Obituary of Sister M. Judith Kurry, OSF

Sister M. Judith Kurry, OSF

Sister M. Judith Kurry, OSF (1918 – 2018) died at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Village, Joliet, Illinois, on May 24, 2018.  Sister Judith was the second of eight children and the first daughter born to the late Mary (Sugar) and John Kurey.  She was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers: Michael, Joseph, Lawrence, Albert, Raymond and Robert, and her sister, Susan Pucalo. Sister Judith was a member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate for 82 years.

Sister Judith was a member of SS. Peter and Paul Parish in Chicago, Illinois and attended the Parish School. In June of 1936 she graduated from St. Francis Academy (now Joliet Catholic Academy).  She earned her Bachelor’s Degree at the College of St. Francis (now the University of St. Francis) in Joliet, Illinois and also a Certificate in Franciscan Studies and a Master’s Degree in Franciscan Studies from the Seraphic Institute at the College of St. Francis.  

Sister Judith began her life-long ministry in the field of education at St. Francis Xavier Parish teaching second grade from 1939 until 1942. Sister Judith taught in elementary schools from Grade 2 to Grade 8 in various parishes in Ohio and Illinois.  In Joliet, she taught grade 5 at St. Bernard School from 1952 to 1953; Grades 2, 3 and 4 at St. Jude School from 1955 to 1956; Grades 7 and 8 at St. John the Baptist School from 1960 to 1963; and Grades 7 and 8 at St. Raymond Cathedral from 1965 to 1973. She ministered as secretary at the Catholic School Office for the Diocese of Joliet from 1973 to 1974. In 1977 she began a ministry that encompassed 30 years of her religious life when she served as a teacher aide at the Franciscan Learning Center in Joliet, working with the pre-school children. Many times in her days at Our Lady of Angels where she lived, Sister Judith stated that she enjoyed all her years of teaching, but most especially her last thirty years at the Franciscan Learning Center. She commented on the joy the young children brought to her each day.

The wake for Sister Judith will be at Our Lady of Angels Retirement Home, 1201 Wyoming Avenue, Joliet, IL, (Wyoming and Rt. 30) on Thursday, May 31, 2018 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 Friday morning, June 1, 2018 at 9:00 a.m.  The Interment will take place at Resurrection Cemetery in Romeoville, IL.

Memorials may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate, 1433 Essington Road, Joliet, IL  60435.