Sister M. Rosanne GACEK OSF

GACEK Sister M. Rosanne OSF 1921-2012 Sylvania Franciscan Sister M. Rosanne Gacek died on April 2, 2012, at Rosary Care Center in Sylvania, Ohio where she had lived as a resident since 1985. The daughter of John and Magdalen Gacek, she was born on September 1, 1921, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She came to the Sylvania Franciscans on September 1, 1938. She professed her vows as a Sister of St. Francis on August 18, 1941, and her final vows on August 18, 1944. Sister Rosanne spent 40 of her 71 years of ministry involved in elementary teaching and as an elementary principal. She did secretarial work at a parish in Tiffin, Ohio for four years and spent almost 29 years involved in various ministries at the Motherhouse in Sylvania. She began her educational ministry in 1941 by teaching mostly middle grade students in Catholic elementary schools in Toledo, Crestline and Steubenville, Ohio; in Wyandotte and Detroit, Michigan; and in New Brighton, St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1983 she came to Sylvania to recuperate from a serious illness and, upon her recovery, volunteered her typing skills in the Sisters' Business Office. When she moved to Rosary Care Center, she entered into the Third Age Ministry of Prayer, played the organ for the liturgy and, when her health allowed, continued volunteering in the Finance Office. Sister Rosanne was well prepared for the ministry of teaching which she loved and found very fulfilling. She received a BS degree in Education/Elementary Education/Social Studies/ Spanish and a MA in Education from the University of Detroit, Detroit, Michigan. To know Sister Rosanne was to love her. She had a very outgoing personality and when you met her you felt special because she treated you as a friend. A frequent visitor to Rosary Care Center met her one day and ended up praying the rosary with her and his dying priest friend. He hadn't prayed the rosary for a long time and was unsure of himself but she filled in whenever it was his turn to respond and it all came back as together they prayed his friend into Heaven. The visitor became good friends with Sister and even wrote a brief biography after sharing many visits with her. She shared with her friend her favorite verses of Psalm 71 which summed up her feelings in her twilight years: "I have relied on You all my life; You have protected me since the day I was born. I will always praise You. My life has been an example to many, because You have been my strong defender. All day long I praise You and proclaim Your glory." (6-8) Sister Rosanne will be dearly missed by her Sisters in Community and her sister, Amelia Zarracina; brothers, Robert (Louise) Gacek and Ted (Bernice) Gacek and many relatives and friends. There will be a Welcoming for Sister Rosanne in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel at the Motherhouse of the Sisters of St. Francis in Sylvania from 6-8 p.m., Monday, April 9, 2012. Her funeral liturgy will be at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10 preceded by visitation from 9:30 a.m. until the funeral. Interment will be in Porta Coeli Cemetery on the Sylvania Franciscan Motherhouse grounds. Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis of Sylvania, Ohio. Arrangements by Thomas I. Wisniewski Funeral Home, Toledo, Ohio.