Sister Delores Jane Kinnett, 1928-1998
Born December 23, 1928, Indianapolis, Indiana
Entered St. Walburg Monastery, January 1, 1954
First Profession August 24, 1955
Died August 24, 1998
Sr. Delores Jane was an only child and when she was very young, her parents divorced and her mother remarried. Sr. Delores Jane continued to visit her stepfather after her mother’s death in 1985.
Sr. Delores Jane was received into the Catholic Church on July 27, 1947 when she was nineteen years old. She entered St. Walburg Monastery in 1954.
Most of her ministry during her active years was spent in internal service to the community–in the refectory, the laundry and library. During the school year 1956-57 she taught at St. Benedict School; from 1959-60 she served part-time on the cleaning staff at Marydale; from 1961-62 she assisted in the office at Sante Fe Hospital in LaJunta, Colorado.
Although Sr. Delores Jane did not have much bodily flexibility in later years, she was willing to help where she could. Her love for reading was obvious and she enjoyed those years spent assisting in the monastery library. Diabetes was always a source of health concern. When Sr. Elizabeth Gilbert died in May 1998, followed soon by a devoted cousin, Sr. Delores Jane seemed to lose spirit. Death came quickly and peacefully.