Obituaries

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Give a donation in honor of Sister Jovita Winkel

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Sister Jovita Winkel, CSA, formerly Sister Eugene, died peacefully December 29, 2025, at SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Jovita was born March 1, 1934, in Marytown, Wisconsin, the oldest child of Arnold and Alma Casper Winkel. She grew up on the family farm with her brother and two sisters enjoying the beauty of nature and appreciating the connection between faith, church, and life that their parents instilled in them. Jovita graduated from St. Mary’s Grade School, Marytown, and attended high school at St. Mary’s Springs Academy, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Because there was no bus service between Marytown and the Springs, Jovita boarded with families in Fond du Lac helping to care for their children. All her life, she treasured her relationship with these families. After high school graduation, Jovita was employed by a local dentist. During this time, she began seriously discerning her life call. A retreat experience led her to make the decision to become a woman religious. She entered St. Agnes Convent January 20, 1956. She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Eugene on August 15, 1958, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Sister Jovita earned her BS in Elementary Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and an MS in Elementary Education from the University of St. Francis, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Along with these educational degrees, Sister continually enriched her skills as an educational leader and pastoral minister by participating in numerous workshops, seminars, and conferences throughout her years in active ministry. She spent her life serving as a teacher, principal, Director of Religious Education and Pastoral Minister earning distinguished honors for her achievements and her commitment. She was an active member of many boards and committees for the dioceses of Green Bay, Superior and Madison.

Her life in ministry began as an elementary teacher at St. Mary’s School, Fond du Lac, at St. Mary Help of Christians School, West Allis, Wisconsin, and at St. Mary’s School, Crown Point, Indiana. She then devoted many years serving in rural schools and parishes in Wisconsin beginning as a teacher, principal, and Director of Religious Education at SS. Peter and Paul School, Hortonville, and at Most Precious Blood School, New London. Following seven years of service to her CSA community as an Apostolic Councilor (1975-1982), Sister returned to parish ministry as the DRE for St. John-Sacred Heart Parish, St. John, Wisconsin. She was principal at St. Mary’s School in Stockbridge, Wisconsin (1986-1989). Once again called to leadership for her religious community, she served as a member of the CSA General Council (1989-1993). Upon completion of her leadership term, Sister Jovita spent fourteen years as a beloved DRE, Pastoral Associate and Parish Director in Northern Wisconsin for the combined parishes of Our Lady of Sorrows, Ladysmith; St. Anthony, Tony; and St. Mary, Hawkins. She served her final years in active ministry as the Pastoral Minister at St. Mary Help of Christians Parish in Briggsville, Wisconsin, beginning in 2007 until her move to Nazareth Court & Center, the CSA retirement center, Fond du Lac, in August 2021.

Sister Jovita will be remembered for her keen knowledge of local history and awareness of those related to her through family and friendships, for her love of the people she served, and for the way she stayed connected with them over the years. She always had a story to tell or a memory to share.

Sister Jovita was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Peter, and her brother-in-law Roger Heus.  

Sister is survived by her sisters Audry Heus and Sister Marilyn Winkel, CSA, her sister-in-law Lorraine Winkel, her nieces and nephews and their families, and by the Sisters of St. Agnes, with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.

Services for Sister Jovita will be held on Friday, January 9, 2026.

Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A Prayer Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. in Nazareth Center Chapel, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be at 2:00 p.m. at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Fr. Dennis Ryan presiding.

Burial will follow at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI 54937.

The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Winkel family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center and SSM Health St. Agnes Hospital ER, ICU, and 6th Floor South for their care of Sister Jovita.

Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.
 

