Felice Marie Kolda

Sister Felice Marie Kolda, SNJM

Sister Felice Marie (Florence Irene) Kolda, a vowed member of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, died on September 27, 2014 in Arcadia, California, near her Alhambra birthplace. Sister was preceded in death by her parents, Dr. Felix O. and Florence Irene Barr Kolda, her sister Priscilla, and brother Rev. Donald F. Kolda, SJ. She is survived by her sisters Mary Ann (J.P. Irwin); Suzanne (J. J. Van Dyke, MD) and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

A graduate of Ramona Convent Secondary School, Alhambra, Sister attended Immaculate Heart College, entered religious life, and graduated from Holy Names University in Oakland. Sister Kolda taught speech and drama at Saint Monica, Santa Monica; Saint Andrew, Pasadena, Ramona Convent, Saint Bernard High School, Playa del Rey, and Holy Names High School, Oakland. Sister served as Dean of Residents at Holy Names University. Sister also taught adult classes in life-story writing at Beverly Hills High School. Felice is quoted in a 1991 LA Times article by Linda Blandford about those classes: "Some people have been deeply wounded-husbands lost, financial reversals, family illnesses. But if a person needs support and has nowhere to reach for it-how thrilled I am to be there."

Completing a Master's Degree at Stanford University in Speech Pathology and Audiology, Felice was a member of the Stanford Professional Women of L.A. As a Licensed Audiologist, Sister taught Speech Reading classes at the House Ear Institute in L.A. Founder Howard P. House M.D. praised Felice for "your wonderful speech reading classes. I am sure all of your people are very grateful to you for the help you are able to give them through your splendid talents." In her later years, it gave Felice great joy to teach lip reading classes sponsored by the UCLA Research Institute Hope for Hearing Foundation Summer Institute in Laguna Hills to hearing impaired people. She was commended for this work in 1995 by Judith K. Montgomery, Ph.D. then President of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: "You are an asset to our community and to speech, language and hearing education. Stanford University must be proud to name you as an alumnus."
Mass of Resurrection was held in Arcadia; burial at 1:00PM on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Hayward. In lieu of flowers, gifts in Sister's memory may be made to Sisters of the Holy Names Ministry Fund, PO Box 907, Los Gatos, CA 95031-0907.