Incarnata Gephart, BVM
Incarnata Gephart, BVM died Thursday, April 21, 2016, at Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa. Visitation will be from 9–11 a.m. on Thursday, April 28, 2016, in the Marian Hall Chapel followed by a prayer service at 11 a.m. Funeral liturgy will be at 1:30 p.m. Burial is in the Mount Carmel cemetery.
She was born in Fort Lupton, Colo., on Dec. 3, 1920, to Ernest and Lillian Scoville Gephart. She entered the BVM congregation Feb. 2, 1939, from St. John Baptist Parish, Longmont, Colo. She professed first vows on Aug. 15, 1941, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1946.
Sister Incarnata was an elementary school teacher and principal in San Francisco, Sacramento and Granada Hills, Calif.; Butte, Mont.; Lincoln and Omaha, Neb.; and Boulder, Colo. She served on the staff of Marian Hall and as volunteer.
She was preceded in death by her parents; sisters Betty Lynn Gephart and Dorothy Doucette; and brother Leo. She is survived by nieces, nephews and the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with whom she shared life for 77 years.
Sister Incarnata Gephart, BVM
Funeral Welcome
Marian Hall, April 28, 2016
Good afternoon and welcome to the celebration of life of our Sister Incarnata Gephart.
Kathleen Ann Gephart entered this world on Dec. 3, 1920, in Fort Lupton, Colo. She was the first child born to Ernest and Lillian Scoville Gephart and was later joined by siblings Betty, Dorothy and Ernest Leo. Her father was a coal miner and she spent her first five years living in coal mining camps. After her paternal grandmother died, the family moved to Longmont, Colo., to care for her grandfather while her father worked as a mechanic. She attended St. John Catholic School which was staffed by the Sisters of St. Francis from Milwaukee, Wis. Kathleen had to walk 10 blocks each way, often in cold and snow, and even froze her hands when she was in second grade.
Since there were no Catholic high schools in Longmont, her uncle, Father Nicolas Scoville, made arrangements for Kathleen to attend Mt. St. Gertrude Academy in Boulder where she worked in the kitchen and the laundry room to help cover the cost. After graduation Kathleen worked at Montgomery Ward in Denver to save money for her dowry and transportation. She entered the congregation on Feb. 2, 1939, received the name Incarnata upon her reception on March 19, 1940, professed first vows on Aug. 15, 1941, and lived 77 years as a BVM.
Incarnata, Inky as she was affectionately known, was a dedicated, engaging and caring teacher who maintained an excellent rapport with students, parents and faculty alike. One principal commented, “Her students’ growth academically and emotionally is obvious . . . She is always willing to go the extra step. She has been an extremely beneficial support system for me. Her openness and professionalism is respected by all.” Inky was missioned in California at Most Holy Redeemer in San Francisco, All Hallows in Sacramento, and De LaSalle in Granada Hills. In Nebraska, she taught at Cathedral and Sacred Heart in Lincoln and St. Bridget in Omaha. Missions at St. Joseph and St. Ann in Butte, Mont., and Sacred Heart in Boulder, Colo., complete her 40 years as an educator.
Recalling her first mission at Most Holy Redeemer, Inky wrote, “There were 80 children in first grade. In March, 15 second-graders, the slow group, were added [to my class]. Somehow with the help of the Holy Spirit the children learned in spite of the large numbers.” While teaching in Butte, Inky would spend her summers living with ranchers. She teamed with Sister Philomena Rosselli for the challenging task of teaching religious vacation school in the morning at a parish in Boulder, Mont., and then teaching at the State School for the Handicapped in the afternoon. Still there was time for a little exploration. Inky jumped at the opportunity to tour a copper mine and convinced Philomena to accompany her. Inky with her inquisitive mind was ecstatic; Philomena terrified!
When classes at Sacred Heart in Boulder were departmentalized, Inky became the science teacher. “I loved it,” she wrote. “I was given a special room for science so it was well equipped with science materials and animals.” After completing her master’s degree, Inky served as principal at Sacred Heart School in Lincoln, Neb., for nine years. With the help of Sister Mary Joanne Francis Deheck as her secretary and right hand in the office, she also taught sixth grade science and religion. “Those were difficult years,” she wrote. “[The Bishop] welcomed [Vietnamese] refugees into the Lincoln Diocese . . . The faculty donated one summer school to teaching English to the children. They taught six weeks without salary.” In honor of her work with the refugees, she was named as Outstanding Catholic Teacher by the Knights of Columbus and received the Humanitarian Award from the United States Catholic Conference.
Inky moved to Dubuque in 1983 to work as a staff assistant at Marian Hall. The following year she returned to the classroom at De LaSalle School in Granada Hills, Calif., where she taught science and served as a faculty resource person. She traveled from room to room with a mobile science cart giving creative and stimulating science presentations.
Inky returned to Dubuque in 1993, lived at Vista Carmel, located in the Visitation convent, and volunteered as a driver and shopper for Marian Hall residents. After moving to the Motherhouse, she remained active by helping with the laundry and bringing ice water to the third floor residents of Marian Hall. Inky enjoyed the opportunity to visit and her cheerfulness brightened the day of all she met. Her sparkly personality, as well as her kindness and gratefulness, remained when she became a Marian Hall resident. She loved singing, doing crossword puzzles, watching Wheel of Fortune, and Michael Jordan. She also had a great sense of humor. Whenever an aide exiting her room would say, “See you later, Alligator,” a quick exchange followed. “In a while crocodile.” “Not too soon.” “You big baboon.”
Inky was an easygoing and delightful person who embraced the words from Ecclesiastes: “There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.” She flowed through the changes in her life as the nature she loved so much flows through its seasons, knowing and trusting in the Creator. We praise and thank God for the blessing of Incarnata to whom, with belief in the Resurrection, we say, “See you later . . .”