Sister Mary Lou Durbin
Born: March 1, 1937
Entrance: Seüte,ber 8, 1954
Professed: June 13, 1957
Died: December 25, 2024
On Christmas Day 2024, Sister Mary Lou Durbin, Hospital Sister of the Third Order Regular of St. Francis, passed from this life.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart… and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
On December 25, 2024, at 12:30 a.m., our Sister Mary Lou Durbin passed from this life with Sister Emerencia Tirkey by her side. As a choir of angels playing violins announced Christ’s birth, their music welcomed Sister Mary Lou into paradise.
Her story of religious life began when she was five years old and stood on the hill outside of St. John’s TB San – waving to her mother who was a patient. Standing on that holy ground was memorable for Sister Mary Lou and the seed of God’s calling to this religious community was planted as she followed in the footsteps of her mother’s sister, Sister Agnesine Miller, OSF (1907-99).
Sister Mary Lou, the former Mary Louise Durbin, was born in Ramsey, IL on March 1, 1937, the daughter of Bernard and Mary Elizabeth (Miller) Durbin. In 1951, she enrolled in the St. Francis Aspirant School, entered the Congregation on September 8, 1954, and professed her religious vows on June 13, 1957.
Sister Mary Lou was a 1962 graduate of St. John’s Hospital School of Nursing, Springfield, IL, and she completed postgraduate studies in obstetrics in 1971 and earned a bachelor’s degree from Sangamon State University in 1986. She served as a nurse at HSHS hospitals in lllinois and Wisconsin along with long-term care facilities in Chicago. She also served as a nurse at St. Francis Convent until 2012. One of her other ministries was as a reading tutor for first graders at Riverton Elementary School, Riverton, IL.
She was preceded in death by her parents, a brother, Leland Leon Durbin, and a sister, Rose Marie Martie. She is survived by a sister-in-law, Virginia Durbin, and several nieces and a nephew along with their families, as well as her Franciscan Sisters with whom she shared her life for 70 years.
The Eucharistic Celebration and Rite of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Father Richard Chiola on Monday, December 30 at 10:30 a.m. in the St. Clare of Assisi Adoration Chapel and burial will be in Crucifixion HiII Cemetery. Sister Mary Lou was a generous soul who welcomed opportunities to be of service whenever she was asked. Her trademark of offering a piece of candy spoke volumes of her character – a combination of sweetness and blessing. May she rest in peace.
