Former SJC science professor Sr. Juliana Kowal, D.C., passed away on Oct. 17, 2010, in Emmitsburg. You may read her obituary on the SJC website.
Upon hearing of her passing, members of the Class of 1972 have shared their memories of her via email. Following are some of their thoughts. Please feel free to add your own by clicking the “Comments” link at the bottom of this post.
“I remember seeing Sr. Juliana in a wheelchair several years ago in the back of the Provincial House Chapel. She was so happy to see all of us. My greatest memory was the year she was off campus on sabbatical. She was driving up the “A” one Friday afternoon and our sign, hanging out of a dorm window, ‘Out of the zoo in 72,’ caught her eye. She plowed into my car (except it was my sister’s car that I had borrowed!). I was happy to know that nuns had insurance! God bless Sr. Juliana. She is probably already working on science projects in heaven!” – Mary Pat Bohan Kelly
“Remember when we stole the arm from the skeleton and scared the crap out of Paulette? That was hilarious! Sr. Juliana was a gift. She knew her anatomy and passed her knowledge on to us. We were fortunate to have her as an instructor.” – Hope Heaven Hatch
“I remember the time that those of us who were not nurses were supposed to be dissecting frogs, and Ann-Marie let many of them escape out the back door of the lab. Sr. Juliana said she did not believe our story that it was an ‘accident.’ She said we could not get out of it that easily, and replacement frogs were located and arrived shortly thereafter. Good times, fond memories, for all but the replacement frogs, of course. – Leslie Fulton Weatherly
“Another ‘icon’ gone.” – Chris Mele
“She called me Virginia the entire year, and the one time I corrected her, she replied, ‘Yes, I know, Virginia.’ I will always remember her.” – Veronica Duggan Flynn
“Remember those fetal pigs!” – Jayne Bianco Cohill
“She did know her anatomy! I was able to spend some time with her last year at the reunion. It was a precious experience. She was a great lady. – Maureen Maloy Biggers
“One of my greatest memories of her and her class was the oral anatomy exam with that stupid skeleton. She couldn’t catch me, so she went to some minute fissures in the brain. Didn’t do well in logic, but I could memorize! She still couldn’t stump me. It was one of my best memories of her, and you are right, the old gal knew her anatomy!
- Julie Lombard Venuti“All I can say is, ‘Are you with me on that?’ She did know her biology.” – Susanne Palmer
Tags: SJC Faculty
I remember her tall and imposing posture. I recall how relieved she looked when I informed her in January of my freshman year that I was changing my major from nursing to English. I was her worst nightmare in anatomy class.
Sister Juliana really worked hard to teach us Anatomy. She brought all those animal bodies in for us. I remember sacrificing guinea pigs so we could see peristalsis. That background stood me in good stead when I had to overcome squeamishness as a lab assistant to the head of the Biology dept at Univ of Virginia as I worked to support us while husband Bob Beer studied for his MBA.
Sr. Julianna was an inspiring teacher. I will always remember her in front of the classroom rocking backing and forth, standing tall and always looking very elegant wearing the Daughters of Charity coronet and long blue habit. I also remember the strong smell of formaldehyde and the much dissected cats in the A&P lab. One semester was enough for me. She had to do it for years. Her legacy lives on among us all who knew her.
God bless you Sr. Juliana.
Mary Kable Stockman
Class of 1961
The fall of 1953 was our intro to Sister Juliana and the lovely cats with the blue veins and red arteries, and the outragiously pungent aroma! A special favorite professor to me, it was astonishing that she remembered me on several visits to Reunion over the years. Much that I learned in her Anatomy class held me in good stead during my nursing career. She was a gracious lady who expected your best effort, but also provides fond memories our days in the basement of Seton Hall. May God continue to bless you.
Sr. Julianna was the best. I remember, in our Freshman year, we were going to have an exam in her Anatomy class. A classmate, who shall remain unnamed, and I were out walking in the fields surrounding the campus before the exam, and we happened on some dried out animal bones. We took the bones to the Anatomy classroom, and left them on Sister’s chair, with a note that said, “This is what will become of us if our exam to too hard”.
I was reminiscing with my classmate, who is still a dear friend, a few years ago, and she doesn’t remember this incident. I don’t think Sister did either, but I do, and it still makes me smile. Being her unflappable self, Sr. Julianna never mentioned the prank in class. I think that, in our own way, we were telling her that we had a high regard for her. We wouldn’t have taken that trouble for just anyone.
Ann Fallon Lynch ‘61
I have fond memories of Sister Juliana. As a freshman anatomy student in fall of 1964, I was quite dismayed to receive a D on my first exam. I had never gotten a D before in high school (and rarely a C) and was quite taken aback. She counseled me firmly: “If you want to be a nurse, you have to learn anatomy.” And learn it I did. She impressed upon me the need to study your strengths, not just your perceived weakness.
That was a message I passed along many times over the years as I taught. I will be retiring at the end of the year and often think back to the wonderful foundation for learning that I received at SJC. Sister Juliana was one of the reasons for the school’s excellent reputation in nursing.
I also remember the A & P lab in the basement of Seton–and going downstairs in our pajamas in the evenings to study and work on our cats. Mary Jo Rice Mahoney was my lab partner, and we named our cat “Old Paint.”
Patti (McKay) Bufalino
SJC Class of 1968
When I was a freshman at SJC in 1964, the biology lab was located in the basement of our dorm. Although I was a French major and not scientifically inclined, Sister Julianna often came by to say hello and to see how I was doing. I will always remember her cheerful and kind personality. One time, laughing all the way, she even tried out a skate board and rolled a short way down the walk. One evening, we awoke to the sound of the fire alarm, grabbed robes and slippers, and rushed out of our rooms. A horrid smell filled the halls. Later we found out that Sr. Julianna had tossed some of those old cat cadavers into the incinerator. Great memories of a wonderful woman whose warmth and smile and intelligence were a real inspiration.