Sister Beatrice “Bea” Griffin, OSF, age 95, passed away December 6, 2022, at The Alverno in Clinton. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, December 12, at The Canticle, 841 13th Ave N in Clinton, with Rev. Robert McAleer presiding. Visitation will be from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Sunday, December 11, at The Canticle, where a rosary will be recited at 4:00 p.m. and a wake service begins at 6:30 p.m. Burial will be in St. Irenaeus Calvary Cemetery. Pape Funeral Home is assisting. It is requested that those attending any service be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, including the latest booster.
Beatrice Helen was born on October 27, 1927, in Bird Island, MN, the seventh of ten children of Gerald and Magdalene (Schwiderski) Griffin. She was baptized on October 30, 1927, at St. Mary Church in Bird Island. She had five brothers, Joseph, Francis, Gerald, Lawrence, and Raymond, and four sisters, Mary Ann, Rosalia, Eileen, and Kathleen.
Bea received her early schooling at St. Columbkille School in Varina, IA, and Sacred Heart School in Pocahontas, IA. She graduated from Alvernia High School, Chicago, IL, in 1945.
She entered the Sisters of St. Francis at Mount St. Clare Convent, Clinton, on September 8, 1946, and received the name Mary Therese Martin at her reception on June 16, 1947. She later resumed use of her baptismal name. She made her first profession on August 12, 1949, and perpetual profession on August 12, 1952.
Sister Bea earned a B.A. in Education from San Diego College for Women, San Diego, CA; an M.A. in Education from George Peabody College for Teachers, Nashville, TN; and an M.A. in Religious Studies from Seattle University, Seattle, WA. She was life certified as a teacher and administrator in California.
Sister Bea’s active ministry included both teaching and administration. She began her teaching career in Oak Lawn, IL, and spent most of her years in California where she taught at schools in Riverside, El Cajon, and Oildale. She served as principal at schools in Riverside, San Jacinto, and San Bernardino, CA, and Oak Lawn, IL.
She was a school evaluator for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. She was widely recognized for her work in staff development, building improvement, and economic development and was a sought-after consultant in diocesan school systems.
She returned to Clinton in 2004 and served as the Assistant Administrator of The Canticle for three years and as the Assisted Living Coordinator for ten years. Sister Bea found joy in visiting sisters at The Alverno and shopping for them as well as organizing social events and being a driver for sisters at The Canticle.
She is survived by several nieces and nephews and the Sisters of St. Francis with whom she shared life for 76 years.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Joseph, Frank (Ella Mae), Gerald, Lawrence, and Raymond Griffin; and sisters, Mary Ann (Charles) Cashin, Rosalia (Sister Rose) Griffin OSF, Eileen (Bud) Walshon, and Kathleen (William) Muhr.
