Obituries - 4/25/04

Semitic language expert

Father James P. Doyle, 73, a professor at both Niles College and the University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary, and pastor emeritus of St. Peter Parish in Round Lake, died April 11 of congestive heart failure at Holy Family Villa in Lemont. He had been retired since 1999.

Father Doyle was born on Chicago’s North Side and graduated from Quigley Preparatory Seminary and from the University of St. Mary of the Lake in Mundelein. He was ordained by Cardinal Samuel Stritch in 1957 and served for three years, beginning in 1957, at Divine Savior Parish on the Northwest Side.

Father Doyle did post-graduate studies at the University of Chicago, where he received a master’s degree in semitic languages and literature in 1965. He also did post-graduate studies at the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the North American College in Rome and Weston College in Cambridge, Mass.

For many years, beginning in 1965, Father Doyle taught at both the college-level seminary, Niles College, (now St. Joseph Seminary at Loyola University) and then at the University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary.

From 1960 to 1964 he was an assistant pastor at Our Lady of the Ridge, Chicago Ridge; St. Paul of the Cross, Park Ridge; and St. Nicholas, Evanston. He was briefly the associate pastor at Providence of God Parish in 1985, and was named pastor of St. Casimir Parish the same year.

He also served briefly as associate pastor of St. Joseph in Libertyville and as a chaplain at St. Anthony Hospital in Chicago. In 1987, Father Doyle was named pastor of St. Mary Parish in Evanston, a position he held for two years.

From 1989 to 1994, Fr. Doyle was associate director of the Cardinal Stritch Retreat House in Mundelein, before being named pastor in 1994 of St. Peter Parish in Round Lake. In 1998 he was made pastor emeritus of that parish and retired the next year.

Father Doyle is survived by four sisters, Mary Farrell and Patricia Grothe from the Chicago area and Eileen Anderson and Rosemary Doyle of Largo, Florida.

Sr. Winifred McDermott

Educator

BVM Sister of Charity Winifred McDermott, 92, died March 17. A Chicago native, she graduated from St. Mary High School, entering the BVM congregation in 1936, and professed her final vows in 1944.

She taught in the Archdiocese of Chicago for 25 years. She served at St. Callistus, 1938-41 and 1947-48; St. Ferdinand, 1948-53; St. Gertrude, 1963-66; St. Cornelius, 1966-73; St. Tarcissus, 1973-74; St. Eulalia, Maywood, 1953-56; and St. Gilbert, Grayslake, 1961-63. She also taught in Iowa, New York and California.

Fr. Edward Coffey

hospital Chaplain

Father Edward Coffey, 93, chaplain at St. Ann Hospital in Chicago for 24 years until his retirement in 1986, died April 8 at St. Benedict Home in Niles, where he was a resident.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Father Coffey attended grade school in Chicago. He graduated from Quigley Preparatory Seminary and the University of St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein. He was ordained in 1937 by Cardinal George Mundelein.

Father Coffey began his parish ministry at St. Laurence Parish where he served as assistant pastor for six years. He was the assistant pastor at St. Clement for six years and at Holy Rosary parish for nine years, from 1949 to 1958.

He was assistant pastor at St. Bede in Fox Lake for four years before being named chaplain at St. Ann Hospital in 1962.

Sr. Virginia Broderick

A Chicago native, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1926, professed her first vows in 1929, and her final vows in 1934. She taught in schools staffed by the Sisters of Providence in Illinois and Indiana.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Agnes, 1939-50; Maternity BVM, 1950-53; St. Sylvester, 1953-55; Our Lady of Mercy, 1955-61; St. Mel, 1961-64; Our Lady of Sorrows, 1964-69; and at St. Francis Borgia, 1969-91. She is survived by many nieces and nephews.

Adrian Dominican Sister Ann Judith (Kathleen Leona) Provancher, 87, died April 5. Born in Rockford, Ill., she was in the 68th year of her religious profession. She spent 27 years ministering in education in several states. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Kilian from 1936-40, and 1951-52. She is survived by a brother, John, of Hinsdale, Ill.

Sister of Mercy Mary Carlo Hablewitz, 74, died March 29. Born in Whitefish Bay, Wis., she was a Sister of Mercy for 55 years. She served as a teacher in Illinois and Wisconsin.

In the Chicago area, she served at St. Gabriel, St. Ethelreda, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Ita. She also did clerical work at St. Damian and Mother McAuley High School.

Sister of Providence Mary Helen Neff, 83, died March 29. Born in Indianapolis, she entered the Sisters of Providence in 1943, professed her first vows in 1945, and her final vows in 1950. She taught in schools staffed by the Sisters of Providence in several states.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at St. Mel, from 1948-50; St. Andrew, 1951-55; St. Francis Borgia, 1959-64; Our Lady of Sorrows, 1982-85; and St. Mark, 1992-94.

Adrian Dominican Sister Marguerite Michael (Rose Agnes) Hamamey, 90, died March 25.

Born in Glenn Campbell, Pa., she was in the 70th year of her religious profession. She spent 48 years ministering in education in several states. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she served at St. Mary of Mt. Carmel, 1935-37; and at Our Lady of Good Counsel, 1947-48.

Adrian Dominican Sister Marie Joyce (Eleanor Lucille) Smith, 87, died March 24. Born in Oswego, Ill., she was in the 68th year of her religious profession. She spent 38 years ministering in education in several states. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she served at St. Edmund, Oak Park, 1936-44; Regina Dominican High School, Wilmette, 1966-69 and 1970-72; Aquinas High School, 1969-70; and Our Lady of the Westside, 1980-88.

Sister of Mercy Margaret Verbeke, 82, died March 20. Born in Abrams, Wis., she was a Sister of Mercy for 63 years.

In the Chicago area, she served as a teacher at St. Monica; St. Lucy; St. Joseph, Libertyville; St. James; St. Catherine of Siena, Oak Park; St. Mary of the Lake, and Mother McAuley High School. She retired in 1993.

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister Gertrudine Dolmen, 95, died March 19. One of 10 children, she made her first religious profession in 1930 and her final profession in 1934. She was an elementary and junior high teacher and principal for 49 years and served in several states.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Immaculate Conception School, Waukegan, 1931-33.

Born in Trepassey, Newfoundland, he came to the United States in 1926. He worked with Western Electric in New York until 1932, when he entered the society’s seminary in Massachusetts. He professed first vows in Techny in 1939, and was ordained a priest in 1944.

He studied advanced first aid and did parish work for three years to prepare for service in the foreign missions. He was sent to Ghana in West Africa in 1947, and he worked there until 1972.

When he returned to the United States, Father Halleran did mission appeals. He retired in 1999.

School Sister of Notre Dame Mary Therese Brocollo died March 22. She ministered at schools in several states. In Chicago, she taught at All Saints, St. Margaret of Scotland, and St. Stanislaus. She taught piano after leaving the classroom.