Dominican Sister of Peace Ancilla (Nora Augusta) Schawe, OP (100), died on March 25, 2022, at the Dominican Sisters of Peace Motherhouse in Great Bend, KS. She had recently celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family at the Motherhouse.
Sr. Ancilla was born to Herman and Catherine Heeke Schawe on March 3, 1922, in Windthorst, KS. She entered the Congregation in 1943, making Final Profession in 1945. She earned a diploma in Nursing from the St. Rose School of Nursing in Great Bend, a founded ministry of the Congregation.
Sr. Ancilla’s ministry was dedicated to health care. She served as a nurse, a supervisor, and an administrator at a number of Kansas hospitals, caring for the bodies and spirits of her Kansas neighbors.
She returned to study in the early 1980’s, participating in the Pastoral Care Program at Via Christi Medical Center. She cared for the souls of St. Francis Hospital patients in a pastoral ministry that spanned more than two decades.
Although she left St. Francis for the Great Bend Motherhouse in 2002, she remained busy, helping to transport Sisters, volunteering at the Central Kansas Medical Center, and serving her Congregation in any way she could. She enjoyed visits with her friends and family, and was active in study groups and other community activities. She entered her final ministry of prayer and presence in 2014.
Sister Ancilla was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Albert Schawe, and five sisters, Elizabeth Ackerman, Magdalen Ackerman, Virginia Gillogly, Gertrude Rueb, and Pauline Durler. She is survived by numerous nieces and nephews, as well as the Dominican Sisters of Peace.
A Vigil Service was held on April 1 and the Mass of Christian Burial was held on April 2, both at the Sisters’ Convent. Sr. Ancilla is interred at the Sisters’ Resurrection Cemetery.
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Memorials in honor of Sr. Ancilla may also be sent to the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement, 2320 Airport Dr., Columbus, OH 43219.