Catholic Diocese of Spokane, Washington

From the

Official News Magazine of the Diocese of Spokane

(From the June 9, 2005 edition of the Inland Register)

Jesuit Father Patrick J. Ford, who grew up in the Gonzaga University neighborhood and went on to earn two academic degrees from Gonzaga, plus its highest award, and served the university for 27 years as a top administrator and professor, died June 3, apparently of heart failure, at the Jesuit Infirmary on campus. He was 63.

The Vigil for Fr. Ford was scheduled for June 9 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Aloysius Church, with a reception to follow. The funeral Mass will be Friday, June 10, at 11 a.m., also at St. Aloysius Church. Bishop Skylstad will preside; Jesuit Father John Whitney, Provincial of the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus, will preach. Burial will follow in the Jesuit cemetery at Mount St. Michael.

Father Ford attended St. Aloysius School and Gonzaga Prep, Spokane, before entering the Society of Jesus in 1960. He enrolled at GU in 1963, where he received his undergraduate (1966) and master’s (1967) degrees, before earning a doctorate in Administration and Policy Analysis (Standford, 1971) and a Master of Divinity degree, from the Jesuit School of Theology, Berkeley, in 1974, the year he was ordained a priest.

He last served Gonzaga as academic vice president before moving to Portland in 2001 to become socius, or chief of the provincial’s staff, for the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus.

During this year’s graduate commencement exercises, Father Ford was honored with the DeSmet Medal, the highest honor the university bestows for service. For more than 30 years Father Ford was a beloved and devoted priest, a dedicated servant to the Province and Gonzaga University, and a tireless advocate for advancing higher education throughout the United States.

He served Gonzaga as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (1974-79); professor of higher education (1979-2005); as a member of the doctoral faculty who was instrumental in starting Gonzaga’s doctoral program; dean of the Graduate School (1985-90); and 11 years as academic vice president (1990-2001).

Sister Mary Rita (Mary Rose of the Immaculate Heart) Dolan of the Poor Clare Sisters died May 20, 2005, after a long illness. She was 76 years old.

The vigil was held May 24; the funeral Mass was celebrated the next morning at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Spokane. Burial followed at Holy Cross Cemetery.

She was born in Spirit Lake, Idaho. Her family moved to Post Falls, Idaho, and later to Seattle, where she graduated from Holy Rosary High School. She worked briefly as a secretary for Rhodes Department Store before entering the Poor Clare monastic community in Spokane in 1948.

She ministered to her community in a number of capacities over the years: as director of formation, cook, and, for 19 years, as abbess. She also was part of the founding group of the Mother Bentivoglio Federation of Poor Clares in the United States.

Sister was highly regarded and greatly loved by many people for her practical wisdom and advice and her very loving and generous heart. She helped not only her Religious community achieve a greater closeness to God but also countless others, both within and beyond the Spokane area.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Monastery of St. Clare, 4419 N. Hawthorne St., Spokane, WA 99205.

Sister Loretta (Samuella) Giampietri, a Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, died May 19 at San Damiano Convent, Spokane. She was 75 years old; she had been a member of her Religious community for 49 years.

The vigil was celebrated at St. Paschal Church, Spokane, May 23. The funeral Mass was celebrated there the next day. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Spokane.

In addition, a memorial Mass was celebrated for her at St. Rose Convent, La Crosse, Wis.

She was born in Spokane and entered St. Rose Convent in La Crosse in 1955. She professed vows in 1958.

Most of her life was spent in the ministry of education in the Spokane Diocese. She served in three schools in Wisconsin, as well as St. Paschal, St. Francis Xavier, St. Anne, St. Augustine, and our Lady of Fatima schools in Spokane.

Twenty-three years were given as a Catholic school principal, most recently at St. Paschal School, Spokane Valley.

Memorials may be sent to the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, 912 Market St., La Crosse, Wis., 54601-8800.

Dominican Sister Janet Elizabeth Moore died May 19 in Spokane. She was 90 years old; she had been a member of the Dominican community since 1957.

The rosary was prayed May 22 at Dominican Center, Spokane. The funeral Mass was celebrated there the next morning. Interment was at Holy Cross Cemetery, Spokane.

Sister Janet was born in Montclair, N.J. She worked in a variety of secretarial and educational posts before entering the Dominican Sisters at Kettle Falls, Wash., in 1957.

She taught English on the high school and college levels, and served as both a secretary and librarian to her Religious community.

She moved from Kettle Falls to the Dominican Center, Spokane, in 1970; in 2002 she moved to the Holy Names Health Care Center.