Sister Josephine Kallus

Sister Josephine Kallus, OSB, 97, of Lisle, Ill., died peacefully early Sunday morning, Dec.20, 2020 at St. Patrick’s Residence Nursing and Rehabilitation in Naperville, Ill.

She was born in Hostyn on Dec. 15, 1923, the seventh of twelve children to Robert F. and Cecilia (Janda) Kallus. Her baptismal name was Adela.

In her growing up years, she joined her siblings on the family farm in milking dairy cows, raising vegetables, and picking cotton. She attended the Hostyn grade school taught by the Incarnate Word Sisters and her faith would always give her joy and would play an important role in her life’s decisions.

After high school, she attended Alamo Beauty College in San Antonio and secured a job at a famous hotel in San Antonio as a hairdresser. During her working years there, she developed acute pain in one of her legs for which she needed surgery. While lying in bed on her back recuperating for twenty-one days, she felt her recovery was not very promising. She thereupon prayed through the intercession of the Blessed Mother Mary to intercede for a cure for her and promised that if she would be able to get up again she would dedicate her life to the Lord’s service. Then, through her earnest prayer, her cure was granted and she began to pursue a religious vocation as she had promised to do.

It so happened that of the nine girls in the family, two were already Benedictine Sisters in Lisle, Illinois, Sister Andrea and Sister Mary Agnes, and it was natural for her to correspond with them about her intention. Interestingly, her two youngest sisters at home in Hostyn, Beatrice and Theresa, were also planning to pursue a religious life, and were writing and encouraging her to consider life in community – but neither of those two knew the other was writing.

In 1944, all three sisters decided to follow the Lord’s call together. Knowing the loss to their parents would be a sacrifice, it was difficult to tell them; and the parents were surprised but willingly gave them their blessing.

After their postulancy, the three sisters were named Sister Josephine (Adela), Sister Virginia (Beatrice), and Sister Angelica (Theresa), making a total of five Kallus Sisters in the Benedictine Community at Sacred Heart Monastery in Lisle, Illinois from the same family.

Sister Josephine made her first profession as a Benedictine in 1946 and through the next 74 years remained a cheerful giver knowing that, “God loves a cheerful giver.” In her early years in community, since she was an excellent cook, she was sent to cook at the St. Procopius College kitchen, and later to cook in parish convents where the Sisters were teaching, namely missions in Lisle, Chicago, Joliet, Cicero, and Wisconsin.

In the mid-60’s when the Sisters were no longer required to cover their heads, there was a need again for a hairdresser in the community and Sister Josephine took a refresher course in Joliet, Illinois and then became the community’s hairdresser.

With the changes of Vatican II – starting in the 70’s and beyond, their hospitality became more open and Sister Josephine learned to drive because she was needed at the monastery to be a chauffeur to drive the Sisters to various appointments and to do the shopping (she was a thrifty and cheerful shopper),

Her manual labor of love was well balanced with attendance at prayer. Being forever mindful of time, she made sure nothing superseded the Eucharist or Divine Office. The rosary was the prayer she never omitted either, always thanking God for wonderful people and praying for the intentions she held in her heart and for those who requested her help in prayer.

Sister Josephine’s retirement years were spent keeping her beauty shop in order, helping the new hairstylists, participating in the Villa St. Benedict activities at their Monastery, working on puzzles, using her culinary skills to present an attractive platter of cut up fruit; and always an early bird, she could be seen engaged in serene prayer way before time for Divine Office and Mass.

She only spent about a year at St. Patrick’s Residence in that she was needing more care. With her loving capacity to adjust to a new environment, she thrived at St. Patrick’s making friends, pushing herself around in her wheel chair spreading joy and peace to those she met and encouraging them to pray the Rosary with her in the afternoon. The Carmelite Sisters there took special notice of her outgoing and engaging ways and dearly loved her.

She is survived by a brother, Robert B. Kallus and wife Lillian of Hostyn, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and siblings: Cyrill R. Kallus and wife Liola, Lawrence Kallus and wife Bernice, Betty Stavinoha and husband Edmund, Cecilia Kruppa and husband Edwin, all of La Grange; Mary Stavinoha and husband Jerome of Houston, Marcy Pircher and husband Reinhold of San Antonio, Sister Andrea Kallus, OSB, Sister Mary Agnes Kallus, OSB, Sister Virginia Kallus, OSB, and Sister Angelica Kallus, OSB, all of Lisle, Illinois.

The Memorial Mass for Sister Josephine was held at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2020 in the Sacred Heart Monastery Chapel. Interment followed in the Monastery’s St. Scholastica Cemetery.