Lives of the Sisters of St. Joseph memorialized at the retreat center

During a recent retreat, Fr. David Huemmer, chaplain at the St. Joseph Retreat & Conference Center, began contemplating the practice that many religious orders have of recognizing deceased members of the community. 

“In the monastery, the day of death of a deceased member is recognized at Mass and at the evening meal. The deceased brother is featured in a binder with a picture and a summary of their life,” said Father Huemmer. “I became interested in bringing this monastic tradition to the retreat center.” 

Father Huemmer had obituaries for many of the Sisters buried in the campus cemetery obtained through the Sharpsville Ancestors website. This Tipton County cemetery catalog is maintained by Robert Kincaid.

However, Father was missing many, many pictures of Sisters. 

A few years ago, Father reached out to the archives with the Congregation of St. Joseph to gather details about the stained-glass windows in the St. Joseph Chapel. Assistant Archivist Sarah Lubelski sent him a 30-page Iconography of the windows complete with pictures and descriptions! 

So, in February 2021, Fr. Huemmer reached out to Sarah again with the idea for a new project—matching pictures of the Sisters buried here with their obituary and creating a binder. She was eager to help and began sending him pictures of deceased Sisters on a monthly basis. This gave him time to match the picture with the obituary and prepare the pages for our binder. Father included a picture of the gravestone as well. If he had any extra connections—a signature from a yearbook or a senior picture, he included that too. 

Our binder now features an entry for each of the more than 100 people buried in the Sisters of St. Joseph cemetery. This includes Sisters, four priests, 12 lay people and two Poor Clares Sisters buried there. He has included an entry for all the other chaplains that served the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tipton as well, even though most of them are not buried here.  

“Many guests visit the cemetery during their retreat,” said Father Huemmer. “And so many guests ask us about the Sisters, or they have a special memory or connection to a Sister of St. Joseph. Having the picture along with the obituary allows visitors to make a connection between the life and work of the Sisters and the retreat center today. When it's feasible, I remember the person of the day in the Mass intentions at the retreat center.” 

The binder is featured on a podium just outside the St. Joseph Chapel. Father has just a few more pictures to match up with obituaries—he’s missing one or the other. Once it is complete, he will send the document to Sarah for the Congregation to enjoy and share. 

“Learning about the work of those in the past can inspire people today in prayer, service and love. The binder and the cemetery work in tandem—each pointing guests to explore further and encounter Christ in the stories and gravestones,” said Father Huemmer. 

Research into the history of this campus has become a bit of a hobby for Father Huemmer. In his spare time and with the help of the Tipton County Public Library, Tipton County Historical Society, Ebay, Sisters and alumnae, he has gathered pictures and stories about the Sisters and former students. Many historical pictures are featured in our St. Jerome Library, and he maintains several binders of yearbooks, newspaper articles and essays. Many of these items are available on our website as well.