Aston, PA — Sister Cecilia Alice Kovach, OSF, died in St. Ann Convent, Tacoma, Washington, on January 6. She was eighty-nine years of age and had been a professed member of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia for sixty-eight years. Sister Cecilia Alice (Dora Cecilia Kovach) was born in Tacoma, where she was a member of Sacred Heart Parish. She graduated from St. Leo High School in Tacoma. Prior to her entrance into the congregation in 1936, she worked as a seamstress at St. Ann Orphanage in Tacoma. She earned a B.A. in Education from Holy Names College in Spokane. Although Sister Cecilia Alice began her years of ministry healthcare, she served primarily in elementary education, both as teacher and as librarian. At one point she was awarded a plaque for forty-six years of service in education. She enjoyed reading, gardening, and keeping in contact with the elderly.
Sister Cecilia Alice ministered for fifty-one years in the Archdiocese of Seattle. Thirty-one of those years were spent at St. Charles Borromeo School where she first taught from 1963-1966. She returned there from 1973-2001, first as teacher and then as librarian. She taught at St. Leo School from 1947-1956, 1967-1968, 1969-1973). In 2001 Sister Cecilia Alice moved to St. Ann Convent where she served until her death, first as a volunteer and then in prayer ministry.
Sister Cecilia Alice ministered for eleven years in the Diocese of Baker. She worked in the Admissions Office at both St. Elizabeth Hospital, Baker (1938-1940) and St. Anthony Hospital, Pendleton (1940-1941). She taught at Sacred Heart Academy, Klamath Falls (1956-1961, 1968-1969). She also taught at St. Francis Academy, Baker, from 1961-1963.
Sister Cecilia Alice’s six years of ministry in the Diocese of Spokane included teaching at St. Joseph Academy in Tekoa (1941-1942) and caring for children at St. Joseph Childrens’ Home in Spokane (1942-1947). She also taught at St. John Fisher School (1966-1967) in the Archdiocese of Portland.
The Rosary will be prayed for Sister Cecilia Alice on Thursday, January 11, at 6:30 P.M. at St. Ann Convent. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 A.M. on Friday, January 12, at St. Charles Parish on 12th Street, Tacoma. Burial will follow in Calvary Cemetery. Sister Cecilia Alice is survived by two brothers, Florian Kovach of LaGrande, Oregon, and Arnold Kovach of Tacoma, Washington; many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews; and by her Franciscan family. Donations in her name can be made to Franciscan Ministries Foundation, 609 S. Convent Road, Aston, PA 19014.
