Franciscan Sister of the Eucharist Judith Gebelein died March 4 following an acute respiratory complication at the age of 78.
She was born Dec. 10, 1946, to Roy and Shirley Gebelein in Rantoul, Ill. She was the oldest of seven children and grew up in rural Wisconsin.
As a child, she contracted polio. The effects remained with her and motivated her to overcome the physical issues from the disease and to minister to others as a nurse.
She professed her first vows April 3, 1969, and made her final profession May 27, 1978. She celebrated her golden jubilee in 2019. She was one of the founding members of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist in 1972.
Sister Judith earned a bachelor’s of science from Viterbo College in La Crosse, Wis., in 1972, and a bachelor’s of science in nursing from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., in 1982.
Sister Judith served in FSE Centers in Meriden, Conn.; Detroit; and Lowell, Mich. She spent 30 years in the Lowell center, and was a staff nurse for 25 years at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Bishop Paul S. Loverde asked the FSE sisters to come to the Arlington diocese in 2006. Sister Judith served as superior of the Falls Church FSE community and worked as a staff nurse at Inova Fairfax Hospital for 16 years.
“Although I have known the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist from my years in Connecticut where their motherhouse is located, I met Sister Judith when the first group of sisters arrived in Falls Church in 2006,” said Bishop Emeritus Paul S. Loverde. “The sisters so enjoyed her hearty laugh and sense of humor and were assisted by her hard work within the community. She also with them contributed so much to the pastoral spirit of St. Philip’s Parish.”
“For 16 years she worked at Inova Fairfax Hospital where her presence and nursing skills brought encouragement and dedication to both patients and coworkers,” he said. “When health reasons indicated that Sister Judith had to retire (in 2022), although very disappointed, she accepted God’s will and united her sufferings to Christ for the good of the Church. Her fidelity to Christ and to the Church both here and elsewhere remain a treasured memory for me. I pray that now she will see face-to-face the God whom she served with such faithful love.”
Sister Judith was preceded in death by her parents and her brothers Larry, Lowell and Duane. She is survived by her sisters, Peggy Axelsen of Janesville, Wis.; Diane Strauber and her husband, Donald, of Neenah, Wis., and Maria Gebelein of Barnesville, Ga., as well as several nieces and nephews.
A wake will be held March 7 4-7 p.m. at Murphy Funeral Homes, 4510 Wilson Blvd, Arlington. Visitation will take place March 8 at the convent of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, 7504 St. Philip Court, Falls Church, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., followed by a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge March 8 at St. Philip Church, 7500 St. Philip Court, Falls Church, at 2 p.m.
