Rosemary Wilcox SL
(Thomasine Wilcox SL)
December 21, 1922 —September 18, 2012
Rosemary Wilcox was born in St. Louis. Sacred Heart Parish, across the street from their home, seemed the center of their lives and Rosemary can’t remember knowing anyone who was not Catholic. She believes the value of honesty was primary in their household—meaning, “We were what we were and didn’t try to be any different.”
Rosemary attended Loretto Academy (Lafayette) for one year and then she and her sister, Jane, transferred to St. Alphonsus (Rock) High School. Rosemary entered the Sisters of Loretto on October 25, 1944, and at reception took the name of Sister Mary Thomasine in honor of her brother Tom. Jane was already a Loretto.
After profession in April 1947, Rosemary was sent to St. Mary’s Academy in Denver. In subsequent years, Rosemary taught at St. Philomena’s in Denver; St. James in Highwood, Illinois; and Blessed Sacrament in Denver. She also served as Superior at the last two locations.
It was while Rosemary was at Blessed Sacrament that the Denver Archdiocese determined that another high school was needed to accommodate the burgeoning numbers of students in grade schools. The site for this school was to be at Blessed Sacrament Parish and it would be named for the first Bishop of the Denver Territory.
Rosemary was appointed principal while the school was under construction. Bishop Machebeuf High School opened in three classrooms on the top floor of Blessed Sacrament Grade School with a ninth grade of 97 students and a faculty of three. Rosemary spoke of her years in schools as happy ones and she was very proud of the hard work and excitement that went into the completion of Machebeuf, which opened in 1958. In 2008, Rosemary attended the 50-year celebration of the school.
In 1969, Rosemary’s life took a new path when Sister Florence Wolff appointed her to head the office of Denver Metro Area Catholic Education. This position in the Archdiocese was followed by an appointment as Assistant Director in the Office of Administration and Planning. This Office was responsible for implementation of planning, property management, insurance and budgets in various areas of the Archdiocese.
In 1984, Archbishop Casey appointed Rosemary as Vice-Chancellor of the Archdiocese and in 1988 Archbishop Stafford appointed her as Chancellor of the Diocese, a position she held for ten years. Many of these years working in Archdiocesan administration were spent implementing the decrees of Vatican II for the diocese and parishes. In 2000, Rosemary was honored for her work in the Archdiocese by receiving the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice—Cross for the Church and Pontiff—from Archbishop Charles Chaput on behalf of Pope John Paul II.
Rosemary retired in 1996 and in 2001 moved to the Denver Center with her long-time friend Theresa Madden, who died at Loretto Motherhouse in 2004. Reflecting on her own life in 2008, Rosemary said that she was more aware of physical limitations and of fewer years of life left, but she “ has loved her life, which has been one of happiness.”
We thank you, Rosemary, for the inspiration of your life of service to Catholic schools, the Denver Diocese and the Loretto Community.