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Give a donation in honor of Sister Marie Scott

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Sister Marie Scott, CSA, baptized Joan Marie, died peacefully October 30, 2025, at St. Francis Home, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Marie was born September 11, 1949, in Gary, Indiana, the daughter of Ruth Ann Scott. As an infant she was adopted by her grandparents, Richard and Elizabeth McGrath Scott. Their nine children became brothers and sisters to Marie and together they shared many happy childhood memories. Marie attended St. Mary’s Catholic Grade School and Crown Point High School, Crown Point, Indiana. Upon graduation from high school, she began working in the Metallurgical Laboratory at US Steel, Gary, Indiana, and earned a technician’s degree in metallurgy from Indiana University. During her nine years at US Steel, Marie belonged to one of the national chapters of NOW, the National Organization for Women. This group empowered her to initiate a collective class action lawsuit on behalf of women in several steel mills who faced discrimination and earned lower wages than male employees. She was instrumental in helping the women win the lawsuit, an achievement that Marie described as one of the highlights of her life. Following this effort, Marie received an Associate Degree in Religious Education from Calumet College of St. Joseph, Hammond, Indiana. She began serving as a volunteer at St. Mary’s Parish in Crown Point, teaching English as a second language to Vietnamese boat people. Her volunteer service led her to reconnect with her grade schoolteachers, the Sisters of St. Agnes, who encouraged her to consider religious life. The sisters invited her to join them for a summer mission experience working with children in Seboyeta, New Mexico, to see if she enjoyed working alongside sisters in ministry. This experience led Marie to enter St. Agnes Convent September 5, 1977. She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes on July 24, 1981, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Over her years in active ministry, Sister Marie earned a BS in Education, majoring in history and theology, from Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; an MA in US History from Fordham University, Bronx, NY; and an MA in Pastoral Ministry with a focus on pastoral counseling and spiritual direction from St. Francis Seminary, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She lived and served with joyful energy, creativity, and dedication first as a high school history and religion teacher at St. Mary’s Springs, Fond du Lac (1982-1983) and at Sacred Heart High School, Yonkers, New York (1983-1988). In 1988, she was appointed to the role of vocation director for CSA, a position she held until the summer of 1990 when she was named novice director for the congregation, serving in this role for ten years. While director of novices, she began ministering at Marian University, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (1991) teaching part-time in the history department. In 1997, she became the Director of Campus Ministry and Assistant Professor of History. She devoted twenty-seven years to Marian University retiring in 2018. She was beloved on the campus by students, faculty, and staff, serving as a spiritual guide and creating many opportunities for the Marian community to engage in social justice efforts and outreach to those in need. In 2018, Sister Marie was appointed as a CSA Regional Coordinator, ministering to the sisters across the United States. Sister Marie served on several committees for her CSA community and engaged in many social justice and peace initiatives. The CSA community gathers each Advent at St. Agnes Convent for the annual lighting of the Peace Tree, a tradition Sister Marie initiated in 1991 at the beginning of the Gulf War.

Beginning in 2020, health issues began to ravage her body. The many people with whom Sister shared life and ministry surrounded her with their presence and support. She was admitted to St. Francis Home in March 2023 and received loving care until the time of her death.

Sister Marie was preceded in death by her birth mother, Ruth Scott Crippen, her adoptive parents, her brothers Kenneth, Paul, James, and Buehl; her sisters Joan Cerovina, Lois (Richard) Thompson, and Faye (John) McLeod.

Sister is survived by her brothers Jerome Scott and Harry (Sheri) Crippen; her nieces, nephews, and their families and by the Sisters of St. Agnes, with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.

Cremation has taken place.

Services for Sister Marie will be held Tuesday, December 2, 2025.

Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A Prayer Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. in Nazareth Center Chapel, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be held at 1:30 p.m. at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Fr. Thomas Zelinski, OFM Cap., presiding.

Burial of cremains will follow, weather permitting, at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI 54937.

The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Scott family are grateful to the nurses and staff of St. Francis Home and Hospice Hope for their devoted care of Marie.

Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Sisters of the Congregation of St. Agnes.

