A time to heal in Kellnersville
Fire causes deaths of Srs. Marlene Greatens, ANG, and Joleen Van Dyke, FSPA
By Tony Staley
Compass Editor
 | Biographies
Name: Sister Marlene (nee Jane Claire) Greatens, ANG
Born: Dec. 4, 1936, in Humboldt to Walter and Alvina (Nooyens) Greatens.
Education: Holy Family College, Manitowoc (BA in Math, 1959); Marquette University in Milwaukee (MS in Math, 1966), University of Wyoming (M.Ed in Educational Administration, secondary level, 1973) and St. Norbert College, De Pere (Pastoral Administration, 1992).
Vows: First vows with the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, Manitowoc, on Aug. 15, 1955. Later joined A New Genesis, taking vows July 5, 1987, and serving as treasurer.
Positions: Teacher and later principal at Central Catholic High School in West Point, Neb.; taught at Holy Family Academy, and Silver Lake College, Manitowoc; at St. John's Indian School, Laveen, Ariz.; at Roncalli High School, Manitowoc; at Guernsey High School, Cambridge, Ohio; and at St. Willebrord High School, Chicago, and was later principal there. Pastoral associate and director of religious education at Ss. Cyril & Methodius Parish, Eaton, for 8 years until May 1, 1993, when she was appointed parish director of St. Joseph Parish, Kellnersville.
Died: Dec. 23, 2004.
Name: Sr. Joleen Van Dyke, FSPA
Born: Jan. 24, 1936, in Lindsay Neb., to Leo and Betty (Geilenkirchen) Van Dyke
Education: Silver Lake College, Manitowoc, and St. Joseph College, Renssalaer, Ind. (Certification in liturgy).
Vows: First vows Aug. 15, 1954, Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity, Manitowoc. Later joined Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, taking vows in 1994
Positions: Taught music in grades K-12 and was an organist in parishes and schools in Michigan, Nebraska and Wisconsin, including six years at St. Philip, Green Bay. Pastoral musician/liturgist at St. Margaret Mary Parish, Neenah, 1995-2000; volunteered for a year with the Native American Alliance Project, Hartland; and had been liturgist at Kellnersville since.
Died: Dec. 23, 2004.
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St. Joseph Parish, Kellnersville, continues to heal and grieve after burying their parish director and their liturgist, who died Dec. 23 from injuries sustained in a fire in their residence.
In addition to the shock and sorrow from the unexpected deaths of Srs. Marlene Greatens, ANG, and Joleen Van Dyke, FSPA, parishioners are also concerned about the future of their parish because of a growing shortage of priests.
Fr. Paul Demuth, who this week became diocesan vicar for ministers, will meet with parishioners Jan. 13 to answer questions. Diocesan officials have assured parish leaders that St. Joseph's future is not necessarily in jeopardy.
This is the time for healing, not long-term decisions, Fr. Demuth told parish trustees, their priest moderator and their sacramental minister in a meeting after the fire.
The current diocesan parish planning process called for St. Joseph to be served by a parish director and sacramental minister.
Parish leaders are confident that the parish can continue as it has, with a new parish director, because of the lay leadership and volunteer structure Sr. Marlene fostered.
"She got lots of people involved and that's to their advantage because they'll be able to continue that ministry," said Fr. Ron Colombo, pastor of All Saints Parish, Denmark, and priest moderator for Kellnersville.
"She delegated well and made sure that the people were trained," he said. "The outreach and ministry will carry on in their names. As they do these things, it will help with the healing. They know that is the way she would want it."
Mary Torp, parish secretary, agrees. "She did a lot of delegating and thank goodness for that because we all have our jobs and our territories. There were a lot of people she relied on and we'll rely on each other. She had a talent for picking the right person for the job."
"You couldn't say no to her. She wouldn't come right out and ask you to do something, but she would talk about it and the next thing you knew you found yourself volunteering to do it," Torp said.
In his homily for the funeral in the packed church, Fr. Dean Dombroski, pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish, Humboldt, said the two sisters had prepared the parish to continue. And, he said, they wouldn't want the parish to be the same, they would want it to be better.
When Sr. Marlene was first assigned to the parish, some parishioners were apprehensive.
"There was a big concern in the parish when we lost our pastor and they gave us a sister," said Bob Kvitek, a lifelong parishioner and a trustee for the last three years. "Some people were a little reluctant at first, especially when a gal came in, but she fit right in. No one had a bad word about her," he said.
She quickly won over the skeptics, Fr. Columbo said. "That parish needed a woman. It had had lots of good priests, but it needed a woman's touch - the compassion and sensitivity that a woman has," said Fr. Columbo.
Plus her skills at math put the parish on a solid financial footing.
Both women quickly became part of the larger Kellnersville community, making friends everywhere because of their friendliness, outgoing ways, sense of humor and love for fun, parishioners said.
"They are definitely going to be missed," Kvitek said. "There's a lot of stuff Sr. Marlene took care of we don't know about. It's tough. We gotta go on, I guess."
Lester Cherney, parish council president and a native of the parish, said "Sr. Marlene had a tremendous gift of getting people together and to work with people. She was bubbly, loveable. She was a tremendous spiritual leader with a deep faith."
Sr. Joleen was equally nice, Cherney said. "They leave a big void. They were not only our spiritual leaders, they were loved by the whole community. Anytime there was a need or a hardship, they helped in any way they could."
Msgr. Robert Gulig agreed that the two sisters did a tremendous job of building community and were loved by the parish.
"After the fire, we had to wash down all the pews because a fine dust got on them from the fire," Msgr. Gulig said. "The confirmation students helped with the cleaning and for the funeral luncheon, they helped serve the meals and, waited on tables. Before the funeral, we had decided to hold the dinner somewhere else, but the women of the parish insisted that they wanted to have the dinner here because they said doing so was healing for them."
Parishioners also talk about Srs. Marlene and Joleen's concern for shut-ins, those in hospitals and nursing homes.
"They were wonderful, caring people," said Mary Neph, who does the parish bulletin and is the area vicariate representative.
"They were always there when someone needed them, visiting day or night, the homebound, those in nursing homes, and for funerals. They lived church."
Msgr. Gulig, sacramental minister for the parish, said he and the two sisters made a good team.
"We had fun together. I always said we made a good milkstool: three even-balanced legs that provided support. We each had our distinct roles and we worked together fine. Whenever there was a little friction, we would have a little meeting, each say our piece and then go on."
Msgr. Gulig said he went with Srs. Marlene and Joleen when anointing was needed, doing the anointing and hearing confessions and letting them do the rest.
Both sisters had a deep love for the church and the Eucharist, said Fr. Dombroski who worked with Sr. Marlene in the 1980s and early 1990s when she was the pastoral associate at Ss. Cyril and Methodius Parish, Eaton.
Sr. Marlene reported the fire to the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department at 12:24 a.m. Dec. 23. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Sr. Joleen was transported to Holy Family Memorial Medical Center, Manitowoc, and was later airlifted to Appleton Medical Center, where she died. She was an organ donor.
The Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department and the State Fire Marshall said the fire of undetermined cause appears to be accidental. It started in the living room, which was gutted. The rest of the residence suffered heavy smoke damage.
Srs. Marlene and Joleen were in the upstairs bedrooms when the fire started, said Robert Hermann, inspector with the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department.
Neph said that while the parish "will miss them terribly, we know they're up in heaven and smiling. They wouldn't want us to be overly sad, they would want us to carry on for them."
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