Sr. Rosemary Meyer SSCM

Sr. Rosemary Meyer, SSCM, also known as Sr. Louis Marie, age 100, passed away Thursday, March 26, 2015 at Presence Our Lady of Victory in Bourbonnais. Sr. Rosemary was born June 15, 1914 in Elmwood, Indiana, the daughter of William P. & Mabel Broderick Meyer. The oldest, she had 2 sisters and one brother. Soon after her fourth birthday, the family moved to Danville, where she began her Catholic education. Sr. Rosemary’s mother passed away when she was in the 6th grade. Her father later married her step-mother, Maude Rucker. Sr. Rosemary was a 1928 graduate of St. Patrick School in Danville. She graduated from Holy Family Academy in Beaverville in 1932. She received a Bachelors in English in 1951 from Mt. Mary College in Milwaukee, WI. She graduated from Loyola University, Chicago, in 1956 with a Masters in Education. Sr. Rosemary was a teacher for many years and was missioned at the following locations from 1934-1968: Holy Family Academy, Beaverville; St. Gall School, Chicago; St. Peter School, Geneva; St. Patrick Community, Momence; Our Lady Academy, Manteno. From 1968-1982, Sr. Rosemary was a member of St. Mary’s Community, Kankakee, where she established the Martin Lutheran King Center in Kankakee in 1968. This center was famed for helping some 2,000 adults successfully pass the General Education Development exams from 1968-1975. From 1968-1975, she was co-founder, principal, administrator, and a teacher at the Martin Luther King Center. From 1976-1978, she opened the reading lab and was the GED instructor at the Kankakee City Detention Center. When it was time to retire from teaching, it led her to Presence St. Mary’s Hospital, where she served in pastoral ministry and helped to enrich the education department. Sr. Rosemary retired in 1988. She would have celebrated her 80th Jubilee in August of this year. Surviving are several nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents, William & Mabel Meyer; her step-mother, Maude Rucker Meyer; two sisters; one brother; 3 step-brothers; and 1 step-sister. Visitation will be held 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 29, 2015 at St. Mary’s Hospital Chapel in Kankakee with a Wake Service at 6:00 p.m. Her funeral Mass will be celebrated in the Chapel at 10:00 a.m. Monday, March 30, 2015. Interment will follow at St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Beaverville. Arrangements by Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home, Bourbonnais.

Sr. Rosemary Meyer SSCM

June 15, 1914 - March 26, 2015