Sister Betty Shakal, Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration, 87, died May 3, 2021 at Villa St. Joseph, La Crosse, Wisconsin. She was in the sixty- seventh year of her religious profession.
Sister Elizabeth Anne was born on September 12, 1934 in Boyd, Wisconsin to Leo and Frances (Schesel) Shakal. The eldest of 13 children, she remembers growing up on the farm with her younger brothers and sisters. Sister Betty learned all the skills she needed to be “mother’s helper”: cooking, sewing, baking. She once commented that she thought she learned how to rip the same afternoon she learned how to sew. Her mother called her Betty because she did not want her to be called Lizzie or Liz. Her early education was in a one-room school where the teacher’s husband brought wood to keep everyone warm in the winter. As the Shakal family grew, they eventually moved to a larger farmhouse, close to Holy Family School in Stanley where Sister Betty completed her elementary education. There she met the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration (FSPA) and the seed of her religious vocation was planted.
She joined FSPA in 1950 and was given the name, Sister Joene, but later went back to her baptismal name. She made her first profession of vows on August 12, 1954. Sister Betty ministered in the field of education, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry with a minor in Mathematics from Viterbo College (University) and a Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame. She began her teaching career with middle grades in Carroll and Hills, Iowa and at St. Mary’s Ridge, Wisconsin before moving into high school teaching. Sister Betty taught high school chemistry and mathematics for 26 years in Wisconsin (Prairie du Chien and Stevens Point), Oregon (Salem), Iowa (Bellevue, Carroll, and West Point) and Texas (El Paso). During that time, she earned a Master of Arts in Theology from St. Catherine University in St. Paul and did pastoral studies at Loyola University in Chicago. From 1995 to 1998, Sister Betty was asked to serve as treasurer for the FSPA Central Region in Hiawatha, Iowa. In 2000, she moved to La Crosse where she was the assistant development director for FSPA until 2007. At that time, she retired and spent the next eight years volunteering, mainly as a math and science tutor. In 2015, Sister Betty made her home at Villa St. Joseph.
Sister Betty is remembered for her love of God, life and teaching. Her delight was combining two of her passions: teaching and working with international students, as she spent many hours in retirement helping solve a math problem or chemistry equation. She often said that her work in development began when she was teaching at Fr. Yermo High School in El Paso. She enjoyed helping raise funds for their science lab update and the school gymnasium addition. Eventually she was able to recruit an alumna to continue her work when she left. One could always count on Sister Betty for a welcoming smile and hearty laugh.
Sister Betty is survived by her Franciscan community; her brothers: Tom (Sharon) of Cornell, Wisconsin, Joe (Noreen) of Boyd, Bill (Ginny) of Greenwood, Indiana, Dick (Joanne) of Stanley, Tony (Diane) of El Dorado, California, Carl (Barb) of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, Steve (Pat) of Cary, North Carolina and sisters: Anne (Ray) Soper of Withee, Wisconsin, Rita (Gary) Grohn of Fall Creek, Wisconsin, Mary (John) Holewinski of Stanley and numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents and sister Lucy Samuels and brother Lawrence Shakal.
Due to COVID restrictions, Sister Betty’s wake was livestreamed at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5. That evening there was a virtual sharing of stories about Sister Betty at 6:30 p.m. The live-streamed Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Mary of the Angels Chapel on Thursday, May 6 at 10 a.m. A private burial followed immediately at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, La Crosse.
Dickinson Family Funeral Home assisted with the arrangements.
