It is with great sadness that the Sisters of St. Joseph announce the sudden death of Sister Kathleen Brennan (Sister Claudia) on Tuesday, January 31, 2017, at St. Joseph’s Motherhouse, North Bay, Ontario. Sister Kathleen was born May 1, 1929, in Sudbury, Ontario. She entered the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Sault Ste. Marie, on Canada Day, July 1, 1946 from her home parish in Creighton Mine. Sister Kathleen is predeceased by her parents, Sydonie Laurin and Dennis Brennan, brothers Dennis and Michael Brennan and sister Elizabeth Drolet. She is survived by her sisters, Ellen Cayen and Margaret Lafleur, sisters-in-laws Shirley and Penny Brennan and nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
Sister Kathleen trained as a teacher in the summer school program. Kathleen’s teaching assignments brought her on a tour of Northern Ontario: Blind River, Sault Ste. Marie, North Bay, Fort William (Thunder Bay), Wawa, White River and Sudbury. Sister Kathleen took William Arthur Ward’s words to heart: “The adventure of life is to learn.” She earned a BA from the University of Ottawa and then a Master of Arts degree in special education at Cardinal Stritch College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This education served her well in her ministry as a resource teacher in “The Valley” (Val Caron and Hanmer) from 1976-1987. Sister Kathleen went on to serve in parish ministry at Our Lady of Perpetual Help and then at Holy Redeemer, in Sudbury. Always the consummate student and educator, Kathleen facilitated a Sudbury study group for many years on the new understanding of cosmology while she continued to study this subject herself. She shared with everyone who would listen her passion for scripture, a deeper understanding of the bible and the new theology of creation. In 2013, Sister Kathleen relocated to the Motherhouse where she stretched our minds and hearts to include a deeper sense of God’s presence in all of creation.
The body of Sister Kathleen will be received at St. Joseph’s Motherhouse at 2:00 p.m., Sunday, February 5, with a prayer vigil to be held in the Holy Family Chapel at 7:00 p.m. Mass of the Resurrection will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m., Monday, February 6 in the Sacred Heart Chapel. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, North Bay.
May Sister Kathleen rest in peace.