Sr. Madeleine LaMarre

Sister Madeleine LaMarre CND (Mother St. Madeleine of Mary), 86, of Kankakee, died Sunday (July 11, 2010) at the Sisters' Infirmary of Provena St. Mary's Hospital. Visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, with a 3 p.m. wake service, at the Clancy-Gernon Funeral Home in Bourbonnais, and from 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Kankakee, until the 11 a.m. celebration of the funeral Mass. Burial will be in Maternity BVM Cemetery, Bourbonnais. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Congregation of Notre Dame or to Bishop McNamara Catholic High School. She was born March 2, 1924, in Bourbonnais, one of six children of William LaMarre and Marie Louise Brosseau LaMarre. She attended Notre Dame Convent elementary and high school, graduating in 1941. She entered the novitiate of the Congregation of Notre Dame in 1942 and pronounced her first vows Aug. 23, 1944. Profession of her final vows was Aug. 10, 1950. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Notre Dame College of Staten Island, N.Y., and a Master of Arts degree in library science from Rosary College in River Forest in 1971. She taught at the elementary school level at Notre Dame School in Chicago, and St. Rose of Lima Grade School and St. Martin of Tours School in Kankakee. She taught mathematics, science and religion at the high school level at St. Louis Academy in Chicago, Stamford Catholic High School in Stamford, Conn., Waterbury Catholic High School in Waterbury, Conn., St. Joseph Seminary High School and Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee. She was librarian at Notre Dame High School in Schenectady, N.Y. For 39 years, she has served the students and alumni of Bishop McNamara, as teacher, librarian, and later in the alumni department of the Development Office, where she was a major force in organizing the alumni. In addition to her responsibilities as librarian, she also served as the religious education coordinator for St. Stanislaus Parish in Kankakee. In October 2009, she was inducted into the Hammes Hall of Fame at Bishop McNamara. She was noted for her ability to remember the names of all she encountered (as well as their family connections), for her interest in their lives, and for her wit and humor. Surviving are one brother and sister-in-law, Francis "Zip" and Patricia LaMarre of Kankakee; two nephews, Thomas McDonald of Cedar Lake, Ind., William (Robin) LaMarre of Lancaster, Ohio; one niece, Joan McDonald Gilgallon of Munster, Ind.; and numerous cousins. She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters, Pauline (Sr. St. Mary of Mercy CND) and Genevieve LaMarre McDonald; two brothers, Joseph LaMarre and Brother Gerard LaMarre CSV; and one nephew, Paul McDonald.

Sr. Madeleine LaMarre

March 2, 1924 - July 11, 2010