S. Kathleen Crowley

S. Kathleen Crowley, OSB, 93, died on the Feast of St. Catherine of Siena, her patron saint, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. A wake service will be held at 7:00 PM on Sunday, May 3, 2026 and the Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 AM on Monday, May 4, both in Bishop Marty Memorial Chapel in Yankton, South Dakota. Burial will be in the monastery cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of the Wintz & Ray Funeral Home in Yankton. The services will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@shmpublicrelations5390/streams

Kathleen Patricia Crowley was born on March 2, 1933, in her parents’ home in Lachine, Quebec, Canada. She was the youngest of eight children of Michael and Jane (Bartram) Crowley. The four oldest siblings died as infants, with the oldest buried in England. She went to the local school and graduated, planning to attend nursing school. She worked for a year as a file clerk for an insurance company to afford the tuition. She then attended St. Mary’s Hospital in Montreal, Canada, for nursing instruction. Following her graduation from nursing school, she worked as a staff nurse and assistant head nurse.

In the summer of 1955, Kathleen entered Sacred Heart Monastery. She made first profession on June 29, 1957, and final profession on June 29, 1960. To make her final profession, she became a United States citizen, which was difficult for her Canadian heart. She worked as a nurse in Tyndall, Parkston, and Yankton, South Dakota; Canon City, Colorado, and early in her communal life, worked as the infirmarian in the monastery infirmary.

In 1962, S. Kathleen went to New York to study at St. John’s University and earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master's in Nursing in 1964. She taught at Mount Marty for seven years, and from 1974 to 1979, she was Director of Nursing at Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton. While teaching, she included care for the dying in the students’ coursework. Her interest in hospice care grew during this time. Beginning in 1980, she worked at Connecticut Hospice Institute, where her efforts helped to bring hospice care to the United States. In 1989, she earned a Master’s in Pastoral Counseling at Loyola University in Maryland and practiced counseling in Yankton. She served as the monastery’s Assistant Prioress from 1997 to 2005.

S. Kathleen was instrumental in the formation of Avera Health and was a System Member on the Avera Board until she retired. She enjoyed the challenges of all her ministries and the time she spent learning new things.

S. Kathleen was an honest and forthright person. She enjoyed reading mysteries, watching movies, and going to the theater. She wore green every day in March to celebrate her Irish heritage and was known for her shortbread cookies.

S. Kathleen is survived by her Benedictine community and some nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and all her siblings, John, Arthur, Teresa, Frances, Michael, and Mary.