Sister Bernardine Bonczek
April 13, 2010
Sister Bernardine believed from the depths of her soul that life, people, students, places of ministry and the opportunities she received as a Franciscan Sister of Our Lady of Perpetual Help were all “beautiful.” She was a joyous person and always ready with a funny story or sincere compliment.
Born in St. Louis, the third of nine children of Polish immigrants Stanley and Margaret Bonczek, young Mary Margaret helped the Franciscan Sisters at St. Casimir’s on Saturdays, decorating the altars and cleaning vigil light stands. After completing grade school, Mary Margaret followed God’s call to religious life as a Franciscan Sister of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Her parents were elated and very proud of her vocation.
Her 60 years of ministry in education, teaching and serving as principal for 29 years, took her to a small town in Illinois where there were combined classes and boarding students, to the South when she taught science and math to 9th through 12th grade African-American students in a segregated school, to mining town students in West Virginia and Native-American students in New Mexico.
During her retirement years, she loved working with plants and was an avid reader. She also devoted many hours to what she called, “the story of my life.” She filled scrapbooks with pictures, quotes, stories on aging and health issues, and her own writings and illustrations. She enjoyed looking at them and also sharing her books with others. She prayed daily for all the people she met and the students she taught throughout her life.
Sister’s joyful spirit remained alive and evident even as her illness become more progressive. She called everyone her “honey buns.” Visitors remarked about the twinkle in her eyes. We have all been blessed by knowing and loving Sister Bernardine because she reflected to others the beauty she found in all of God’s creation.