Obituries - 7/4/04

teacher

Franciscan Sister of Chicago Mary Adelma Veronica Walkowski, 86, died May 16. Born in Johnstown, Pa., she entered the Franciscan Sisters of Chicago in 1933. She made her perpetual profession of vows in 1942. She ministered in education in several states. In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she served at St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr and Five Holy Martyrs. She then ministered in occupational therapy in other locations.

Sr. Mary Gilbert

nurse

School Sister of Notre Dame Mary Gilbert died May 29. A memorial service was held June 3 at the Academy of Our Lady Convent, Chicago.

A Chicago native, she professed her vows in 1938. After a brief teaching ministry, she spent most of her career in nursing in Wisconsin.

Sr. M. Evidia Cichowicz

Homemaker

School Sister of Notre Dame Mary Evidia Cichowicz died May 6 at Resurrection Life Center in Chicago. She served as a homemaker at several School Sisters of Notre Dame missions, including St. Stanislaus, St. Constance, St. Alphonsus, and the Academy of Our Lady.

Sr. M. Alvernia Witek

Teacher/administrator

Felician Sister Mary Alvernia Witek, 90, died May 1. A Chicago native, she entered the Felician Sisters in 1932 and professed her final vows in 1940. She taught in schools in Illinois and Wisconsin, spending 19 years transitioning an orphanage in Milwaukee into an adolescent residential program, and finally into a child-care center with priority services to the poor of the area.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she ministered at St. John of God, 1934-46; St. Mary Magdalen, 1936-43; St. Hedwig, Niles, 1949-52; St. Isidore, Blue Island, 1952-54; St. Turibius, 1954-57; and St. Andrew Home, Niles, 1990-96. She served as translator for the Marriage Tribunal from 1997-99.

Sr. M. Tyburcia Sliwa

Educator

Franciscan Sister of Chicago Mary Tyburcia Sliwa, 91, died April 8.

Born in Hammond, Ind., she was one of four children. She joined the congregation in 1928 at age 15. She made her perpetual profession of vows in 1934.

She ministered as an educator at St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr School, St. Florian School, and Madonna High School in Chicago. She also taught at schools in other states.

She later ministered as a secretary in the pastoral care and the health information departments at St. Anthony Medical Center.

She ministered to her religious community as a local secretary, treasurer, assistant superior, and religious superior.

She retired in 1998 to the motherhouse, where she assisted as a member of the administrative staff in the archives.

Sr. M. Teresa Boulet

teacher

Sinsinawa Dominican Sister marie Teresa Boulet, 83, died April 4.

Born in Green Bay, Wis., she made her first profession of vows in 1940, and her final profession in 1943. She served in several states as a primary and elementary teacher and principal for 38 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught junior high at Ss. Faith, Hope and Charity in Winnetka from 1962-63.

Sr. M. Carmelle Brzezinski

Teacher/librarian

Felician Sister Mary Carmelle Brzezinski, 69, died April 28. Born in Milwaukee, she entered the Felician Sisters in 1953, and professed her final vows in 1961. She taught and worked as a librarian in schools in Illinois and Wisconsin and ministered as a medical librarian in a hospital in southern Illinois for 13 years.

In the Archdiocese of Chicago, she taught at Sacred Heart School, 1956-59; St. John of God, 1959-61; Good Shepherd, 1961-64; St. Turibius, 1974-81; and St. Joseph High School (S. Hermitage Ave.), 1981-85.

Wilson Gallie, helped found first black Catholic school in Chicago

By Michael Wamble

A funeral Mass was celebrated June 19 at Holy Name of Mary Church for Wilson Buckner Gallie, 89, who died June 14.

Gallie was part of a wave of pioneering middle-class blacks who helped settle neighborhoods on the far South Side.

The youngest of 10 children, he was born June 29, 1914, in Georgetown, Mo. After several years of farming near Sedalia, Mo., he migrated to Chicago. His first job was in the offices of “Look” magazine and he later found work as a Pullman porter on the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad.

He married Mary Vivianne Creed Oct. 12, 1940, a year after their first date. They lived in their Morgan Park home for four decades—a hub for friends and family, filled with music and lively card tournaments.

Shortly after becoming a member of Holy Name of Mary Parish in the early 1950s, Gallie joined the Knights of St. Peter Claver and also served as Holy Name Society treasurer. He helped build the first black Catholic school in Chicago at Holy Name of Mary, as well as its parish hall.

After retiring, Gallie served as an election judge (into his 80s), drove a school bus for disabled youngsters and participated in the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategies (CAPS) program. It wasn't enough to cut his own grass; if the lawnmower was running, half the block got trimmed.

When his wife of 52 years suffered a final illness, he was at her side. Gallie is survived by their daughter, Rosalyn Wamble, a grandson, Michael Wamble of Newport News, Va., and many relatives and friends.

Wamble is a former Catholic New World staffer.