Sister Frances Dillman, CSJ

(S. Mary Rachel)

A woman with genuine love for others, selfless, kind, caring

Frances Pauline Dillman was born on December 5, 1933, to Alexander and Mary Dora (Glick) Dillman of St. Mary’s, Kansas. After finishing Saint Benedict’s Elementary School, taught by Benedictine Sisters, she went to Ward High School, staffed by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth. She then worked for a year before pursuing her dream of becoming a nurse. Some of her friends, who were also going to be nurses, chose not to train in Kansas but to go to Kansas City, Missouri, to a hospital run by the Sisters of St. Joseph. Impressed by the sisters she met, Frances thought:

If I ever wanted to enter the convent, I would like to be in this community … They saw the ups and the downs. They saw the good days and the bad days and all these things that happened in everybody’s life, and it never affected their care for you as a ‘you,’ which was to me a feat to be able to do that.

After completing two of the three years of training, she made the decision to enter the Sisters of St. Joseph. Frances arrived at Carondelet in St. Louis on September 15, 1954, and was received into the novitiate as Sister Mary Rachel on March 19, 1955. After a year at Fontbonne College (1957), she went on to earn her bachelor's degree in nursing from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota (1959). That same year, she began ministering as a nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Kirkwood, Missouri.

In 1962, Sister Frances became a nurse supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City. During those following years, she began to experience weakness and loss of balance. Her doctors were unable to diagnose the problem. In 1967, she returned to St. Joseph Hospital in Kirkwood where a doctor diagnosed her illness as multiple sclerosis. After residing at the hospital for a year, she moved to Nazareth Convent in St. Louis, hoping to regain her strength. Five years later, when she did regain some strength, she returned to St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City as a volunteer nurse. Unfortunately, after just four months, she returned to Nazareth Convent as a resident. By 1976,
S. Frances’ health allowed her to do clerical work at Nazareth. When she was well enough, she volunteered as a pastoral minister at All Saints Parish in St. Louis (1981–86).

Later that year, S. Frances returned once more to Kansas City to serve at Redemptorist Retirement Home, where she was first a volunteer (1986) and then a geriatric assistant (1989). In 1999, she moved to Queen of the Holy Rosary Convent and spent her time visiting with families in the parish. Two years later, S. Frances went to live at the Main Street House while working as a home service provider for the elderly for CSJ Care. She retired in 2007, volunteering where she could until 2013. She then moved to Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis to continue a ministry of prayer and presence.

Memories:

I remember her never-fading smile. Despite her health issues, she continued to be cheerful and to think of others rather than of herself. —Sister Paulette Gladis

[She was] loving, caring, living in the presence, easily sharing her sacred moments and willing to share her heart with those closest to her … We know her as truly being real: caring, exhibiting wisdom and hope. —Sister Marilyn Peot

… Great to work with … kind and competent. —Associate Ellen M. Dukes

[I remember her] sense of humor, her genuine care for people, and her positive attitude. —Sister Ann Landers

She was always welcoming … Her friendly countenance was always refreshing. I will miss her presence among us.—Sister Mary Joyce Bringer

She was a bright light and so much joy in my life. She never complained.—Sister Helen Alder

By Sister Helen Oates