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Sister Michel Crooks has spent her life caring for people-and she loves
it. She recently celebrated her 50th jubilee anniversary as a Franciscan
Sister of Mary and her retirement as a chaplain for St. Mary's Hospital
of Blue Springs.
"Being a chaplain here has been really gratifying," she says. "People
are always saying how much they appreciate you, but really they give you
back so much."
Sister Michele has been giving to patients, families, staff, her country
and to God her whole life. During World War II, she was a navy corpsman.
Then, she says, they paid her way, so she went to school in St. Louis
and became an x-ray technician and began working at St. Mary's Hospital
in St. Louis. Then her life really changed.
"The sister in charge of Radiology was such a wonderful person, she really
influenced me," says Sister Michel. "She was very strict, but very kind.
I really respected her. I ended up joining the (Catholic) church and nine
months later I joined the order."
Things are different now than when she entered the order. "It was interesting,
learning the way of the cross-learning the prayers in Latin," she smiles.
"We didn't talk after 8 in the evening. We had to keep our hands in our
sleeves." She got used to it, and then in the mid-60s, many orders became
less strict. Sisters no longer wore the black, wool habits.
"We had to learn to drive and learn to cook," says Sister Michel. "Some
of us thought we would make our own clothes-but that didn't last too long.
It was hard at first."
About that same time, Sister Michel moved from St. Louis to St. Mary's
Hospital in downtown Kansas City. She became a hospital administrator,
came to St. Mary's Hospital of Blue Springs as a chaplain in 1988 and
retired this year.
"Sister Michel never, ever forgot our primary goal-patient care," says
Father Ron Verhaeghe, chaplain. "She's a great example of what we're all
called to be. She lives a life of simplicity and prayer and caring. She
is always upbeat-but always has a bit of orneriness. She has that spunk
and can always rise to an occasion."
Sister Michel has returned to St. Louis, but she says, she's not retiring
to a rocking chair. "I'm sure they will find something to keep me busy-keep
me out of trouble. I still have quite a few years to go!"
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