Michele F. Novak, 73, passed away suddenly in Marco Island, Florida with her loving sister, Kathy, at her side. Loving sister of Kathy Novak; cherished niece of Jeanne (the late Edward) Swiatowiec; close cousin to Edward (Delores) Kowalczyk, Ray (Chris) Novak, Ken (Mary Rose) Nowak, Michael (Cindy) Swiatowiec, John (Patty) Swiatowiec, Mary Lee (Jaime) Garcia, and Beth Anne Swiatowiec; cherished cousin and friend of many. Preceded in death by her parents, the late Frank and Eleanore Novak.
Michele was a Math Teacher and Principal at Alvernia High School. She also worked in the Development Department and was on the Alumni Board at St. Patrick's High School. Michele was the Coordinator of the Department of Medicine Residency Program and later Business Manager for the Department of Medicine at Stroger Hospital before retiring.
Michele has lived in the Chicago area all her life, spending over 70 summers in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin and nearly forty winters and holidays in Marco Island, Florida. She was a much loved and dedicated educator and friend to many.
Funeral services were held on Monday, January 6th, funeral mass at St. Hyacinth Basilica. Interment Maryhill Catholic Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Adult Down Syndrome Center, 1610 Luther Lane, Park Ridge, Illinois 60068; to Lewis University DISCOVER Initiative, 1 University Parkway, Unit 292, Romeoville, Illinois 60446, or a charity of your choice. Michele will forever be imprinted on the lives she touched and through the memories we will always cherish. We celebrate a life lived with integrity, compassion, kindness, and courage. For more information, please call (773) 774-4100 or visit www.malecandsonsfh.com.
Sister Martinian (Mary Ruth) Schweisthal - faculty
At rest December 24th, 2018. Age 99
Sister Mary (Violette) Readdy - Class of 1952
At rest April 2, 2018
Herb Ramlose (English, 1969 - 1978)
At rest February 21, 2018
Loretta Clarke (former Sister Consuelo)
Alyce M. Dowey (Foreign Language)
At rest July, 2018
Former member Francis Rothluebber, who served as the sixth Superior General of the School Sisters of St. Francis, died in Rockford, Illinois, on August 13, 2025. She was 103.
Alma Rothluebber was born February 14, 1922, in St. Libory, Nebraska, and was received into the School Sisters of St. Francis on June 13, 1938, as Sister M. Francis Borgia. She made her first profession of vows on August 12, 1940, and final vows on August 8, 1946.
She is survived by her sister Alvina Meirose of Sturgis, South Dakota; her brother Hubert Rothluebber of Norfolk, Nebraska; several nieces and nephews; many friends; and by the School Sisters of St. Francis community with whom she shared life for more than half a century.
Francis earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Alverno College in 1943; a master’s degree in English from DePaul University in 1949; and received honorary doctorates in 1975 from Our Lady of the Lake College in San Antonio, and from Cardinal Stritch College in Milwaukee.
As Sister Francis Borgia, she began her ministry in 1942, teaching in Milwaukee at St. Catherine School. The following school year, she began two decades of service at Alvernia High School in Chicago, where she was teacher and principal. From 1963-1966, she was the supervising coordinator for high school religious education for the Archdiocese of Chicago, while also serving as staff assistant at Loyola University’s Institute of Pastoral Studies.
In 1966, delegates of the congregation’s general chapter elected Francis as Superior General of the School Sisters of St. Francis. Press reports at the time of her election noted she would serve a six-year term leading a worldwide congregation of more than 3,600 professed sisters across the United States, Germany, and Central America.
Noting that the recently completed Second Vatican Council had called for a revision of constitutions, Francis and her leadership team engaged the congregation in the development of the Response in FaithRule of Life. RIF was a dramatic change from past constitutions for its depth in expressing the meaning of religious life. Also in response to the Council’s calls, she and her team adopted a secretariat model that distributed leadership responsibilities to more sisters, and changed the congregation’s formation expectations.
In May 1972, delegates re-elected Francis to the presidency of the congregation. “I believe this election affirms the direction in renewal which the community has taken, and is a mandate to pick up the large questions before us,” she told the Milwaukee Catholic Herald Citizen. “These are questions concerning the role of women in the Church, clarification of corporate thrust, organizational impact for social change, and above all, the question of searching for deeper interiority within a life of social involvement.”
As she began her second term in congregational leadership, Francis was also elected to serve a three-year term as president-elect, president, and past president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR). Her leadership of LCWR “influenced the renewal of religious life in many congregations in the United States,” a congregational publication noted at the time.
Following her terms in leadership, Francis ministered as a lecturer, retreat director, and counselor, first in Milwaukee and later in Idyllwild, California. In December 1994, she received dispensation from her religious vows, but remained a lifelong friend of many of her sisters. The author of numerous books on religious life and spirituality, Francis continued to write well into her 90s.
Francis was injured in a fall in September 2024 that required surgery and hospitalization. In late July 2025, she moved to Rockford where she received care at the home of a friend and the services of Northern Illinois Hospice Association.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated in St. Joseph Chapel in Milwaukee on Tuesday, September 16, at 4 p.m. For those outside Milwaukee or otherwise unable to attend, the Mass will be streamed live and archived on our congregation’s Ustream channel. Following the Mass, a reception at Sacred Heart is being planned, and more details will be shared as they become available.