 

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Give a donation in honor of Sister Cecile Marie Kees

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Sister Cecile Marie Kees, CSA, baptized Alfreda Veronica, died peacefully October 13, 2025, at St. Francis Home, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Alfreda was born in St. John, Wisconsin, on September 14, 1927, to Michael and Clara Popp Kees. Her father’s first wife, Theresa, died leaving three small children. Michael then married Clara and together they had ten girls and four boys creating a close-knit family of seventeen children. As a young child Alfreda thought about being a Sister yet quickly put such thoughts aside as she enjoyed life on the family farm. After eighth grade graduation she was hired by her uncle to do household chores for his wife who was ill. She was happy in this role until her mother died when she was fifteen. Alfreda returned home to help care for her eight younger siblings. While managing many family responsibilities, the desire she first experienced in childhood to be a Sister began to tug at her heart again. After much prayer and with the blessing of her father, she entered St. Agnes Convent on August 30, 1947. She attended St. Agnes High School graduating in 1950. She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Cecile Marie on August 15, 1952, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Sister earned a BS in Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; a master’s degree in elementary education from St. Francis College, Fort Wayne, Indiana; and a master’s degree in theology from St. Thomas University, Houston, Texas. She served in rural and urban settings as an elementary teacher, a coordinator of religious education and adult formation, and as a pastoral and social service outreach minister. Sister Cecile Marie’s heart for the poor and needy guided her ministerial commitments. She lived keenly aware of God’s presence directing her life and the lives of those she served.

Sister Cecile Marie taught in parish schools in New York, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Wisconsin (1952-1978). She then was assigned as Director of Religious Education for all ages at St. Jude Parish, Beloit, Wisconsin (1979-1984). From 1984-1986, Sister relished living and engaging in ministry at Unity House on the South Side of Chicago, a CSA sponsored neighborhood outreach center in the inner city. She also taught religion classes at Holy Angels Catholic School near Unity House. While at Unity House, Sister felt called to spend time with the Living Stones of Jesus, a charismatic religious community for single women and men founded by her sister, Sister Annacile Kees. She was granted permission to spend a year in prayer and discernment with this community to seek where God was calling her. After this year, Sister returned home to CSA firmly convinced of her call to be a Sister of St. Agnes. Following her return, she served as Director of Religious Education at SS. Peter and Paul Parish, Hortonville, Wisconsin, and then was assigned to be Assistant Coordinator at Nazareth Heights, the CSA retirement center in Fond du Lac. Sister’s final nine years in active ministry were spent serving in a variety of pastoral roles with Sister Jovita Winkel in the northern Wisconsin parish cluster of Our Lady of Sorrows, in Ladysmith, St. Anthony, in Tony, and St. Mary in Hawkins.

Sister chose to return to Fond du Lac in 2003, living at a local mission house and then at the CSA motherhouse while volunteering as a seamstress for the retired sisters at Nazareth Court & Center. In 2010, Sister became a resident at the retirement center, continuing to volunteer as she was able. She was loved for her caring, faith-filled presence among the sisters, the staff, and all the residents, especially those at St. Francis Home, where she lived her final days. Until she was called home, she reached out to touch others with the goodness of God in her own unique and beloved ways.

Sister Cecile Marie was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Adelbert, Herman, Joseph, and Leonard, her sisters Rita Mueller, Alvera Kees, Lillian Kees, Ruth Uitenbroek, Hildegard Kees, Sister Annacile Kees, Regina Brickner, and Sister Marie Kees, CSA.

Sister is survived by her brothers Martin and Michael (Christine) Kees, her sisters Dorothy (Roland) Brandt, and Ann (Charles) Peters; her nieces, nephews, their families and by the Sisters of St. Agnes, with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.

Services for Sister Cecile Marie will be held on Monday, October 20, 2025.

Visitation will be held from 9:00–11:00 a.m. and 12:00–1:30 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A Prayer Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. in Nazareth Center Chapel, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be at 2:00 p.m. at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Fr. Thomas Zelinski, OFM Cap., presiding.

Burial will take place at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, at a time to be determined following cremation.

Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI 54937.

The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Kees family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center, St. Francis Home, and Hospice Hope for their devoted care of Sister Cecile Marie.

Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Sisters of the Congregation of St. Agnes
 

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Give a donation in honor of Sister Anne Jude

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Sister Anne Jude Van Lanen, CSA, baptized as Rosanne Colette, died peacefully on October 7, 2025, at Nazareth Center, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Rosanne was born December 23, 1933, in Wrightstown, Wisconsin, the daughter of Frank and Catherine (Vander Heiden) Van Lanen. She grew up on her family farm with her eight brothers and sisters. After high school graduation in 1952, Rosanne attended St. Agnes School of Nursing, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, staffed by the Sisters of St. Agnes.  Inspired by the sisters, Rosanne chose to enter St. Agnes Convent on October 17, 1954. She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Anne Jude on August 15, 1957, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A graduate of St. Agnes School of Nursing in 1955, Sister Anne Jude received a BS in Nursing Education in 1958 from Marian College, Fond du Lac.  She began her life-long ministry in healthcare at St. Agnes Hospital, Fond du Lac, where she served as a head nurse and night supervisor (August 1955-December 1960).  Sister’s dream of being a missionary nurse came true in 1961 when she was assigned to serve at Clínica Santa Inés in Waspam, Nicaragua (1961-1970). Besides working in the clinic, she traveled the river to villages up and down the Río Coco providing medical, dental, and midwifery services. She also trained local health workers. 

When health issues caused Sister to return to the United States in October 1970, she took a position as a staff nurse, PM supervisor, and Home Care Nurse at St. Anthony Hospital, Hays, Kansas (July 1971-July 1973). In July 1973, Sister was elected to the General Council for the Congregation serving the community for four years in this position. She also served at various times in other congregational leadership roles, including Retirement Coordinator for CSA, Local Leader at St. Agnes Convent, and Local Coordinator at Nazareth Court & Center. 
Sister Anne Jude is honored in the Fond du Lac community as one of the founders of hospice care in the city. Beginning in 1977, when the hospice movement was still in its early stages in the United States, Sister traveled to England with Sister Mary Agreda Touchett to research hospice services being developed in that country. Upon their return, they worked with Peg Cerny, RN, other Fond du Lac healthcare providers, and community leaders to establish Agnesian HealthCare Hospice Hope. The program was approved by the State of Wisconsin in 1980.  Hospice began as a home visit program followed by the opening of the first inpatient hospice beds at St. Agnes Hospital in 1982. Sister served as a hospice nurse after its founding until 1990. 

In 1990 Sister returned to Nicaragua, living in Puerto Cabezas and assisting in the formation program for Latin American women entering the Congregation of St. Agnes, a role she held for six years. 

Upon her return to Fond du Lac, she was appointed Local Coordinator at Nazareth Court & Center (1998-2002). Her final years in healthcare ministry were devoted to serving as a chaplain for home hospice patients and those at Hospice Home of Hope. In May of 2018, Sister Anne Jude became a resident at Nazareth Court & Center where she engaged in the life of the community and received loving care until the time of her death. Sister Anne Jude expressed gratitude for her life in this way:

“Mine was a life enriched by all those with whom and to whom I had the privilege of ministering - as nurse - as Sister - in Nicaragua - in CSA community service - in religious life formation - as hospice nurse, chaplain, and volunteer. A life enriched by shared relationships and song—always singing!”

Sister was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers Rueben, Ralph, Norbert, Francis, William and Eugene; her sisters Colette Vandehey Nytes and Mary Nelessen Kessler; her niece Sister Kathleen Nelessen, CSA. 

She is survived by many nieces, nephews, extended family, and the Sisters of St. Agnes, with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.
Cremation has taken place. 

All services for Sister Anne Jude will be held on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

Visitation will be from 9:00–11:00 a.m. and from 12:00–1:30 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A Prayer Service will be offered at 11:00 a.m. in Nazareth Center Chapel.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for Sister at 2:00 p.m. at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin with Father Tom Zelinski presiding. Burial of cremains will follow at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54937.

The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Van Lanen family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center and Hospice Hope for their care of Sister Anne Jude.

Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.

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Give a donation in honor of Sister Paulette Shaw

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Sister Paulette Shaw CSA, baptized Marilyn Ann, died on September 3, 2025, at Nazareth Center, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.  

