Mourning the Deaths of Franciscans – July 2020

HNP Communications Franciscan World

The Provincial Office staff has learned of the recent passing of two members of English-speaking Conference provinces, as well as seven Franciscan sisters.

David Typek, OFM, a member of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Province, died on July 4 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was 94. The western Pennsylvania native served as a barber, gardener, sandal maker, and Franciscan Crown Rosary creator during the course of 70 years as a professed friar. When stationed in Burlington in the early 1990s, he was known for making apple cider from scratch, a talent that was featured in a report by a Milwaukee TV news network.

Richard Duffy, OFM, a member of Most Sacred Heart Province, died on July 10 at the age of 90 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. His life as a Franciscan friar was devoted to missionary work in Uganda and Brazil, with a portion of more than five decades spent in leadership roles. In 2013, because of poor health, the Minnesota native returned to the United States, where he lived in retirement at St. Maximilian Kolbe Friary in Texas and Blessed Giles Friary in Wisconsin.

Sr. Bernadette Quinn, OSC, a member of the Poor Clares community at the Monastery of St. Clare in Wappingers Falls, New York, died on June 7 at the age of 84. Born and raised in the Bronx, N.Y., she joined the Poor Clares after high school graduation. Bernadette went on to serve as abbess for two consecutive 12-year terms. Her religious life was filled with humility and service to others. She was well-known to Holy Name Province friars and her own community for her loyal friendship, sound advice, goodness, compassion, and understanding. Guided by her self-maxim, “Truth and love in everything,” her actions and sincere piousness inspired those whose lives she touched, according to the Poor Clares Sisters.

Six members of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia also died recently:

Sr. Aletta Dorothy Donahue, OSF, a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for 71 years, died on June 11 in Aston, Pennsylvania. Formerly Sister Charles Francis, the Trenton, New Jersey, native was 97 years old.  She served for 67 years as a teacher in Catholic schools in Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. She moved to the retirement house in Aston in 2015, serving in prayer and hospitality ministry until her death.

Sr. Annette Lucchese, OSF, died on June 13 in Ringwood, New Jersey, at the age of 78.  In 1960, she joined the Franciscan Sisters of Ringwood, a congregation that later merged with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. The Brooklyn, New York, native spent nearly five-and-a-half decades in education ministries as a teacher, assistant principal and principal at Catholic schools in New Jersey and New York. She also served as superior of the Ringwood congregation and as coordinator of its retreat center.

Sr. Mary Hugh Black, OSF, died on June 21 at Assisi House, the congregation’s retirement facility in Aston. The Philadelphia native was 94. A professed member of the congregation for 66 years, her religious life focused on education ministry – which included six decades as a teacher on the elementary and secondary levels at 14 Catholic schools in and around the greater Philadelphia area, as well as in Allenton, Pennsylvania, and Wilmington, Delaware.

Sr. Frances Marie Calhoun, OSF, died on June 29 at Riddle Memorial Hospital in Media, Pennsylvania, at the age of 93. The Klamath Falls, Oregon, native would have celebrated her 70th jubilee this year. Her profession of first vows in 1950 began decades of service as a high school teacher at a dozen schools in Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington, and San Diego, California. She also served in nursing care, administrative service, and other ministry work.

Sr. Patricia Kidd, OSF, died on June 30 at Assisi House in Aston. She was 83. A native of Dublin, Ireland, she ministered primarily in education and social work during her 63 years as a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis. She worked as a counselor and teacher at parishes, ministries, counseling centers, and missions in Dublin, Oregon, Wyoming, and Alaska. She also served as formation director for the congregation.

Sr. Anne Miller, OSF, formerly Sr. Mary William, died on July 1 at Assisi House at the age of 90.  The Philadelphia native was a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis for 69 years – of which she ministered for nearly five decades in the archdiocese of her home town as a teacher at four high schools, and as a college professor at Neumann University and Villanova University. She also taught in Catholic high schools in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. She served on the congregation’s leadership team and volunteered in its foundation office and retirement house.

Editor’s note: Each month, HNP Today publishes news of the deaths of Franciscan brothers, priests, and sisters. Information should be emailed to the HNP Communications Office.

– Compiled by Jocelyn Thomas

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