Eliza Kenney, BVM

Sister Eliza Kenney, BVM died at Mercy Medical Center in Dubuque, Iowa, on Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2018.

Visitation will be from 9-10:15 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018, in the Marian Hall Chapel.  Sharing of Memories will be at 10:15 a.m., followed immediately by the Mass of Christian Burial. Burial is in the Mount Carmel Cemetery.

She was born on Sept. 23, 1932, in Phoenix, Ariz., to Robert and Jean Lobingier Kenney. She entered the BVM congregation Sept. 8, 1951, from St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Phoenix. She professed first vows on March 19, 1954, and final vows on July 16, 1959.

Sister Eliza was music program director within the fine arts department at Loyola University and music department chairperson at Mundelein College, both in Chicago, and music teacher at Our Lady of Peace HS in Saint Paul, Minn.  She served as the curator at Mount Carmel, Dubuque, Iowa.

“God bestowed upon Eliza musical and artistic talents that she very generously shared though the years . . . [She] was fascinated with how people learned. ‘[When] students experience the comprehensive heartbeat of music . . . the thrill in their faces is incredible’ . . . She believed that . . . ‘[music] touches students’ souls in ways they don’t often experience’. . . She was a woman who continued to grow in grace and beauty through the years—a calm and quiet presence. It was how she lived and it was how she died. (Eulogy)

She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by a cousin; and the Sisters of Charity, BVM, with whom she shared life for 67 years.

Memorials may be given to Sisters of Charity, BVM Support Fund, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003 or make an online gift.