JOHNSTON, Iowa – Sister Lucille Feehan (Mary Robert), CHM, 83, a former cook and domestic worker, died Aug. 4 at Bishop Drumm Care Center.
Mary Lucille Feehan was born Feb. 5, 1937, in Melrose to Robert and Mildred Scieszinski Feehan. She entered the Congregation of the Humility of Mary in 1955 and professed vows in 1958.
She received a certificate from the American Institute of Business in 1971, and attended formal cooking classes in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Sister Feehan served as a cook at Ottumwa Heights College in Ottumwa, a domestic worker at Our Lady of Lourdes convent in Bettendorf and at St. Vincent Home in Davenport where she also cared for children. She was a secretary for St. Pius X School in Urbandale and St. Albert School in Council Bluffs. She returned to domestic service at St. Patrick Parish in Imogene and St. Anthony convent in Des Moines and then served as a dietary technician at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines. Sister retired in 1999 to care for her mother.
In her retirement, Sister Feehan served in a ministry of prayer, witness and service in Melrose.
Sister is remembered fondly for her love of sewing, her generosity and her Irish humor; admittedly, her laughter got her into trouble from time to time. Reflecting on the ups and downs of religious life, Sister Feehan declared that “it takes both the thorn and the blossom to make a beautiful rose.”
Visitation was held Aug. 11 and a family-only funeral on Aug. 12 at St. Patrick Church-Melrose. Burial will be at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Melrose. A private rosary and Mass will take place at the Humility of Mary Center Magnificat Chapel, Davenport.
Memorials may be made to the Congregation of the Humility of Mary.