- Sr. Kistka
Born Bernice Kistka in Jackson on Nov. 4, 1912, she was the third of 15 children of John and Helen
Kistka. She was baptized at St. Joseph Church in Jackson. She enrolled in the Seminary of the Felician Sisters in Detroit and was accepted into the Felician congregation in 1931.
She pronounced First Vows in 1934 and Perpetual Vows in 1940.
Sr. Kistka received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Madonna University.
During her 65 years in the parochial school system and taught at the following schools: St. Stanislaus, Corpus Christi, St. Stephen, St. Valentine, Sacred Heart, Our Lady Help of Christians, Immaculate Conception, St. Hyacinth, St. Ignatius St. Hilary, and St. Christine – all in Detroit; St. Mel, Dearborn; St. Florian and Our Lady Queen of Apostles, Hamtramck; Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Wyandotte; St. Stanislaus Kostka, Jackson; St. Stanislaus and St. Hyacinth, Bay City; Holy Rosary, Saginaw; St. Mary’s, Bronson; St. Adalbert and Holy Family, South Bend, Indiana; St. Anthony and St. Adalbert, Toledo, Ohio.
She also was assigned to Joseph Home, Jackson in the Child Care Center.
Her last ministry in education took her to St. Stephen/ Mother of the Church in Detroit where she was an assistant librarian.
Sr. Kistka retired to the Provincial House in 1998 and was assigned to the local vestry for the next eight years.
Sr. Kistka was a prayerful religious, and with rosary in hand, she could often be found in the chapel before the Eucharistic Lord.
In 2006, St. Joseph/Angela Hall became her permanent residence where the ministry of prayer occupied her time. Her medical condition began to decline after she celebrated her 80th Jubilee as a religious on May 28, 2011. Sisters and family members kept a prayer vigil at her bedside as her death drew near.
She is survived by her brother Robert, sister Mary, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.
Her funeral Mass was Aug. 24 in the Felician Motherhouse Chapel. Burial was in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield.
