Catherine Odelehr was one of six children born to Aloysius and Julia (Hill) Odelehr in St. Louis, Mo. After entering the Sisters of Divine Providence, while being prepared for her life as a vowed religious woman, Catherine also completed her high school education, followed by a bachelor of science in history and economics and a master’s degree in voice and music education. During her early years of study and ministry in education, Catherine was known as Sister Mary Aloysia, returning to her baptismal name in the years following Vatican II.
Joan Louise, daughter of the late Anna Campo and Herman Albaugh, with her brother Dean and sisters, Jackie and Rose, attended school at Sacred Heart in New Philadelphia, Ohio and St. Joseph’s High School in Dover, Ohio where she first met the Sisters of Divine Providence. At the age of five, her mother was killed in an auto accident and Joan and her siblings went to live with her Aunt Emma and Uncle Fino Gottardi who became the guardians of the four children. Though Joan had been dealt a difficult hand in life at an early age, she found great love and acceptance with her Aunt and Uncle. She also found it with the Sisters of Divine Providence who were her teachers.
Sister Mary Ann entered eternal life peacefully in the wee hours of the morning of Dec. 4th, the second Sunday of Advent and the feast day of St. Barbara. The Advent readings of the day capture her years of “giving comfort, of speaking tenderly to one’s heart.” Her God comforted her in this last journey, saying, “Do not fear, I am with you. Come home to Me.”
Named at birth Mary Dolores, Sister Anna Maria was the daughter of John and Mary Karrenbauer. She was one of eight children, having one sister and six brothers. Her sister Ruth came to visit her all the way from Oregon before her own recent call to eternal life. Sister Anna Maria was very close to family, especially her nieces and nephews and their children, her cousins, and many friends. A native of Mt. Oliver, nestled within the confines of Pittsburgh, Sister Anna Maria entered the community from St. Joseph parish on December 28, 1937.
Educated as a teacher and later as a principal, Sister Marion shared her love for children, faculty, staff and parents for 55 years in schools in the Pittsburgh Diocese except when in Michigan. She opened two schools – St. Sylvester School in 1948 and then Queen of Peace, Detroit, Mich., in 1950. She spent a total of 26 years at Providence Heights Alpha School. Retiring from teaching in 1986, Sister Marion spent the remaining years of her life in the ministry of prayer – much of it in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament “driving” her electric cart into the chapel to pray for her loved ones, the Congregation, and the needs of the world, or traveling down the first floor hall, quietly stopping at each office, praying for the person who worked there.
Barbara was the daughter of Peter and Barbara Biss who came from Czechoslovakia and made their home in Penn, Pa. She grew up with three sisters, Anne, Mary and Agnes and two brothers, Edward and Joseph. She was only ten years old when her father died. In 1931 she left her home and her five siblings to follow her heart’s call and joined others in giving her life to God with the Community of the Sisters of Divine Providence. As her commitment to God matured and deepened she moved through the stages of formation and professed her final vows on August 8, 1937.
Sister Mary Jane Kiley (Mary Carmen) was the oldest of the seven children of Edward Kiley and Mary Brandt. After entering the community in 1953 from St. Kilian Parish in Mars, Pa., she taught at the elementary school level, for over 30 years, in the Pittsburgh, Wheeling and Detroit Dioceses. Following her education career, she was an addictions counselor in the Pittsburgh, Pa., and Akron, Ohio, areas. Through her ministry, she came to experience and know that God truly is Love. She could honestly say “I recognized that there is nothing better than to be glad and to do well during life.”
Teresa Anne, the only child born to Herbert and Rose (Hyder) Holden, grew in her faith by her parents’ example as active parishioners and in her relationship with her cousin, Monsignor Raymond Hyder. Growing up in faith first in Quincy, Mass., and later in Dorchester, Mass., Teresa attended Catholic School through the eighth grade.
Sister Patricia said, “I always have a song in my heart, usually one or two lines from a psalm.” In her 1950 Entrance Recommendation Letter from the pastor of All Saints Parish in Etna, Pa., Fr. Francis Hoffmann must have agreed because he described Pat as “…from a good Catholic home, and should make a good additional member of you community. We recommend her very highly and feel she will live up to your hopes and expectations.”
Anna Grace Krise was born August 5, 1921 to the late William and Anna Marie in Duquesne, Pa. She and her sister, Dorothy, attended both public grade school and high school. Anna Grace entered the Sisters of Divine Providence in December of 1943. At her reception into the novitiate, she was given the name Sister Willemene in honor of her father. Sister Willemene began her nursing studies at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa., and, after two years, transferred to Catholic University, Washington, D.C., where she received her BS in Nursing Education in 1949. In 1971, she received a Master of Business Administration from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.
