Dominican Sister of Peace Sister Catherine Burland, OP, 84, died at Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus, OH, on Thursday, July 12, 2018. She was born in 1934 in New Haven, CT, the older of Helen Kenny and Francis Burland’s two daughters.
Sr. Kay joined the Congregation of St. Mary of the Springs, now the Dominican Sisters of Peace, in 1953. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Education from the College of St. Mary of the Springs, now Ohio Dominican University.
Sr. Kay taught elementary school in New York, Michigan, and Ohio for twelve years, sharing her love of learning with children in their earliest years of school.
In 1968, Sr. Kay was the victim of a tragic shooting. This injury caused her severe pain and other afflictions that affected her for the rest of her life, but she continued to support her Congregation and the people of God to the best of her ability. She served as a Volunteer and in Support Services at the Columbus Motherhouse and St. George Hospital in Cincinnati, OH, as a librarian at St. Brendan School in Braddock, PA, and as a volunteer at the Dominican Learning Center and St. Stephen’s Community House.
She continued her volunteer work after moving to Mohun Hall in Columbus in 1982. Her favorite ministry during this time was serving as sacristan at the Motherhouse and Mohun Health Care Center. In her diligent and loving care of the vestments and sacred vessels of the Mass, she said she felt closer to God.
In a written memorial to her beloved aunt, her niece, Katie Renwaldt, admired Sr. Kay’s sense of style. Sr. Kay believed that tending to her appearance was one way to help reflect the beauty of God’s creation, and she showed a real sense of style. She was loved deeply by her family and returned that love joyfully.
Father Mike DeTemple, Chaplain at the Mohun Health Care Center, compared Sr. Kay’s service to her Congregation to the miracle of the loaves and fishes. “We can take what we have – however little it may seem and give thanks for God for it. Then we can distribute what we have to others and there will always be enough. I think this is what Kay did in her life. Despite her own adversity and the pain she suffered for much of her life, she was always looking for ways to serve others.”
Sr. Kay Burland was preceded in death by her parents, Edward and Helen Kenny Burland. She is survived by her sister, Frances Renwaldt and her nieces, Helen and Katie.
A Vigil of Remembrance was held on Wednesday, July 18, at the Dominican Sisters of Peace Motherhouse in Columbus, OH. The funeral liturgy was held at the Columbus Motherhouse on Thursday, July 19, followed by burial at St. Joseph Cemetery.
To download a printable copy of this memorial, please click here.
Memorial gifts in Sr. Kay’s memory may be submitted securely online or sent to:
Dominican Sisters of Peace
Office of Mission Advancement
2320 Airport Drive
Columbus, OH 43219