, Sister Agnese Staeuble. The field of music was the key ministry of

Sarah. She shared her love and the joy she found in that ministry. She witnessed to the importance, the beauty, the essential reality of music in our lives and in our liturgy….

She was a gracious, gentle yet strong, faithful woman….

We are all blessed to have known her. —Sister Rosella McCormick, Reflection at funeral Mass

Sister Sarah is survived by many nieces and nephews, as well as her community of Ursuline Sisters and Associates.

Be bound one to the other by the bond of charity, respecting, helping, and bearing with each other in Jesus Christ. For if you try to be like this, without any doubt the Lord God will be in your midst. You will have the protection of Our Lady.

—Saint Angela Merici,

Last Counsel

To remember any of our Sisters who have died, expressions of sympathy may be made to: Ursuline Sisters of Louisville Mission Advancement Office 3115 Lexington Road, Louisville, KY 40206