Sister Ramona (Simone) Barwick, BVM
Sister Ramona (Simone) Barwick, BVM, 91, of Mount Carmel Bluffs, 1160 Carmel Dr., Dubuque, Iowa, died Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022.
Visitation, Sharing of Memories, and Mass of Christian Burial were on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Burial was in the Mount Carmel Cemetery.
Sister Ramona was born on Jan. 30, 1931, in Milwaukee, to Frank and Lillian (Ossowski) Barwick. She entered the BVM congregation Sept. 8, 1949, from St. Mary Czestochona Parish, Milwaukee. She professed first vows on March 19, 1952, and final vows on July 16, 1957.
Sister Ramona ministered at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa, as food service coordinator, bookstore director and post office manager. She was as an elementary teacher at St. Patrick in Cedar Falls, Iowa; St. Anthony in Davenport, Iowa; and St. Thomas of Canterbury in Chicago.
“[Ramona’s] approach to life was simple. ‘I never quit. . . I followed the Spirit in big decisions and used common sense in the little ones.’ She was able to ‘discern what is of value’ in this life. She believed that the ‘Spirit prepares us and teaches us to be compassionate to one another’ and ‘hoped that the students would remember that God loves them.’” (Eulogy).
She was preceded in death by her parents. She is survived by cousins and the Sisters of Charity, BVM, with whom she shared life for 73 years.
Memorials may be given to Sisters of Charity, 1100 Carmel Drive, Dubuque, IA 52003 or online at https://www.bvmsisters.org/support_donate.cfm.
Download Eulogy Download Sharing of Memories
Ramona Barwick
A spark of loving kindness and generosity
A model of quiet strength hewed through challenging early years
An example of bearing invisible, daily pain quietly, selflessly
A deep and fostered spirituality, faithfully spilling over into warm welcomes
A nurturing spirit baked into every treat for those she loved
A gentle spirit personifying determination, persistence, commitment
A ray of sunshine greeting us each day, surrounding us with loving warmth
How did she love us?
Too numerous to count the ways!
Song for Autumn
Mary Oliver
Don’t you imagine the leaves dream now
how comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of the air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees, especially those with
mossy hollows, are beginning to look for
the birds that will come—six, a dozen—to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye, the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
stiffens and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its long blue shadows. The wind wags
its many tails. And in the evening
the piled firewood shifts a little
longing to be on its way.
Ramona Barwick
A spark of loving kindness and generosity
A model of quiet strength hewed through challenging early years
An example of bearing invisible, daily pain quietly, selflessly
A deep and fostered spirituality, faithfully spilling over into warm welcomes
A nurturing spirit baked into every treat for those she loved
A gentle spirit personifying determination, persistence, commitment
A ray of sunshine greeting us each day, surrounding us with loving warmth
How did she love us?
Too numerous to count the ways!
Song for Autumn – Mary Oliver
Don’t you imagine the leaves dream now how comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of the air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees, especially those with
mossy hollows, are beginning to look for
the birds that will come—six, a dozen—to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear the golden
rod whispering goodbye, the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
stiffens and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its long blue shadows. The wind wags
its many tails. And in the evening
the piled firewood shifts a little
longing to be on its way.
I first came across Sister Ramona during my undergraduate years at Clarke–the early 70s. My initial response to seeing her at work in the bookstore housed in the lower level of Mary Josita was, “Wow! What a wardrobe! She even wears jewelry!” In those days, such accoutrements were still viewed as somewhat radical in a professed religious. But I secretly admired Ramona’s audacity. I guess I saw in her a kindred spirit.
Many years passed. In 2002 I came on board at Clarke in a hybrid role–part-time faculty member, part-time staff member. (Personally, I felt each status was full time, but that’s another story.) On occasion, maybe once or twice a week, I would leave my office at around lunch time and mosey across the street to the SAC to check my mail box. Ramona was ALWAYS there in the bookstore, usually in the mailroom, doing her thing. Red hair and ready smile. And, often, earrings. Still the classy lady.
Before she retired, her outfits changed to more casual wear–stuff she could get into and out of more easily, I would imagine. When she took a tumble at work one day, a fall that she herself brushed off as insignificant, the bookstore staff were beside themselves with worry. You get that way when a person who has been a fixture in your day-to-day life for so many years no longer seems so strong, so permanent.
We have learned from you, Ramona. About the importance of the little things that underlie the big things. About how even the person in the background has an important role to play. And about how earrings complete the outfit!