Marilyn was born July 27, 1935, in Columbus, Ohio, the second of thirteen children of Herschael Armstead and Mildred G. Lordier Shaw. Marilyn grew up with her six brothers and six sisters in Muncie, Indiana, and attended St. Lawrence Elementary School staffed by the Sisters of St. Agnes. Beginning in sixth grade, she felt a strong yearning to serve God and God’s people. She researched several congregations of women religious as her desire to be a sister became stronger. After her high school graduation in 1953, she chose to enter St. Agnes Convent. She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Paulette on August 15, 1956, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Although Sister Paulette began taking courses in education and natural studies at Marian College, she was soon asked by CSA to pursue a nursing program instead. She considered this request a true blessing which allowed her to work with adults throughout her life: doctors, nurses, and patients.  Sister received her nursing diploma from St. Agnes School of Nursing in 1959. She went on to complete her BS in Nursing Education and Health Sciences from Marian College in 1966, opening the way for her to serve both as a nurse and a nursing instructor in many settings throughout her years in active ministry.

While a student nurse, Sister Paulette worked at St. Agnes Hospital, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin (1956-1960).  She then served as a pediatric head nurse and nursing supervisor at St. Clare Hospital, Monroe, Wisconsin (1960-1965).  During her initial years of nursing, she volunteered to serve in the foreign missions of the congregation. Thinking she would not be chosen, she found fulfillment and joy serving at St. Clare Hospital in her various roles. Her request to serve in CSA’s foreign missions was granted in 1965 when she was assigned with three other nurses to Quito, Ecuador. Sister prepared for her new ministry by enrolling in language and cultural classes at the Intercultural Institute at the Catholic University in Ponce, Puerto Rico, followed by working for seven months at the Clínica Santa Inés in Waspam, Nicaragua.

Beginning in 1966, Sister lovingly served the people of Ecuador for six years in several roles: a nurse in rural clinics, a director of nursing for a Catholic hospital, a nursing consultant for the World Health Organization, and an instructor of nurses, aides, and medical technicians. She also was regularly invited to participate in the Bishops’ Conference of Ecuador and to interact with priests, religious, and laity from all parts of Latin America studying at the Instituto Pastoral de América Latina. Sister also served on several national and diocesan committees studying and implementing ways of evangelizing in a country with all its variations of climate and hundreds of ethnic groups.

Suffering from altitude sickness, Sister returned to the United States in 1972 to live and minister with her CSA Sisters in Arizona. She worked among the poor and vulnerable as a hospital nurse and as an outreach coordinator for the elderly. Beginning in 1976, she became a pastoral minister at St. Augustine Cathedral Parish in Tucson where she engaged in community organizing and in a variety of parish and outreach roles for twenty-eight years. After retiring from full-time ministry, Sister remained in Tucson and was active in volunteer ministries. She returned to Fond du Lac in 2015 to join her CSA sisters at Nazareth Court & Center while receiving loving care until the time of her death. Her yearnings from childhood to serve God and those in need were fulfilled through her missionary heart shared in a life of devoted service.

Sister Paulette was preceded in death by her parents; her brother James; her sisters Eva Mae Hunter, Nancy Doerner, and Virginia McGahey.

She is survived by her brothers Tony, Joseph, Mike (Marirose), Richard, and Phillip (Marla); her sisters Janice (Gary) Good, Dolores Shaw, and Paulette (James) Anderson; her sister-in-law, Diana Shaw; her nieces and nephews and their families, and the Sisters of St. Agnes with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.

All services for Sister Paulette will be held on Thursday, September 11, 2025.

Visitation will be from 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A Prayer Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. in Nazareth Center Chapel.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered for Sister Paulette at 2:00 p.m. at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Father Tom Zelinski presiding. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 54937.

The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Shaw family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center and Hospice Hope for their care of Sister Paulette.

Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.

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Give a donation in honor of Sister Carole Gurdak

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Download the booklet for the Mass of Christian Burial as a PDF.

