Sr. UrbanekA funeral Mass for Sister Elaine (Margaret Amalia) Urbanek, OSF, was celebrated Jan. 6 at Mother of Perpetual Help Residence in Shrewsbury. Sister Elaine died Dec. 27 at the age of 99. She was a Franciscan Sister of Our Lady of Perpetual Help for 78 years.
Sister Elaine was born in East St. Louis, Illinois, to Joseph and Magdalen Urbanek. She entered the Franciscan Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 1942 and professed perpetual vows in 1947. She possessed a great love of learning and prepared for her ministry in Catholic education by earning a bachelor of arts degree in teaching and a master of arts degree in administration from Saint Louis University.
Sister Elaine ministered as an elementary teacher, high school teacher or principal for 59 years in Missouri, Illinois, Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska and California. In the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Sister Elaine taught at Our Lady of the Pillar School in Creve Coeur, St. Bartholomew School in Hazelwood and Our Lady of Guadalupe School in Ferguson. Her passion for teaching history garnered an award for Outstanding Teacher of American History in the State of Missouri in 1983. Thousands of young minds were influenced by Sister Elaine’s love of civics, historical facts and trivia, and political critique. Upon retiring from full-time teaching, she continued to serve as a librarian and substitute teacher.
Sister Elaine always expressed Franciscan joy, ever ready to share a joke or a personal anecdote. She enjoyed being in the presence of others, and when she fully retired in 2004, she helped run the gift shop at Mother of Perpetual Help Residence and faithfully assumed her ministry of prayer.
She is survived by her sister, Wilma, as well as nieces and nephews. Burial was in Resurrection Cemetery.