Dominican Sister John Eudes Courtney, who served as a librarian
at Christendom College in Triangle (1977-78) and as pastoral minister at St.
Francis of Assisi Church in Triangle (1978-79), died Dec. 22. She was 95.
The funeral Mass was offered at the Sinsinawa Dominican
motherhouse in Sinsinawa, Wis., Jan. 2, followed by burial in the motherhouse cemetery.
Sister Eudes was born Sept. 26, 1922, in Chicago, the daughter of
Harvey and Josephine (Ogden) Courtney. Her parents and a brother, Harvey
Courtney Jr., preceded her in death. She is survived by nieces, nephews and her
Dominican sisters.
She made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa Dominican
Aug. 5, 1949, and her final profession Aug. 5, 1952. She taught high school
English for 30 years. She served in pastoral ministry, as a community
organizer, prison visitor and librarian, along with serving four years in
transportation. She served in Illinois, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska,
Wisconsin, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky.
Sister Eudes was the inspiration for the character of Mary Clancy
in the book Life with Mother Superior by Jane
Trahey and the 1966 movie “The Trouble with Angels” starring Hayley Mills as
Mary Clancy. Trahey and Sister Eudes — then known as Mary — were high school
friends at Providence High School in Chicago.
