Obituaries - 1/30/05

st. hugh pastor emeritus

Father James W. Keating, 97, ordained in 1934 and one of the oldest priests in the Archdiocese of Chicago, died Jan. 19 at Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago of pneumonia. Father Keating suffered from emphysema and complications of a stroke. He and had been retired from active ministry for a number of years.

He was the only remaining member of his ordination class of 1934, and was believed to be the oldest archdiocesan priest.

Father Keating, a Chicago native, attended Catholic elementary and secondary schools before entering the University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein. His first assignment was as assistant pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish on Chicago’s Northwest Side, where he served for eight years from 1934 to 1942.

For 13 years beginning in 1942, Father Keating was the assistant pastor at St. Veronica Parish and then at St. Laurence Parish for four years. Both parishes are now closed. From 1959-67, he was the pastor of Holy Name of Mary Parish on the South Side. In 1967, he became pastor of St. Hugh Parish in Lyons, where he served for 10 years. When he retired in 1978 when he was made pastor emeritus.

Sr. Gertrude Garry

educator

Sister of Charity BVM Gertrude Garry (Patrick), 93, died Jan. 11 at Marian Hall, Dubuque, Iowa. She was a Sister of Charity BVM for 67 years.

Sister Gertrude was assistant librarian at Mundelein College, 1940-45; counselor at Carmel High School, Mundelein, 1972-78; and Immaculata High School, 1978-81. While provincial superior of the BVM congregation from 1962-69, she resided at Holy Name Cathedral convent, and in retirement, she lived at Wright Hall from 1981-2000.

She was also an educator at Alleman High School, Rock Island, Ill., and at schools in several other states.

A Chicago native, she was one of 10 children. She graduated from Our Lady of Angels School and St. Mary High School, and did clerical work before entering the Sisters of Charity BVM in 1937. She professed first vows in 1940, and final vows in 1945.

Fr. Eugene Burns

hospital chaplain

Father Eugene Patrick Burns, 76, died of congestive heart failure Jan. 14 at Holy Family Villa in Lemont. He served as pastor of Queen of the Apostles Parish in Riverdale from 1981 to 1983.

Father Burns most recent assignment was chaplain at St. Margaret Hospital in Hammond, Ind. He served there for three years beginning in 1989 before retiring from active ministry in 1992.

Born in Chicago, Father Burns was a member of St. Rita of Cascia Parish. He attended Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein. Ordained in 1955, Father Burns served for six years as assistant pastor at St. Anne Parish in Hazel Crest.

He also served as assistant pastor at St. Catherine Laboure in Glenview (1961-66), St. Nicholas of Tolentine (1966-68), St. Denis (1968-73), St. Joseph in Homewood (1973-79), St. Terrence in Alsip (1979-81), Our Lady of Knock in Calumet City (1981-83), and St. Ann in Lansing (1985-89).

Father Burns is survived by several nieces and nephews.

Fr. Richard Tessmer

Hospital chaplain

Father Richard A. Tessmer, 80, who served as chaplain at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village for 22 years, died Jan. 9 following a stroke.

Father Tessmer was a native of Oak Park and a graduate of Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein.

Ordained in 1951, he served from 1951-62 as assistant pastor of St. Anastasia Parish, Waukegan. He was also assistant pastor at Our Lady of Ransom Parish in Niles from 1962-68, before being appointed chaplain at Chicago State Hospital, formerly on West Irving Park Road in Chicago, a position he held for four years. While serving at the State Hospital, Father Tessmer was assistant pastor at St. Monica Parish on the Northwest Side.

In 1972, Cardinal Bernardin appointed Father Tessmer as the resident Catholic chaplain and director of the newly formed Department of Religion at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village. He served in this position until his retirement in 1994. At that time, he was made chaplain emeritus.

He was a member of the National Association of Catholic Chaplains and active in that organization after his retirement. In 1985, Cardinal Bernardin appointed him to the Archdiocesan Medical Ethics Committee.

He did post-graduate studies at Loyola University Chicago, completing the requirements for an MA in counseling. He used his expertise in counseling as a marriage counselor in the early 1960s while working for Catholic Family Consultation Services for the archdiocese. During that time he was also chaplain for Main East High School students in high school religious education programs.

Father Tessmer is survived by his sister, Janet Riff.

Sr. Florence Kennedy

teacher

Sister of Mercy Florence Kennedy, 87, died Jan. 7, at Provena McAuley Manor in Aurora. She had been a sister for 69 years.

A Chicago native, she taught at Resurrection, Precious Blood and St. Thomas Aquinas as well as in Iowa and Wisconsin. She also ministered in the medical field at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Aurora, Mercy Manor and Mercy Center, also in Aurora. Sister Florence retired in 1993 and recently resided at Provena McAuley Manor.

Rosemary Kennedy

Sister of JFK

Rosemary Kennedy, sister of the late President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy, 86, died Jan. 7 of natural causes at Fort Atkinson Memorial Health Hospital in Jefferson, Wis.

Born with a mild form of mental retardation, she had been cared for at St. Coletta of Wisconsin in Jefferson, a school for the mentally disabled, for the last 57 years of her life after a botched frontal lobotomy further reduced her mental capacity.

The oldest daughter of Joseph P. and Rose Kennedy, she was born in Boston on Sept. 13, 1918. Her three surviving sisters -- Eunice Kennedy Shriver, 83, Patricia Kennedy Lawford, 80, and Jean Kennedy Smith, 76 -- and her sole surviving brother, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., 72, were at her bedside when she died.