Willemene Krise, CDP

We commend to your charity the soul of our beloved
Sister Willemene Krise
who departed this life on Tuesday, October 19, 2010
in the sixty-seventh year of her religious life
Age:  89 years, 2 months, 14 days
Funeral:  Friday, October 22, 2010 at 3:30 p.m.

"The saints are happy in heaven because they followed Christ.  They rejoice with Him forever…”

These words from today’s Entrance Antiphon speak eloquently of the final passage of one who followed Christ in religious life for almost 67 years. As the Sisters quietly celebrated the Eucharist in the Mother of Divine Providence Chapel, Sister Willemene gently slipped into the eternal banquet, rejoicing with all the saints forever!

Anna Grace Krise was born August 5, 1921 to the late William and Anna Marie in Duquesne, Pa. She and her sister, Dorothy, attended both public grade school and high school. Anna Grace entered the Sisters of Divine Providence in December of 1943. At her reception into the novitiate, she was given the name Sister Willemene in honor of her father. Sister Willemene began her nursing studies at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pa., and, after two years, transferred to Catholic University, Washington, D.C., where she received her BS in Nursing Education in 1949. In 1971, she received a Master of Business Administration from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio. Responding to a call in health care services, Sister Willemene ministered in the greater Pittsburgh area, serving at Braddock General Hospital, Divine Providence Hospital and Cambridge Springs. She also spent one year at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Granite City, Ill.

For ten years, Sister Willemene was Executive Director of the Visiting Nursing Association for Clarion and Forest Counties. She lived in the town of Knox, Pa., and was well-known in this little community as THE Sister of Divine Providence. To this day, the folks of this area are still talking about her energy and leadership to make sure that those who were home-bound had the nursing services they needed. Her legacy lives on in the hearts and minds of many. After leaving her position with the VNA, she ministered for one year at Just-Inn in the Mt. Washington area of Pittsburgh -- a program providing housing for the elderly under the auspices of Christian Housing, Inc. The director of this program said this of Sister Willemene, “It is difficult for anybody to realize what you put into this work since it was pioneering and really a first of its kind around here. Being very much aware of what it meant to set up this building, your courage and fortitude is certainly admired and your spirit will remain at Just-Inn.” 

Still not ready to embrace full retirement, Sister Willemene, upon her moving to Providence Heights in 1989, offered her services as a driver and one of the collectors of fees in the dining room. She did this until her eye sight prohibited her.

Now able to see her Beloved God face-to-face, she rejoices in the words of today’s Communion verse, “…You will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.” May we, too, who follow Christ, rejoice in spirit with Sister Willemene and may she remember us and intercede for us as she rejoices at the table of the Lord.

Feast Day: July 13

SCS

If you would like to make a gift to the Sisters of Divine Providence in memory of Sister Willimene, visit our donation page.