Sister Carole Gurdak, CSA, formerly Sister Miriam Joseph, died peacefully September 1, 2025, at St. Francis Home, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Carole was born February 3, 1939, in Yonkers, New York, to Joseph and Catherine Farrell Gurdak. She grew up with her younger brother, Joseph, in Yonkers and attended Catholic grade school staffed by the Sisters of Charity.  She met the Sisters of St. Agnes while a student at Sacred Heart High School in Yonkers. In 1955, after her junior year at Sacred Heart, Carole entered St. Agnes Convent where she completed her high school education and began the formation process for religious life. She made her first profession of vows in the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes as Sister Miriam Joseph on August 15, 1958, in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Sister Carole earned a BS in Elementary Education from Marian College, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, and an MS in Educational Guidance from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Throughout her years as an educator, she enhanced her professional skills with additional credits and certificates in religious education; elementary administration; and instructional leadership, innovation, and individualized learning.  Sister Carole began her years as a teacher at St. Patrick School, Fond du Lac (1959), and then taught grades 1–8 in various parish schools in Wisconsin and New York.  She was both a teacher and principal at St. Peter Claver School, Sheboygan, Wisconsin (1970–1972) and at St. Mary Grade School, Fond du Lac (1972-1973). From 1973–1979, Sister was principal of the combined Saints Mary and Joseph Catholic School, Fond du Lac.

Sister was appointed Apostolic Councilor for her CSA community (1979–1982), doing personnel work among those sisters who staffed elementary schools outside of Wisconsin. She felt privileged to accompany the sisters and to work with pastors, especially during times of transition due to changes in the availability of sisters to continue ministering in a particular school.

Upon completion of this role, Sister Carole focused her ministry in the South, beginning in Mississippi and Alabama, serving in various parish settings as a teacher, a principal, and as the Curriculum Coordinator for the Catholic Schools Office of the Archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama. In 1995, Sister moved to Winter Haven, Florida, working as guidance counselor and assistant principal at St. Joseph School, while sharing responsibilities with her Capuchin brother for the care of their frail elderly parents who had retired to Winter Haven from New York.  After the death of her parents in 1998, Sister moved to New York City and taught 5th grade for three years at Our Lady of Sorrows School on the Lower Eastside of the city. Following this teaching assignment, she took classes in grant writing, did substitute teaching and parish ministry until asked to return to Fond du Lac to be part of the team of Local Coordinators caring for the retired sisters at Nazareth Court & Center, a role she held from 2003-2007.  

After a year of sabbatical, Sister returned to New York City where she accepted the position as Office Manager for a non-governmental organization at the United Nations. Retiring from this position, she volunteered as a receptionist at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Manhattan. Sister remained in Manhattan, living with her CSA sisters at The Leo House, until declining health necessitated her move back to Fond du Lac in August 2016. She received care at Nazareth Court & Center and St. Francis Home until the time of her death.

Reflecting upon her life, Sister Carole was deeply grateful for her many and varied opportunities to teach, to heal, and to serve others in need. They in turn enriched her life. She stated, “The challenges were many, but the blessings far greater.”

Preceding Sister Carole in death were her parents and her brother, Father Joseph Gurdak, OFM, Cap.

Sister is survived by her cousins, their families, and the Sisters of St. Agnes, with whom she lived, prayed, and ministered.

Cremation has taken place.

Services for Sister Carole will be held on Tuesday, October 7, 2025.

Visitation will be held from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. at Nazareth Court and Center, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

A Prayer Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. in Nazareth Center Chapel, 375 Gillett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

The Liturgy of Christian Burial will be offered at 2:00 p.m. at St. Francis Home Chapel, 33 Everett Street, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, with Father Thomas Zelinski, OFM, Cap., presiding.

Burial of cremains will follow at St. Joseph Springs Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Memorials may be directed to the CSA Mission Advancement Office, 320 County Road K, Fond du Lac, WI 54937.

The Sisters of St. Agnes and the Gurdak family are grateful to the nurses and staff of Nazareth Court and Center, St. Francis Home, and Hospice Hope for their devoted care of Sister Carole.

Zacherl Funeral Home is serving the Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes.