Sister Rosemary Micka (formerly Sister Mary Bernard)

Visitation:
Wednesday, May 23 from 4-8 p.m.,  Staten-Fine Funeral Home - Alton, IL
Prayer Service at 7 p.m.

Resurrection Service:  
Thursday, May 24 at 10 a.m., St. Mary's Catholic Church - Alton, IL
Interment at Calvary Cemetery - St. Louis.

We commend to your charity the soul of our beloved
Sister Rosemary Micka (formerly Sister Mary Bernard)
Who departed this life on May 20, 2018
In the seventy-sixth year of her religious life
Age: 98 years, 4 days

Sister Rosemary Micka, just four days after her 98th birthday, heard the Beloved’s call, and entered into eternity. Many of her Sisters had visited in the days of her final journey to wish her blessings and thank her for wonderful years of ministry and community life.

Rosemary Micka, native of St. Louis, MO, followed two brothers and four sisters into religious life in 1942, at 22 years of age. She was the tenth of eleven children of Catherine Esswein and Frank Micka. She attributed her vocation to the example of her parents and the strong Christian home they provided. After high school, Rosemary went on to earn her BS and MS degrees in education from St. Louis University.

Sr. Rosemary spent 56 years in education, years as a teacher, principal and later a school secretary. She ministered in schools in St. Louis, Chicago, Jefferson City, and in Madison, Collinsville, and Venice in Illinois. She spent 26 of those years at Divine Providence School in Westchester, IL. No matter where she ministered, she was a beloved teacher and parishioners and students kept in touch with her over the years. She enjoyed teaching and working with children and young people. When Rosemary left teaching to “retire” and moved to St. Clare Villa in Alton, IL, joining our other Sisters there, she found her mission to make providence visible did not really change—only the people she encountered did. With the elderly in the assisted living facility, she listened to their stories and comforted them as they described their feelings of loss in giving up their long time homes and having to enter St. Clare Villa. In her ministry of care and prayer there, many residents found a warm smile and words of kindness in Sr. Rosemary. Never content to just sit around, she found different ways to contribute to the local community at the Villa. For years she prepared the monthly activity calendar, taught one of the food service workers how to read, kept the house account of our Sisters in residence there, and used her computer to make greeting cards used by the local Villa community.  Wherever she was, her great sense of humor and warm smile would lighten the world for those around her.

In community life, Sisters who lived with her in various convents found her to be a good mentor and companion, always willing to “roll up her sleeves, pitch in” and do whatever was necessary. She thought of herself as an introvert, but wherever Rosemary was, there was bound to be lots of laughter. She had a gift for knowing how to cheer people up, or simply be a “comforting presence” when needed. Sr. Rosemary had a deep interior life and believed that God was taking care of her every second of her life. In her 98 years of life, she modeled trust in providence to all of us. She was loyal to her family, to her community and to all her friends and will be missed greatly!  One of her favorite Scripture passages, “Come to me all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you” rings true now as she stands with her Provident God, refreshed and whole. She has now joined the ranks of our many Sisters who have gone before us—another pair of shoulders on which we stand—another voice to intercede for us with the Beloved. May she rest in peace!

Birthday: May 16
Sister Barbara McMullen

CLICK HERE to make a contribution in honor of Sister Rosemary's memory.