Sister Donna Quinn

Obituary

Dominican Sister Donna Quinn served as teacher, advocate for women

Sister Donna Quinn of the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa was an advocate for justice and equal rights, especially for women, for more than half of her 63 years of religious life.

She also was a teacher, serving in the Archdiocese of Omaha at St. Cecilia School in Omaha from 1958 to 1962, before her career took her into other areas.

Sister Donna died July 30 at St. Dominic Villa in Hazel Green, Wisconsin. She was 84.

A remembrance service was held Aug. 10 at the Dominican motherhouse in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. A funeral Mass was held at a funeral home in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, with burial in Holy Sepulchre Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in Alsip, Illinois.

A native of Chicago, she made her first religious profession in 1957 and her perpetual profession in 1960. She also was known by the religious name of Sister Caitriona.

In addition to her service in the Omaha archdiocese, Sister Donna served as a teacher and administrator in elementary and high schools in Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. She then taught and worked in public relations, development and admissions for Chicago area high schools and colleges.

She also was a founding member and director of Chicago Catholic Women, and held leadership positions with several other women’s organizations in the Archdiocese of Chicago.

Justice and equal rights became her passion as she dedicated 33 years to organizations promoting those causes and writing extensively on those topics, according to an obituary provided by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa.

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