Sister Adrienne Higgins, OP
Sister Adrienne Higgins, who taught briefly at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School, died Aug. 10 at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Mich. She was 89 and in the 66th year of her religious profession as an Adrian Dominican.

The Chicago native, formerly known as Sister John Bernard Higgins, spent 32 years in Catholic education. In addition to teaching at Bishop O’Dowd High School from 1962 to 1963, she worked at schools in Illinois and Michigan.

The funeral Mass was held Aug. 13 at the Congregation’s Motherhouse. Burial was in the Congregation cemetery.

Sister Helen Keefe, SNJM
Holy Names Sister Helen Keefe, who taught in the Oakland Diocese, died in Los Gatos on Aug. 21. She was 94 years of age and had been a vowed Sister of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary for 72 years.

The Cincinnati native was an accomplished violinist, musician and music educator. Her music ministry spanned over 40 years at Sacred Heart School, St. Augustine School and Marylrose School, and Holy Names University, all in Oakland, as well as schools in Los Gatos, and Ramona in Alhambra.

The funeral Mass was held Aug. 31 at the Convent of the Holy Names in Los Gatos. Burial was Sept. 2 at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward.

Sister M. Leonella Moe, CSC
Holy Cross Sister M. Leonella, a former teacher and principal at St. Bernard School in Oakland, died Aug. 22 in Indiana at the age of 93.

The San Francisco native’s ministry in education spanned 52 years during which she taught all grades from kindergarten through graduate school in the U.S. and Africa.

In the Oakland Diocese she was the principal and 8th grade teacher at St. Bernard School in Oakland in 1951. She also served as superintendent of Holy Cross Schools in the western states, including St. Bernard School, from 1957-1967. She later was a senior high school teacher in Uganda and served as a religious education advisor for the Diocese of Fort Portal there.

The funeral Mass was held Aug. 25 at the Church of Our Lady of Loretto in Notre Dame, Indiana. Burial was at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery also in Notre Dame.

Sister Nancy McLaughlin, PBVM
Presentation Sister Nancy McLaughlin, an educator who also helped pioneer parish ministry for local Sisters, died Aug. 29 at the Presentation Motherhouse in San Francisco. She was 72 and a Sister of the Presentation for 54 years.

The San Francisco native taught in Catholic elementary schools for 10 years in San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 1968 she became pastoral associate at Transfiguration Parish in Castro Valley, a position she held for 10 years before going on to serve in similar positions at parishes in San Francisco and Daly City. During those years she also trained lay people for leadership roles in their parishes and in such areas as liturgy, justice, and Scripture.

She was a councilor in her religious community, head of the Sisters’ Justice Office and for three years was co-director of the International Intern Priest Program sponsored by the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas.

The funeral Mass was held Sept. 1 at the Presentation Motherhouse. Burial was at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma.

Sister Stephen Roche, OP
Dominican Sister Stephen Roche, a former teacher at St. Leo School in Oakland, died Aug. 5 in Wisconsin. She was 96 years of age.

Sister Roche, who joined the Sinsinawa Dominicans in 1934, was a primary and intermediate grade school teacher for 45 years and spent two years with children in early childhood and remedial reading programs. In the Oakland Diocese she taught at St. Leo School from 1952 to 1974. She also taught at schools in Wisconsin, Wyoming and Illinois.

The funeral Mass was held Aug. 12 in Queen of Rosary Chapel at the Congregation’s motherhouse in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. Burial followed in the Motherhouse Cemetery.

Father Robert Simon, CSsR
Redemptorist Father Robert Simon, who taught for almost 20 years at the former Holy Redeemer College in Oakland, died from complications of heart disease on Aug. 29 at age 84.

Born in Portland, Oregon, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1948. A year later he joined the faculty at Holy Redeemer College in Oakland where he taught Latin for 16 years. The former San Francisco pastor also served as a missionary, retreat master, consulter, director, and vicar provincial of the Redemptorists on the West Coast.

Additionally he preached extensively in the Latino community, was a fixture in the Spanish language Retrouvaille (a program for troubled marriages), and a gifted musician who often entertained at St. Alphonsus Ligouri Parish in San Leandro and elsewhere.

The funeral Mass was held at the St. Clement Health Care Center Chapel in Liguori, Missouri. Burial followed in the Redemptorist cemetery on the grounds of the health center.

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