FSE Receives Standing Ovation from KCs, Shriners

June 25, 2001. Duluth, MN

Sister Judith Gebelein, FSE, received a standing ovation recently at the conclusion of her talk on the impact the Shriners Hospital has had on her life. At a fund raising event for the Shriners Hospitals in the United States, held in Duluth on June 15th, Sister Judith related her story of receiving seven months of medical care at Shriners Hospital in Minneapolis as a child suffering the effects of polio.

Over 300 Knights of Columbus, Shriners and their guests listened attentively as Sister Judith shared her experience as a patient at the age of 11, and how her time in the hospital touched deeply on her decision to become an orthopedic nurse. She also mentioned that living in a hospital ward with 25-30 other children who were suffering more than she was, became for her a lesson in life. Included in her talk was how her religious vocation as a Franciscan Sister has been fostered and deepend by her physical challenges.

Sister Judith grew up in Stratford, Wisconsin. She has worked for the past 20 years as a nurse at St. Mary Hospital, Grand Rapids, Michigan helping people who have life debilitating orthopedic illnesses. She is the local Superior of the Franciscan Sisters' center in Lowell, Michigan.

The evening was sponsored jointly by the Knights of Columbus Councils from the Diocese of Duluth and the Shriners Lodge. The program included a medley of Broadway Show music by the Twin Ports Women's Chorale of the John Duss Memorial Music Conservatory, directed by Sister Bernardone Rock, FSE and accompanied by Sandra Eller, both faculty members of the Conservatory.