A Requiem Eucharist in thanksgiving for the life of Sister Mary Grace Rom will be held at All Saints’ Cathedral on Wednesday, November 1, 2023 at 10:00 a.m. Following the service Sister Mary Grace’s remains will lay in state at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel. The congregation is invited for a time of fellowship and a light luncheon in the cathedral’s Guild Hall. Following the reception her remains will be interred at Green Ridge Cemetery, 6604 7th Avenue, Kenosha, 53143 at 1:30 pm. All are invited to attend.
Betty Bernice Rom was born on March 25, 1920, to Roy and Emmie Rom, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her father was a schoolteacher, and her mother was a homemaker. Her mother died on her 15th birthday. Her remaining youth was spent helping to raise her younger brother Roy, who survives her, and her younger sisters, Carol and Rita.
She graduated from Riverside High School in Milwaukee in 1938. In the fall of 1938, she enrolled in Carthage College. She was an excellent student and received a bachelor of arts degree in May 1942. She received a teaching license for home economics and biology on July 2, 1944.
After teaching high school for several years, she entered the Western Province of the Community of St. Mary in 1950. She made her life profession on October 2, 1952. In her early years in the convent, she taught junior high school science and home economics. Later, she became assistant novice mistress and then novice mistress.
Sister Mary Grace was elected Mother Superior of the Western Province of the Community of St. Mary in 1966 and served in that capacity until 1971.
In 1971 the General Chapter of the Episcopal Community of St. Mary elected Sister Mary Grace as their seventh Reverend Mother Superior General. As such, she spent time at each of the 10 houses of the Eastern and Western Provinces of the Community of St. Mary.
In 1973 she was elected to serve on the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church. She was also elected to serve as the presiding officer for the Conference on the Religious Life. She was the first woman to serve in either position.
Later, in her retirement years, she belonged to St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Waukesha, Wisconsin for many years.
She died at age 103, on October 19, 2023, at Saint John’s On The Lake, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was the last surviving member of the Community of St. Mary.
Memorial gifts could be sent to St. Matthias Episcopal Church, 111 E Main St, Waukesha, WI 53186; of The DeKoven Foundation, 2000 Wisconsin Avenue , Racine, WI 53403