A TOUCH OF CHRISTMAS: Sister Clare Simon takes special care to decorate St. Francis Convent for holy days and special occasions.
by Renae Bauer
“All for the greater honor and glory of God.”
It doesn’t take long to be in a conversation with Sister Clare Simon before she utters these heartfelt, prayerful words. “That was Grandma Simon’s saying,” says Sister Clare. “We never had a meal prayer without saying, ‘All for the greater honor and glory of God.’”
These words spoken throughout Sister’s formative years became part of her DNA as she worked on her parents’ 60-acre farm and at their cheese factory, and as she attended Mass and received Sacraments at St. John Nepomucene, all in Little Chute. The words also guided her to say yes to religious life and every ministry entrusted to her.
This hard-working farm girl, born to Arthur and Johanna (Ann) Simon, entered the convent in 1956. In her first year, Sister Clare honed her kitchen skills from one of the Community’s best cooks, Sister Hermana Paider. A year later, Sister Clare was missioned to St. Matthew Convent in Allouez to be the housekeeper for the 16 Sisters who lived there and taught at the school next door.
Caring about each mission and each person
Her journey of glorifying God continued to other missions — St. Francis Pre-Novitiate, the Community’s high school for girls considering religious life; Holy Name Retreat House in Door County; and McCormick Home in Allouez where Sister Clare served as assistant administrator and administrator. While at McCormick Home, Wisconsin passed regulations requiring all care facility administrators to be certified, so Sister Clare attended classes at UW-Green Bay and passed the state boards.
Around 1980, while working at Keen Agers in Oneida, Sister Clare was asked to help at the Motherhouse. The Community leadership approached Sister Clare and said, “ ‘We need you at home. Everything is so rundown.’ So, I came back. That’s when I first started with maintenance and cleaning,” remembers Sister Clare. At the same time, she also accepted the responsibility of Motherhouse treasurer, who works in tandem with the Community treasurer.
For 40-some years, Sister Clare meticulously maintained income and expense ledgers, car records, and household supplies. She’s trained staff and shoveled snow. She’s regularly cleaned just about everything at two different Motherhouses, all with the goal of caring for her Sisters.
“Sister Clare’s nearly seven decades of service to our Community is a powerful example of a life devoted to faith,” says Sister Rose Jochmann, Community President. “Every day, she lives our mission of ‘responding to the needs of our times’ by joyfully accepting and completing each mission to the fullest. She has been a tremendous blessing.”
Blessed by friendships
For Sister Clare, religious life has blessed her. “I’ve enjoyed working with all the Sisters, and I’ve had wonderful lay help,” Sister Clare reflects. She’s also become friends with repairmen, mechanics and distributors, including one whose children would come along on deliveries. “Sister Mary Peter Tauschek always had cookies for them,” says Sister Clare. “Oh, we got to be real close, I still call some of them once in a while,” she says of her business contacts.
One of Sister Clare’s closest collaborators for 27 years has been Dennis Mercier, the Community’s facility and properties manager. “Dennis and I always got along very well, and I got to know his family and went to his sons’ weddings,” she says. “He helped me and I helped him. We went through some tough times (at the former convent) but we would laugh through it all, even when we cleaned up sewage coming through the wall in the laundry room.”
For Dennis, Sister Clare has been a model of Christian faith: “She is the most honest, hard-working, faith-filled person I’ve ever met,” says Dennis. “She’s the most caring person I know. She looks out for everyone and prays for them, especially her Sisters and family.”
Mix in a little fun and sports
After 64 years of dedicated ministry, Sister Clare is passing on her responsibilities to others. However, she plans to continue decorating the Motherhouse for celebrations – a task she enjoys -- and if there’s music at a party she might even dance. “I love to dance; I used to go to a lot of dances” as a girl, she adds.
And she will continue cheering for her favorite teams – the Packers, Brewers, Badgers and local high school sports, especially if a family member is playing. “I never saw my brother Dave play football in high school or at St. Norbert College,” she explains, because of the structure of religious life then. So when that changed in the 1970s, Sister Clare made every effort to attend her nieces’ and nephews’ games.
Reflecting on her life, Sister Clare shares, “I have enjoyed life. I trusted in the Lord. If he sent me a cross, I’d say, ‘Jesus, if you’re going to send me a cross, you’re going to help me carry it.” Her journey is a testament to her faith and her grandmother’s words, “All for the greater honor and glory of God.”
