Catholic
New World - Newspaper for the Archdiocese of Chicago
Archdiocese of Chicago Directory
Periódico official en Español de la Arquidiócesis de Chicago
Oficjalne wydawnictwo Archidiecezji Chicago w języku polskim
Obituaries
Pray For Them
James Kilcoyne, photojournalist
James (Jim) Kilcoyne was the dean of Catholic press photographers in his day. Always in a suit jacket, wearing a signature bow tie, cameras swinging from straps around his neck, his news beat stretched from the archdiocese of Chicago to wherever Chicago’s Shepherd-in- Chief called him.
A funeral Mass for James Lawrence Kilcoyne, 86, was celebrated Aug. 6 at The Canticle chapel, Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton, Iowa.
Mr. Kilcoyne, worked at the New World, and The Chicago Catholic (as it was later called) for 36 years, retiring to his home in Elmhurst, Ill., in 1986, and then to Clinton, with his wife, Eleanore.
Mr. Kilcoyne joined the Chicago archdiocesean newspaper in 1950, after doing some free-lance work following military service in Italy and North Africa in World War II.
He earned more than 20 national awards from the Catholic Press Association and the Associated Church Press. He travelled to Rome, Poland, and the archdiocesan mission in Panama, and domestically often drove 400 miles a week to cover events around the archdiocese.
Through the years he “shot” Cardinals Samuel Stritch, Albert Meyer, John Cody and Joseph Bernardin. Cardinal Cody frequently quipped, “Jim Kilcoyne is the only person who can tell me what to do. When he says ‘Hold it for one more,’ that’s just what I do.”
Mr. Kilcoyne got his first camera in 1927. “It came free when you bought four rolls of film,” he once told a reporter. He went on to join the camera club in Highland Park High School and sold his first photo in 1937.
While his newspaper work was primarily confined to black and white, he was proud of his color photos that made the pages of Catholic Extension Society calendars for many years. His work was also often seen in “Columbia,” a monthly magazine of the Knights of Columbus. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus.
Mr. Kilcoyne photographed movie stars, kindergarten graduates, future popes and saints (Mother Teresa), but probably what made his work so rewarding were the relationships he built with prelates, priests, religious and laity in the archdiocese.
Survivors include his wife Eleanore, three daughters, one son, five grandchildren and two brothers. He is preceded in death by his first wife, Marol.
-Dolores Madlener
Sr. Margaret King
MUSIC EDUCATORBVM Sister Margaret King, 93, died July 20 in Dubuque, Iowa. She entered the BVM congregation in 1932 and professed final vows in 1940.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, Sister Margaret was a music teacher at Presentation (1953-55), Our Lady Help of Christians (1955-57), Mundelein College and St. Jerome (1958-59). She also ministered in Missouri, Wisconsin, California, Iowa, Kansas, Arizona and Montana.
Sr. Venard Sequence
EDUCATORSister of Providence Venard (Helen Veronica) Sequence, 88, died July 22 in St. Mary of the Woods, Ind. A native of Chicago, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1939 and professed final vows in 1947. She ministered as an educator in Indiana, Illinois and Maryland.
In Chicago, she taught at Maternity BVM (1952-55), St. Columbkille (1955-57), St. Mel-Holy Ghost (1959-61) and Our Lady of Mercy (1961-63). She also served in Chicago at Executive Auto Typing Co. (1976-77), Society of Real Estate Appraisers (1977-82) and St. Anne Hospital (1982-85).
Br. Daniel Sharpe
CHICAGO NATIVEMarianist Brother Daniel Sharpe, 83, died July 23 in San Antonio, Texas, of emphysema. A native of Chicago, he attended St. Cornelius grade school and St. Michael Central High School. He entered the Society of Mary in 1939 in St. Louis, and he professed final vows in 1945 in Galesville, Wis.
Brother Sharpe served as a high school teacher in Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin.
He taught at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio from 1952-57. He also served as principal and administrator at several high schools. In Chicago, he was Sodality and Apostolic Action coordinator at St. Michael Central High School from 1963-69.
From 1975-79, Brother Sharpe ministered at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio as community director and vice president of student affairs. He served as assistant provincial for the St. Louis Province, a position he held from 1979-87.
In 1991, Brother Sharpe began serving as a missionary in Mexico. He retired to the Marianist health care center in San Antonio in 2001.
Sr. Mary Nemmer
EDUCATORSchool Sister of St. Francis Mary (William) Nemmer, 79, died July 15 at Sacred Heart Convent in Milwaukee, Wis. She entered the School Sisters of St. Francis in 1928 and professed final vows in 1938. Sister Mary served as an educator and librarian in Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and Minnesota. In Chicago, she taught at St. Benedict Grade School (1928-31) and St. Clara School (1938-42).
