Date of death: 12/20/2017
Saint Meinrad Class: SS 2001
April 29, 1938 – December 20, 2017. Little did Sister Raphael Frank know the morning of December 20 that it would be her last; and as she presided at the Morning Prayer without any visible signs of distress, neither did her Benedictine Sisters know that they were about to lose a valuable community member. Soon after the morning prayer she began a rapid descent into unconsciousness as a massive, inoperable stroke claimed her body. By evening she was embraced in the arms of God. She was in the 60th year of her professed Benedictine life. Born into a musical family, the 4th of five children born to Joseph and Edith Schroeder Frank, Alice grew up on Pittsburgh’s North Side, a member of Nativity Parish in Pittsburgh. She attended St. Benedict Academy and went on to earn her Bachelor and Master degrees in education. Most of her years of ministry were spent in classrooms in the Pittsburgh and Greensburg Dioceses as a teacher of younger grades, as well as in religious education. Most recently she ministered as a volunteer at St. Richard Parish, St. Barnabas Nursing Home and Schellhaas Funeral Home. In her Benedictine community she served for many years as Oblate Director and chapel work. Soft-spoken, good-hearted, reserved, she lived simply and purposefully. She was artistic, musical and crafty, loved working with both young people and seniors. She had a gentle smile, and one of her greatest joys was spending time with her family. A helpful person, she responded to community needs and lived with Benedictine heart. She wants to be remembered as a faithful, dedicated Benedictine Sister, living the Benedictine charism to the best of her ability and gifts. Sister Raphael is survived by sisters: Rita Nowak (Joseph) and Carol Puskar (Joseph); and one brother: Joe Frank (Sally) and their families, as well as nephew Greg Quatchak, son of Joan, a third sister who predeceased Sister Raphael