Grace Andrea Carolan, BVM
Grace Andrea Carolan, BVM died Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015, at Caritas Center in Dubuque, Iowa. Visitation will be from 10–11:30 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, in the Marian Hall Chapel followed by a prayer service at 11:30 a.m. Funeral liturgy will be at 1:30 p.m. Burial is in the Mount Carmel cemetery.
She was born in Cresco, Iowa, on Aug. 15, 1914, to Andrew and Grace Sexton Carolan. She entered the BVM congregation Sept. 8, 1934, from St. John Parish, Des Moines, Iowa. She professed first vows on March 19, 1937, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1942.
Grace Andrea taught music, piano and voice at elementary and secondary schools in Wichita, Kan.; Glendale and Burbank, Calif.; Milwaukee; Burlington, Iowa; and Chicago and Mundelein, Ill., where she was a French teacher and an alumnae moderator.
She was preceded in death by her parents and sisters Anna Bea Barnes and Marcella Delaney. She is survived by nieces and nephews and the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with whom she shared life for 81 years.
Sister Grace Andrea Carolan, BVM
Funeral Welcome
Marian Hall Chapel, Nov. 12, 2015
Good afternoon and welcome to the celebration of the life of our Sister Grace Andrea Carolan.
Charlotte Marie Carolan, or Marie as she was called, was born Aug. 15, 1914, in Cresco, Iowa. She was welcomed by her parents Andrew Carolan and Grace Sexton and two sisters Anna Bea and Marcella. During an interview, Marie recalled that her great love of music began with piano lessons at age six. She said, “I thought I was quite the thing because my [recital] piece entailed passages which required crossing my hands.” The article continued, noting, “When her pretty voice was detected she was privileged to sing ‘Little White Guest’ for her first Holy Communion.”
Marie attended Assumption ES in Cresco, where she was first introduced to the BVMs. After her family moved to Des Moines, Iowa, she attended and graduated from St. Joseph Academy. With the encouragement and recommendation of Sister Mary Cecilian Gannon, who knew the Carolan family in Cresco and taught their daughters at St. Joseph, Marie requested admission to the congregation. She wrote, “The Sisters have known my family for about 15 years, so it is with a knowledge of the Order that I ask if I may join them. I feel that this is my Vocation . . . I feel sure that no other calling could be mine.” Marie entered on Sept. 8, 1934, received the name Grace Andrea upon reception on March 19, 1935, professed first vows on March 19, 1937, and lived 81 years as a BVM.
Grace Andrea was a dedicated music teacher who spent 33 years teaching piano, voice and even marching band figure formation. She was missioned at Mount Carmel in Wichita, Kan.; Incarnation and Holy Family in Glendale and St. Robert Bellarmine in Burbank, all in California; Gesu and Holy Angels Academy in Milwaukee; St. Paul in Burlington, Iowa, and St. Vincent in Chicago. During the summer of 1969, she served as a counselor for a cultural study group from Holy Angels who, through the Foreign Language League, spent six weeks in France and its neighboring countries. A former student recalled that Grace Andrea was always smiling and filled with animation.
When all the extras required of music teachers became too much for Grace Andrea, she called upon another one of her gifts and taught French for 13 years at Carmel HS in Mundelein, Ill. Next, she served two years as the moderator for the Carmel Alumnae Organization, which she established. Living in Mundelein afforded her the opportunity to visit her surviving sister Anna Bea in Milwaukee. After retiring in 1985, Grace Andrea lived in Mundelein and later at Wright Hall in Chicago before moving to Mount Carmel in 2007.
Grace Andrea was a deeply spiritual person with a lovely disposition. She was an avid listener of the Metropolitan Opera. She enjoyed taking walks and always delighted in an outing. Reflecting on her years as a vowed religious at the time of her golden jubilee, she wrote, “One of the deepest joys God has blessed me with was to reunite with many of our set . . . Then, we were young, idealistic, faith-filled and eager to live our idealism. We felt gifted in faith, secure, and eager to go out and ‘bear fruit’ . . . Despite hardships and struggles, we are still on the same journey and bound by the same love. The faith we shared is no longer idealistic and young, but lived . . . Jesus who planted the seeds of love and faith in our young hearts has . . . walked beside us and been with us through it all.” Her unwavering confidence in God’s loving presence is also reflected in one of her favorite bible passages, Isaiah 54:10: “For the mountains may depart, the hills be shaken, but my love for you will never leave you, my covenant and peace with you will never be shaken.”
Grace Andrea deeply touched the lives of her family, friends and students. When she celebrated her 100th birthday last year, she received a number of cards from her former students, some of whom she taught in the 1940s—a wonderful tribute to lasting friendships and her impact as a teacher.
As we celebrate her entrance into eternal life, we can envision Grace Andrea reunited with her family, friends and members of her set and adding her beautiful voice to the heavenly chorus. We will remember her graciousness, her smile, and her enthusiasm for life.