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Barbara Ann was born to Joseph and Helen Kawa on June 30, 1943, and baptized at Holy Innocents Parish on July 25th of that same year. Growing up as an only child in a neighborhood with many boys, she naturally became a tomboy. She learned early in life to be tough and determined – qualities that certainly followed her throughout her life.
Barbara attended Our Lady of Good Counsel Elementary School, where she was a very good student and enjoyed helping fellow students who struggled with learning. Following her graduation from elementary school in June 1957, she attended Holy Family Academy. There she met the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth and felt a deep call to religious life. After graduating in 1961, she worked for an insurance company while remaining close to the sisters at the Academy. She provided transportation for them whenever they called upon her services as a “chauffeur.”
The dream of entering the community never left her, and on September 8, 1964, she was accepted as a postulant. Eleven months later, on August 12, 1965, she received the name Catherine Marie and began her novitiate. She writes that her novitiate days passed quickly and on August 11, 1967, she pronounced her first vows.
During her first year as a temporary professed, Sister Catherine Marie was assigned to St. Camillus School, marking the beginning of her teaching career. Sister Catherine Marie made her final profession on August 7, 1971, taking as her mystery, “Jesus, Crowned and Scourged.” After her final vows, she continued her ministry in education in Texas at St. Andrew School (Fort Worth), St. Luke School (Irving), and St. Thomas Aquinas (Dallas).
In 2014, Sister Catherine Marie moved back to Des Plaines, IL, where she ministered as the activities director at Nazarethville. Six months later, she became a resident of Nazarethville herself. She embraced her new home with peace and familiarity, greeting fellow residents on their way to Mass, enjoying conversation, participating in Music Therapy, and delighting in her sweets – candy, cake, and especially soda.
In her Life Portrait, Sister Catherine Marie was asked how she would like to be remembered. Her response was simple: let them remember me as being loving and caring to all. In her own words, “I cared for them by praying for them.”
On Monday, October 27, 2025, our prayers were certainly with her when, after a very short time at Lutheran General Hospital, Sister Catherine Marie was called home to her Beloved Jesus, Crowned and Scourged.
Thank you, Sister Catherine Marie, for sharing your life with us at Nazareth. Thank you for your subtle humor and for your prayers. We are grateful for all the ways you taught us to be loving and caring to others. May you now have eternal peace and receive your crown of glory in heaven!
Eternal rest grant to her, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen!
