Connections Fall/Winter 2010 (PDF) - Sisters of St. Joseph of ...

When asked if there’s anything she’d still like to do in her life, Ruth
Johnson, 87, doesn’t miss a beat. “Ride a horse! But … I don’t think that’ll
happen.”
during my full-time ministry I worked in a hospital, also in
Appalachia, and on our congregation’s leadership team. Being
able to work part-time for CSJ Care and meet people like
Ruth has been a true blessing.”
While Johnson has a son who lives nearby and visits
often, her chronic medical problems and decreasing physical
“You have been an angel
for me and have served
God for 50 years, and
more. I wish you all the
blessing God has for you
in the years to come.”
~Ruth Johnson
strength impede her ability to manage
without additional help. So Bell assists
on Mondays and Tuesdays for several
hours, and “she does such a beautiful
job,” Johnson says.
“I look forward to coming,” Bell
adds. “We see what we can get done together.
Ruth still cooks all on her own,
but other things are always needed.
One recent project was to clean the
blinds in the bedroom. I took them down and got permission
to take them home so I could wash them in the tub and bring
them back.”
Recently, when Bell celebrated her 50th jubilee, Johnson
composed a special greeting and presented it to Sister. “It
brought tears to my eyes,” Bell says. Johnson rustles through
a basket of papers until she comes up with the small piece
of paper on which she hand-wrote the rough draft of her
message: “You have been an angel for me and have served God
for 50 years, and more. I wish you all the blessing God has for
you in the years to come.”
Wally Schmieder, Brentwood, Missouri
Having just celebrated his 98th birthday in August,
Wally Schmieder smiles as he shares a few tales of the
past. His modest apartment brims with evidence of a full
and happy life, the love of family, the joy of faith and friends.
Schmieder is particularly grateful for the presence of Sister
Maureen Brugess, CCVI, who listens with the attentiveness
of a good friend.
Since early 2009 Brugess has visited Schmieder in his
home every other week. “I come on Fridays. I bring communion,
so we usually start with a little prayer service. Then I
do laundry and see what needs to be done around the kitchen
and bathroom. And when all that’s done, we play the Rubikube
on the computer.”
Schmieder says before the visits from CSJ Care, his
daughter and granddaughter were helping him with the
apartment upkeep, “but I didn’t like to impose—they are of
course busy with their families, and Sister Maureen has really
filled the gap. And we, well, I have to say we also enjoy one
another’s company.”
Brugess sees her visits as more than just providing
domestic help. “I look forward to offering companionship. I
truly believe fun and happiness need to be part of our lives as
we age. So for me it’s about bringing Christ’s presence and joy
into people’s lives by doing simple things together—preparing
and eating a meal, celebrating a birthday, going to the store.
I enjoy socializing with other family members.”
In fact, Schmieder’s son and daughter live nearby; they
visit frequently. Still, the fully customized care plan of the CSJ
Care ministry has fulfilled a unique need, bridging a very real
gap in his ability to remain at home.
For that, no one is more grateful than he. “We looked
into assisted living places—but you know, I like my independence.
Yes, I mean, with a little help I can still do it.”
Wally Schmieder has lived longer than two entire lifetimes of his father.
“My father died at 48 … I’m amazed at the successful bakery business
he had built up by that age.” Wally would like to visit his father’s birthplace
in Kleinlaffenburg, Germany.
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Sisters o f St. Jo s e p h o f Carondelet