DAVENPORT — Sister M. Lois Joseph Baniewicz, O.Carm, 82, died April 12 at the Kahl Home Convent.
Sister Baniewicz was born Dec. 14, 1943 in Chicago, the second of three daughters born to Casimir and Violet (Weetman) Baniewicz. Sister Baniewicz volunteered at a nursing home run by the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm. She later attended a Come and See event for the Carmelites and decided to enter the religious community on Sept. 7, 1961, in Germantown, New York. She took her final vows on Dec. 8, 1969.
Sister Baniewicz’s first mission was at the Kahl Home in Davenport. While there, she graduated from St. Anthony nursing school in Rock Island, Illinois, and received her master’s degree in religious studies from St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia.
She has served in Joliet, Illinois; Columbus, Ohio; Trumbull, Connecticut; and the Bronx, New York. She served as the novice director for her community for 14 years. Sister Baniewicz has served at the Kahl Home four times — from 1964-67, 1971-81, 1991-96 and 2006-2026. She has served at the Kahl as director of nursing, administrator and now as director of mission integration — which ensures lay administration and staff live out the Carmelite mission throughout the facility.
Her funeral was held April 15 at the Kahl Home Chapel. Burial followed at Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Davenport.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm.
