Sister of Loretto Mary Kenneth Lewis dies at age 98

NERINX, Kentucky.  Sister of Loretto Mary Kenneth Lewis died May 20 at age 98 in Nerinx, Kentucky. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated May 30 at Loretto Motherhouse in Nerinx. Burial followed in Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery.

Sister Mary Kenneth was born June 15, 1924 in Denver. She entered the Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross on April 25, 1943. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Loretto Heights College in 1956. She earned a master’s degree in English from Marquette University in Milwaukee in 1963.

Sister Mary Kenneth taught at St. Mary’s High School in Colorado Springs from 1962-1964. She taught at St. John School in Denver from 1964-65 and Holy Family High School from 1965-1970. She also taught at schools in Illinois, New Mexico and Wyoming.

She served as director of religious education at St. Augustine Parish in Brighton from 1970-75.

In 1975, she earned a master’s degree in religious education from Seattle University and was named director of religious education for 28 parishes in the northern region of the Archdiocese of Denver, a position she held until 1979.

From 1979-1987, she was director of adult religious education at Sacred Heart of Mary Parish in Boulder. She served as pastoral associate at Holy Cross Parish in Thornton from 1987-1990.

In 1993, she founded the Loretto Spirituality Center in Littleton and served as its first director until 2006, when she retired.

 In 2012, Sister Mary Kenneth oversaw the compilation of the Loretto Prayer Book in honor of the Sisters of Loretto’s 200th anniversary.

Sister Mary Kenneth is survived by nine nieces and nephews.