Sister Bernadette Hengstebeck, 98, of 405 W. Parrish Ave., passed away Sunday, November 1, 2020. She was born in Detroit, Michigan, to the late Frank P. Hengstebeck and Alice G. Francis. She has been a missionary for 75 years as a Glenmary Sister, having begun in 1945. She served the home missions in Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Texas. She enjoyed using her bookkeeping skills to help those in mission areas with their taxes. Sister was a fierce advocate for the Hispanic community while serving in Texas and was awarded Titus County’s Woman of the Year Award. She worked to help obtain justice in job-related disputes and court cases. She loved children and crocheting. She was also given the title of Kentucky Colonel. Sister Bernadette wanted to be remembered “as one who really was a Glenmarian serving the Church through the Glenmary community and charism, and that she really tried to give her best.”
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by five brothers and four sisters. She is survived by a sister, Lorraine Dory, her Glenmary Sisters community and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral Mass will be held at 12:00 Noon, Friday, November 6 at St. Stephen Cathedral. The service will also be available virtually through a link found on the church website. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 PM Thursday at Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory and 11:00-11:45 AM Friday at St. Stephen Cathedral. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery.
The number of those attending the visitation or funeral Mass for Sister Bernadette shall be within current health and safety directives. Family and friends shall wear appropriate personal protective masks. For Thursday visitation, enter the doors under the canopy on the Triplett Street side of the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Glenmary Sisters, P.O. Box 22264, Owensboro, KY 42304.
Condolences may be offered online at www.glenncares.com.