Sister Catherine Thomas Dwyer was a talented teacher who loved her Irish heritage

Sister Catherine Thomas Dwyer – a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa for 68 years – was a teacher and principal known for her sense of humor and love of her Irish heritage and large family. She died on Jan. 27 at the age of 88. 

A funeral Mass was held Feb. 7 at the motherhouse in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin. Burial followed in the motherhouse cemetery. 

Sister Catherine Thomas was a teacher for 38 years, a principal for nine years and an administrative assistant for three years. She taught at Sacred Heart School in Omaha from 1964 to 1980. She also worked in Maryland, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Montana.  

Born on Oct. 31, 1934, in La Crosse, Wisconsin, Sister Catherine Thomas made her first profession as a Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa on Aug. 5, 1954, and her perpetual profession on Aug. 5, 1957. 

Sister Catherine Thomas was preceded in death by her parents, Michael and Kathryn (Riley) Dwyer; seven sisters: Zita Foley, Kathleen Runde, Dominican Sister of Sinsinawa Mary Dominicana Dwyer, Mary Lydon, Patricia Ninneman, Margaret Marnell and Therese Ninneman; and four brothers: William Dwyer, Salvatorian Father Cormac Dwyer, John Dwyer and Terry Dwyer. She is survived by nieces, nephews and her Dominican Sisters.  

Memorials may be made to the Sinsinawa Dominicans, 585 County Road Z, Sinsinawa, WI, 53824-9701, or at www.sinsinawa.org/donate.  

Repeat broadcasts of the wake and funeral for Sister Catherine Thomas are available online at www.sinsinawa.org/live. Click on the “on-demand” tab.