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Obituaries

Pray For Them

Fr. Edward J. Brzozowski

PASTOR EMERITUS

Father Edward J. Brzozowski, 89, died July 2 at St. Benedict Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Niles. He was pastor emeritus of St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

A Chicago native, Father Brzozowski was baptized at Immaculate Conception Church. He graduated from Immaculate Conception School, Quigley (North) Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary in May 1943.

He was fluent in the Polish language.

Father Brzozowski was ordained a priest on May 6, 1944. He served as associate pastor at St. Mary Magdalene Parish (1944-53); St. Michael Parish on the Southeast Side (1953-61); St. Wenceslaus Parish (1961-66) and St. Florian Parish (1966-69).

He was named pastor of Evanston’s Ascension of Our Lord Parish, where he served until July 1972. For the next 10 years, Father Brzozowski served as pastor of St. Nicholas of Tolentine Parish, before retiring and being named pastor emeritus. Between 1979 and 1982, he also served the archdiocese as Urban Vicar for Region IX.

Father Brzozowski is survived by his brother, Claude.

Fr. Jose Luis Castillo

ASSOCIATE PASTOR

Father Jose Luis Castillo, 65, died July 4 about two weeks after suffering a major heart attack.

Father Castillo, ordained in 1966 for the Diocese of San Luis Potosi in Mexico, served in the Archdiocese of Chicago as associate pastor of Holy Innocents Parish. He came to the archdiocese in 2000, and served the whole time at Holy Innocents, said Father Richard Klajbor, Holy Innocents pastor.

“He was very happy, very proud to be a priest,” Klajbor said, adding that he would spend hours counseling parishioners or preparing them to celebrate the sacraments.

Father Castillo is survived by brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, both in the United States and Canada.

Sr. Patricia Smith

EDUCATOR

Sister of Notre Dame de Namur Patricia (Ann Michael) Smith, 79, died May 6.

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Sister Patricia ministered for more than 33 years in elementary and high school classrooms, including at Notre Dame High School (for Girls) in Chicago.

She worked with refugees and immigrants in Arizona and in adult education in Dayton before returning to Chicago last year, where she volunteered with adults learning English and basic skills and tutored inmates at Cook County Jail and at Marillac House.

Sr. Adelgunde Straeten

CAREGIVER

Holy Spirit Missionary Sister (Maria) Adelgunde Straeten, 104, died June 17 at the Convent of the Holy Spirit in Techny.

A German native, Sister Adelgunde was the fourth of seven children. She joined the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters in 1929 in Steyl, Holland.

She came to the United States in 1932 and cared for residents in St. Ann’s Home in Techny and worked in the sewing room there. From 1966-71, Sister Adelgunde worked in the sewing room at Divine Word Seminary, also in Techny.

From 1971 until her retirement in 1990, Sister Adelgunde worked at the Convent of the Holy Spirit in Techny, where she served in the refectory, chapel and vestment department. She had been living in retirement at the Convent of the Holy Spirit since 1990.

Sr. John Baptist Dowd

TEACHER

Adrian Sister John Baptist (Mary Madeline) Dowd, 93, died June 21 at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Mich.

A Michigan native, Sister John Baptist spent 67 years ministering in education in Chicago and St. Charles, Ill., as well as in Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Carthage (1931-32), St. Philip Neri (1933-39), Queen of Angels (1939-43) and St. Rita (1943-45).

Sister John Baptist is survived by two sisters, Immaculate Heart of Mary Sister Margaret Dowd of Port Huron, Mich., and Ellen Bates of Carmel Valley, Calif.

Br. Martin Grimm

TEACHER, WRITER

De La Salle Christian Brother Martin (Ladislaus Martin) Grimm, 72, died June 30 at Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago. He was born Charles Robert in Amarillo, Texas, and joined the Christian Brothers in Missouri, where he entered the novitiate in 1953. He taught at Price College in Amarillo and at St. Patrick High School in Chicago. After he became ill with multiple sclerosis, he wrote weekly columns for three national Catholic papers from 1960 to 1980 by using a special remote control typewriter.

Since 1999 he lived at Resurrection Life Center in Chicago and Wheaton Convalescent Home.

Survivors include his stepmother, Mary Grimm, of Lubbock, Texas, and brothers George and Donald of Amarillo.

Sr. Agnes Celine Stokes

TAUGHT AT IMMACULATA

BVM Sister Agnes Celine Stokes, 102, died July 2 in Dubuque, Iowa.

Sister Agnes Celine was librarian at Immaculata High School from 1970-80. In retirement she lived at Wright Hall, Chicago, for 19 years.

She was also an educator in Lincoln, Ill.; Iowa, Wisconsin and California.

Sister Agnes Celine was born in Chicago and graduated from Holy Cross School and St. Francis Xavier Academy before entering the BVM congregation in 1925.

Mr. Louis Pfleger

FATHER OF PRIEST

Mr. Louis J. Pfleger, 96, died July 5 at Smith Village Nursing Home in Chicago. He was the father of Father Michael L. Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina Parish.

Mr. Pfleger attended St. Martin School and Mount Carmel High School, and was a World War II Army veteran. His wife, Marion, preceded him in death. Father Pfleger credits his parents with instilling a passion for social justice in him.