Obituary for Sr. Elena "Antonia" Hernandez
Sister Elena (Antonia) Hernandez, OSB, 101, a Benedictine sister of Mount St. Scholastica, Atchison, Kan., died Tuesday, November 23, 2021, at the monastery.
The vigil service will be Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. in the monastery chapel, and the Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. in St.Scholastica’s Chapel. The public may attend the funeral Mass if fully vaccinated and masked.
Sister Elena was born in the village of San Gabriel, Mexico, on Sept. 5, 1920. When her mother died, she got a job in a clothing factory in a nearby city to help the family. Having always loved her faith and desired religious life, at age 30 she accompanied some Benedictine sisters to Alabama and then went to Oklahoma in 1956. She was determined to receive an education, which culminated in a B.S. in secondary education. In 1977, she became a pastoral associate for the Hispanic community at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Hollis, Okla., serving there until 1993. After the move of her Red Plains Monastery community from Peidmont, Okla., to Atchison in 2009, she continued to sew, care for her beloved parakeets, and make beautiful crafts for the monastery gift shop.
Sister Elena was preceded in death by her parents, Adelaida and Juan Hernandez, her brothers Juan, Pedro, and Alfonso, and sister Carmen. She is survived by nieces and nephews and her monastic family. Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home (www.beckerdyer.com) is in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be sent to Mount St. Scholastica or made online at the Mount’s web site (www.mountosb.org).
The vigil service will be Tuesday, November 30, 2021 at 6:30 p.m. in the monastery chapel, and the Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated Wednesday, December 1, 2021 at 10:30 a.m. in St.Scholastica’s Chapel. The public may attend the funeral Mass if fully vaccinated and masked.
Sister Elena was born in the village of San Gabriel, Mexico, on Sept. 5, 1920. When her mother died, she got a job in a clothing factory in a nearby city to help the family. Having always loved her faith and desired religious life, at age 30 she accompanied some Benedictine sisters to Alabama and then went to Oklahoma in 1956. She was determined to receive an education, which culminated in a B.S. in secondary education. In 1977, she became a pastoral associate for the Hispanic community at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Hollis, Okla., serving there until 1993. After the move of her Red Plains Monastery community from Peidmont, Okla., to Atchison in 2009, she continued to sew, care for her beloved parakeets, and make beautiful crafts for the monastery gift shop.
Sister Elena was preceded in death by her parents, Adelaida and Juan Hernandez, her brothers Juan, Pedro, and Alfonso, and sister Carmen. She is survived by nieces and nephews and her monastic family. Becker-Dyer-Stanton Funeral Home (www.beckerdyer.com) is in charge of arrangements. Memorials may be sent to Mount St. Scholastica or made online at the Mount’s web site (www.mountosb.org).