Obituary of Sr. O.S.B.

Sr. Bernardine (Rose) Dukacz, O.S.B. On Tuesday, March 17, 2009, Sr. Bernardine Dukacz died peacefully at St. Joseph's following a brief stay at Seven Oaks Hospital. She was in her 67th year of monastic profession. Sr. Bernardine was born on September 15, 1925 in Lukawiec, Poland to Joseph and Anne (Sopel) Dukacz. She came to Canada in 1930 at the age of five with her mother and two sisters, Katie and Sophie to join their father who had emigrated two years earlier to take up homesteading at Model Farm, north of Kelliher, Saskatchewan. Sr. Bernardine was the second oldest of 11 children, three boys and eight girls. She entered the Sisters of St. Benedict in Arborg Manitoba on August 5, 1940 and made her monastic profession on August 19, 1942. Her younger sister Sophie followed in her footsteps, entering the Sisters of St. Benedict in 1943 and was given the name Sr. Michael. Sr. Bernardine was a prayer-filled, joyful woman with deep faith and a spirit of Benedictine hospitality. She had the proverbial green thumb and could be seen tending a variety of house plants in every nook and corner she could find in the monastery as well as the flower beds in the summer months. During her many years of monastic life she ministered mainly in bedside nursing and Central Supply Room at the Johnson Memorial Hospital, Gimli, Winnipegosis General Hospital, Winnipegosis and St. Benedict's Manor, Arborg, Manitoba. Upon her retirement in 1990, she volunteered at St. Joseph's Residence till June of 2004 assisting in the Chapel, serving as Eucharistic minister, praying at the bedside of residents especially at the time of their death, tending chapel plants and portering residents to meals and chapel services. She was a very giving person and was loved by all. Sr. Bernardine was predeceased by her parents Joseph and Anne (Sopel) Dukacz, her sisters Katie and Sophie (Sr. Michael, OSB) and brothers John and Stanley. She is survived by her sisters Mary (Joe) Grebinski and Bernice Sciog, Surrey, BC, Ella Faye and Pauline (Wally) Prystia, Yorkton, SK, Carol (Ray) Milo, Weyburn, SK, and brother Andrew of Salmon Arm, BC, numerous nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, members of her Religious Community and her numerous friends, especially those of the Intercessory Prayer Group. The Vigil Service will be held on Friday, March 20, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. at St. Benedict's Monastery Chapel, presided by Sr. Virginia Evard, Prioress. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, March 21, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. presided by Msgr. Louis McCloskey at St. Benedict's Monastery Chapel with interment following in the Monastery Cemetery. Flowers are gratefully declined. Should family and friends so desire, donations may be made in Sr. Bernardine's memory to St. Benedict's Foundation Inc., 225 Masters Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R4A 2A1. The Sisters wish to express their gratitude to Dr. B. Gorski and the staff members at St. Benedict's Health Centre, St. Joseph's Residence and Seven Oaks General Hospital for their loving and dedicated care of Sr. Bernardine. May she rest in peace. CROPO Chapel 586-8044