Obituary of Rita Greene

Sr. Rita Greene, OSF (Alexander) Sister Rita Greene, OSF (1919 - 2013) died at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home, Joliet, Illinois on December 8, 2013. A native of Columbus, Ohio, she was one of nine children born to Michael and Helen (Scheiblich) Greene. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, Michael, James, Jerome and Joseph, her sisters: Helen Terrill, Lydia Greene and Luella Trumball and her two aunts who were also members of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, Sisters Evelyn and Lydia Scheiblich. She is survived by her sister, Patricia (William) Sorenson of Columbus, Ohio. Sister Rita was a treasured member of the Joliet Franciscans for 77 years. Before entering religious life, Sister Rita was a member of Holy Rosary Parish in Columbus, Ohio. She attended St. John the Evangelist Grade School and Rosary High School. She graduated from St. Francis Academy (now Joliet Catholic Academy) and earned a Bachelor of Arts at the College of St. Francis (University of St. Francis) in Joliet, IL, and a Master of Fine Arts from Catholic University in Washington, D.C. She did postgraduate work at the Art Institute of Chicago, Siena Heights College in Adrian, Michigan and the University of Florence in Italy. Sister Rita began her ministry in education in 1940 at St. Bernard School in Joliet where she taught kindergarten and grades 1 and 2. In 1944 she taught Kindergarten and grades 2 and 5 at Sacred Heart School in Winnetka, Illinois. In 1954 she began a 22 year ministry in the Art Department at the College of St. Francis in Joliet. Answering a request from the Bishop of Guam for teachers in the Catholic Schools there, she started the Art Department in Bishop Baumgartner School in 1976. She returned to the United Stated in 1979 and taught art at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Romeoville and became coordinator of the Art Program at the Franciscan Learning Center in Joliet. In 1981 she returned to Guam where she taught art and served as Director of the Media Center at Fr. Duenas Memorial High School in Agana until 2002. The wake for Sister Rita will be at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home, 1201 Wyoming Avenue, Joliet, Illinois, (Wyoming and Rt. 30) on Friday, December 13, 2013, from 2:00 - 6:45 p.m., with a Prayer Service at 4:45 p.m. and Mass of Christian Burial at 7:00 p.m. The Funeral Procession will leave from Our Lady of Angels on Saturday morning, December 14, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. The Interment will take place at Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville, Illinois. Memorials may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, 1433 Essington Road, Joliet, Illinois 60435. For more information: (815) 741-5500 or www.fredcdames.com