Dominican Sister of Peace Philomena (Irene Marie) Hrencher (95) died at the Great Bend Motherhouse in Great Bend, KS, on Friday, September 14.
Sr. Philomena was born in 1923 in Sharon, KS, to Josephine Eck and Joseph Hrencher. She spent most of her 77 years of religious life in the Sunflower State, serving God’s people in education and medical ministries.
Sister entered the Congregation in 1937, and worked as a teacher in a number of Kansas cities. She taught on a provisional certificate, attending summer classes every year until she was able to earn a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Mary College in Xavier, KS, in 1964.
Sr. Philomena enjoyed her 12 years in the classroom, but she found her ministry in health care even more rewarding. She began this ministry in 1964, working as the Office Manager and Chief Accountant (and playing the organ) at St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City, KS. She loved the work so much that she returned to school at St. Louis University to earn her Master’s Degree in Hospital Administration.
She went on to serve as the Coordinator of four of the Congregation’s founded hospitals, and was later named President and CEO of the Central Kansas Medical Center. She also served the Congregation as a member of the Executive Council from 1967-1969 and 1974-1978.
In her later years, Sister Philomena served her Congregation as the Assistant Treasurer at St. Rose. She also served as a sacristan, and ministered in other forms of community service.
In her homily at Sister’s funeral service, Sister Renee Dreiling shared many fond memories of Sr. Philomena – from her peaceful, prayerful manner, to her kindness to the Sisters in the Infirmary and their families, to her great love of the baseball and her Kansas City Royals – and of her love for her siblings and her family.
Sister Philomena Hrencher was preceded in death by her parents and several of her siblings. She is survived by her Dominican Sisters of Peace religious community and one sister, Claudine Meng, Severy, KS.
A Vigil of Remembrance Service was held at the Dominican Chapel of the Plains in Great Bend, KS, on September 16, 2018. A wake was held on Tuesday, September 18, 2018, followed by the Liturgy of Christian Burial, presided over by Father Robert Schremmer. Sister Philomena is interred in the Sisters’ Resurrection Cemetery in Great Bend, KS.
Gifts in Sr. Philomena’s memory may be sent to:
Dominican Sisters of Peace
Office of Mission Advancement
2320 Airport Dr. Columbus, OH 43219
or submitted securely at oppeace.org
To download a printable copy of this memorial, please click here.