Date of death: 3/25/2015
Saint Meinrad Class: O 1958
Br. Donald H. Bengert, SJ, died on Wednesday, March 25, 2015, at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. He was 88 years old. May he rest in peace.Brother Don was born on September 16, 1926, in Evansville, Indiana. He entered the Society of Jesus on March 11, 1956 at Milford Novitiate in Milford, Ohio; he took final vows on August 15, 1966 at Bellarmine School of Theology in North Aurora, Illinois.Brother Don was in the Army from 1945-1946. Before entering the Society, he studied at St. John’s Seminary in Little Rock, Arkansas (1947-1950) and Saint Meinrad Seminary in Indiana (Sept. – Dec. 1950). He was a Journeyman in the Sheet Metal Workers Union; in the Society, he was trained as an infirmarian in the novitiate. He attended St. Francis Central School of Practical Nursing in Cincinnati, Ohio, and became a licensed practical nurse (1970-1971). He then studied nursing at Good Samaritan School of Nursing in Cincinnati and became a registered nurse (1972-1975).Brother Bengert used his nursing skills throughout his Jesuit life to care for others – both within and outside the Society. He was the infirmarian at Milford Novitiate (1960-1963), West Baden College in West Baden, Indiana (1963-1964), and Bellarmine School of Theology in North Aurora, Illinois (1964-1968). He then used his nursing skills at Xavier University’s Student Health Center (1968-1983) and as a home visitor to the elderly for Dominican Community Services in Cincinnati (1983-1987). He performed social ministry at St. John Social Service Center in Cincinnati (1987-2013).He is survived by niece, Donna Ancona.