Adele Krzmarzick

Mankato Mortuary
1001 N. Riverfront Drive
Mankato, MN 56001
507-388-2202

Our beloved Sister Adele Krzmarzick, 72, died very unexpectedly early Saturday morning, June 2, 2012, in Isidore Hall, Our Lady of Good Counsel Campus, Mankato, Minnesota. She had been planning to travel to St. Paul that morning to celebrate her birthday with her sisters, but did not appear at the appointed time for her ride. She was found in her room in the early stages of preparation for the day.

The funeral Mass for Sister Adele, with Father Eugene Stenzel as presider, will be at 10:30 a.m., Friday, June 8, in Good Counsel Chapel. The vigil service will be at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 7. Sister Adele had requested that her body be cremated immediately after death; her cremains will be buried in our cemetery following the Mass on Friday. We extend our sympathy to her six sisters: Pat (Jim) McNamara, Mary Jo Krzmarzick, Michelle Schepers (David Stoss), Cheryl Krzmarzick, Kathy (Gary) Brown, and Ann (David) Molitor, her nieces and nephews and their families, her former students and colleagues, and her sisters in community, the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jerome and Adele (Schroepfer) Krzmarzick.

Sister Adele, the oldest of seven girls, was born in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, on May 25, 1940. At her Baptism in St. Mary's Church on June 2, she was given the name Adele Kathryn. Shortly afterwards, the family moved to the Midway area of St. Paul and eventually became members of Holy Childhood Parish which opened in 1946. Adele recounted her introduction to school: "My first remembered adjustment is my timid and rather unwilling entrance into kindergarten at the public school. By the second grade my timidity had disappeared, however, and I happily and enthusiastically found myself in a "Sisters' School!' That year (1947) the Notre Dame Sisters opened the mission at Holy Childhood and thus was fulfilled my childhood dream of attending a school taught by sisters, whom I held in my mind as my ideals." The first few months at Holy Childhood were an educational adventure for both teachers and students. The school building was not completed, so classes were initially held in the parish dining hall at the State Fairgrounds, and then in various makeshift rooms on parish property. Adele's second grade class met only in the afternoon until December, when the school building was ready for occupancy.

Adele traced her vocation to her First Holy Communion on the feast of the Presentation of Mary in 1948. She wrote, "Already then a faint spark of the desire to enter Mary's Congregation was being kindled." At the time of her eighth grade graduation in 1954, Adele wanted to enter the aspiranture at Good Counsel Academy in Mankato, but was unable to do so. She enrolled in St. Agnes High School instead and experienced "four busy, happy years of true education for God and for country." However, her desire to be a sister "faded more and more into the background amid the hustle and bustle of modern teen-age life. But the grace of God, together with the Christian ideals taught at St. Agnes and the inspiration of the lives of the sisters as religious teachers and women, kept the spark from dying out." Adele graduated as valedictorian of her senior class in 1958 and entered the candidature in August of that year. Following a year of college courses at the Mankato Campus of Mount Mary College, she was received into the novitiate in July 1959 and given the name Sister Mary Jeremy. She later returned to her baptismal name.

After profession of first vows in 1960, Sister Mary Jeremy resumed college classes in Mankato for one year. In 1961, she and a classmate continued their education at Notre Dame College on the grounds of the St. Louis motherhouse. She graduated magna cum laude in 1962 with a degree in secondary math education. Her first teaching assignment was Good Counsel Academy (1962-64), followed by four years at St. Ann's High School, Wabasso, Minnesota. During the 1968-69 academic year, she earned an MA in math education at the University of Illinois in Urbana. She continued teaching math, first at Good Counsel and then at Don Bosco High School, Gilbertville, Iowa. In the mid-1970s, she assisted in the Personal Enrichment Program (PEP) for retired sisters at Good Counsel, helping Sister Mary Martin Tobias with various clerical tasks. She also taught part-time at Good Counsel Academy until it closed in 1980. Following a year of part-time teaching at Emmons Central High Scool in Strasburg, North Dakota, she returned to Good Counsel, where she worked for several years in the telephone office. In 1988, she attended Rasmussen Business College in Mankato, earning a certificate in office specialties. She continued to give community service at Good Counsel until the early 1990s, when she moved to Northeast Minneapolis where she tutored at Menlo Alternative School. She also served as a companion to the disabled for a number of years.

Sister Adele moved to St. Paul in 2001. She became a volunteer at Notre Dame Center, the SSND hospitality house, and was invited by Sister Mary Martin to help out at the nearby St. Mary's Home. She assisted in a variety of ways including serving as a resident escort to various activities, visiting with residents and lectoring at the daily liturgical celebrations. Her gentle ways made her a favorite of the residents. During this time, Sister Adele, an avid reader, also assisted Sister Jeanne Wingenter in the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) office by reading and summarizing magazine articles and cataloging books. A life-long learner, she took advantage of classes offered by the University of St. Thomas to senior citizens.

Sister Adele came to Good Counsel in May 2011. Her friend, Sister Mary Butzer, wrote to her at that time, "A new adventure with an old twist awaits you. Familiar surroundings with many memories, yet a new situation is waiting. As you begin a new path on your journey, remember all the blessings of your personality. . . . Your patience, your cute giggle, your generosity, your eagerness for new ventures, your devotion to your family and friends, your acceptance of what life hands you, your willingness to drop everything and do a fun thing " all these are going to be there for you." In her year on the Hill, Sister Adele volunteered in several ways. She helped with Notre Dame Hall activities, distributed print copies of daily announcements, and had just begun sorting mail. She also helped out with special volunteer projects such as stuffing and addressing envelopes. She continued to read and enjoyed playing cribbage. She also enjoyed visits with her six sisters and other family members. Sisters on the Hill commented that she always greeted them by name.

Sister Adele died on her baptismal day. Seventy-two years ago, these words were prayed for her: "Satisfy her with the bread of heaven so that she may be forever fervent in spirit, joyful in hope, and zealous in your service. We ask you, Lord, to lead her to the waters in which she will be born again, so that she may obtain the unending rewards which you have promised." Her sudden death left both her family and her community in shock and grief. It is our prayer, too, that she may have the "unending rewards" promised to her on the day of her baptism.
Sister Mary Kay Ash, SSND