CLINTON — The Sisters of St. Francis of Clinton honored six Sisters on July 20 at a Mass celebrated by Bishop Martin Amos. The Sisters marked anniversaries of religious life by renewing their vows at Prince of Peace Catholic Church.
60 years
Sister Jane McCarthy spent most of her active ministry in teaching and parish work. A native of Clinton, she attended St. Mary Grade School and Mount St. Clare Academy. In 1953 she entered The Sisters of St. Francis at Mount St. Clare Convent. She attended Mount St. Clare College, received a B.A. in mathematics at the University of Iowa and an M.S. in mathematics from the University of Notre Dame.
Sr. McCarthy taught mostly junior high and high school at Sacred Heart School, Mount St. Clare Academy, and Mater Dei High School, all in Clinton; St. Patrick in Rochelle, and St. Francis de Paula in Chicago, Ill.; St. Margaret’s in Chino and St. Catherine’s in Riverside, Calif.; St. Ann’s in Lexington, Neb.; St. Justin Martyr in St. Louis, and St. Rita’s in Cameron, Mo. She also taught at Mount St. Clare College and was academic dean and financial aid officer.
Sr. McCarthy has served as pastoral associate at St. Francis de Paula in Chicago and St. James in Maywood, Ill.; St. James in Washington, and at Prince of Peace, Clinton. She studied Spanish in the Chicago Archdiocese and San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico, Sr. McCarthy has served the Hispanic communities in Maywood, Washington and Clinton.
She currently lives at The Canticle and serves Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Latino Ministry.
Sister Ann Martinek has spent most of her active ministry teaching and working for parishes. Sr. Martinek was born in Fort Atkinson, Iowa, and entered Sisters of St. Francis at Mount St. Clare Convent in 1953. She received a B.A. in art from George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, Tenn., and an M.Ed. in administration and supervision from Loyola University, Chicago.
She has taught at St. Rita in Cameron, Mo.; St. Ann’s, Toluca, St. Francis de Paula, Chicago, and St. Gerald’s, Oak Lawn, all in Illinois. She was principal of St. Paul’s in Macomb, Ill.; Sacred Heart in Clinton, and St. Justin Martyr in St. Louis. Sr. Martinek lives and works in St. Louis as the pastoral associate at St. John Bosco Parish.
50 years
Sister Ruth E. Westmoreland has spent her ministry in education, helping troubled children and caring for the homeless. She was born in Fort Dodge and entered the Sisters of St. Francis on Sept. 8, 1963. She earned her associate’s degree from Mount St. Clare College and a B.A. in elementary education from Marycrest College. She also received a master’s degree in education from Texas A&M University.
For 18 years, Sr. Westmoreland taught in Clinton and in El Cajon, Calif., and served as academic dean and vice president at Mount St. Clare College. She later worked to raise money for troubled children at Ennis Boysville of Michigan for about 14 years, and then worked with the homeless for 11 years at Catholic Charities in the Joliet Diocese. The past five years she has spent helping the homeless at Café on Vine in Davenport. She lives and works in Davenport as the coordinator at Café on Vine.
Sister Joyce Zarnik spent most of her ministry teaching. She was born in Chicago and entered Sisters of St. Francis in September 1963. She received an A.A. from Mount St. Clare College, a B.A. in education from Marycrest College and an M.A. in education from University of Northern Iowa.
Sr. Zarnik taught elementary grades at St. John’s School in Placid, Iowa; St. Paul’s School in Macomb, Ill.; St. Patrick’s School in Clinton and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Fonda, Iowa; St. Catherine in Riverside, Calif.; St. Clare of Montefalco School and Our Lady of the Snows School in Chicago. She is currently living and working in the Chicago area as administrative assistant at Medical Missionaries of Mary, Inc.
Sister Jeanne d’Arc Untz was born in Libertyville, Ill., and entered Sisters of St. Francis Sept. 8, 1963. She spent most of her ministry in teaching and in speech pathology. She earned a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology from Northern Illinois University, and a master’s degree in speech pathology from Marquette University, Milwaukee.
Sr. Untz taught in Clinton; El Cajon, Calif.; and Rochelle, Ill. She was associate director and speech pathologist at Mount St. Clare Speech and Hearing Center in Clinton until the center closed in 2012. She lives at The Canticle and is involved in prayer ministry, especially for those who have cancer.
Sister Eileen Golby spent most of her ministry teaching and working in parishes. She was born in Neponsat, Ill., and entered Sisters of St. Francis on Sept. 8, 1963. She received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Marycrest College and a master’s degree in private school administration from the University of San Francisco.
Sr. Golby spent many years teaching and as a principal in Chicago Heights, Ill.; Perry, Iowa; and El Cajon and Chino, Calif. She served five years as campus minister for the Eastern Kentucky University Newman Center in Richmond, Ky., and 16 years as pastoral associate for St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Lexington, Ky. She lives at The Canticle and serves the Sisters of St. Francis as vice president of the general leadership team and as canonical treasurer.
In honor of the jubilarians, a collection was taken during the Mass to benefit Chulucanas, Peru. Chulucanas is the sister parish of Prince of Peace Parish. The Sisters of St. Francis have ministered in the Diocese of Peru since 1965 in primary education, diocesan, pastoral and administrative work.