Sister Killam

Sister Virginia Marie Killam died peacefully at the Ursuline Queen of peace Healthcare Center in Alton, Illinois, on May 22, 2013. The daughter of James Benjamin Killam and Mary Hattie Marie Martelon, she was born July 14, 1920, in Denver Colorado. She was preceded in death by one brother, Benjamin Andrew Killam (Bud), who died in the polio epidemic of 1936. She is survived by two devoted cousins, Elsie Marie Lippott of Wheatridge, Colorado, and Mary Lee Munsell of Loveland, Colorado.

Sister Virginia Marie attended a number of elementary schools in Denver, Colorado, and Dallas, Texas, before receiving her secondary education at Ursuline Academy in Dallas. She entered the Ursuline Religious Order in 1937. making vows in January of 1940. She studied for her Bachelor of Arts Degree in New Orleans and at Fontbonne in St. Louis, and for a Masters Degree in Spanish at Universidad de la Habana, Universidad Catolic de Sto.Tomas de Villanueva, and the University of Dallas. The Majority of her ministry assignments, for over thirty years, were in Hispanic Countries: Cuba, Mexico, and Spain. She continued to use her gift with the Spanish language by working as an immigration caseworker and counselor for Catholic Charities in Dallas for ten years when she returned to the United States and then served in the offices of her alma mater, Ursuline Academy in Dallas, for another twelve years before her retirement. She asked to join Queen of Peace Healthcare Center in 2009.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday, May 29, 2013 at 11:00 am at the Ursuline Convent Chapel, 845 Danforth Street, Alton, Illinois. Visitation will precede  this Mass beginning at 10:00 am. Reverend Jack Lau, OMI will preside.

Memorials may be made to the Ursuline Queen of Peace Healthcare Center, 845 Danforth Street, Alton, Illinois, 62002, Staten and Fine is handling arrangements.  

Online condolences and a guestbook may be found at www.staten-fine.com.

Obit Provided By:
Staten, Fine & Burke Funeral Home