Virginia Hughes, BVM (Flocella)
Virginia Hughes, BVM died Feb. 2, 2015, at Marian Hall in Dubuque, Iowa. Natural burial Rite of Committal will be Feb. 3, 2015, at 1:30 p.m. in the Marian Hall Chapel. A prayer service will be held at 10:30 a.m., Feb. 13, 2015, in the Marian Hall Chapel followed by a Memorial Mass at 11 a.m. Burial is in the Mount Carmel cemetery.
She was born in Burlington, Iowa, on Oct. 19, 1919, to Charles and Helen Ireland Coleman Hughes. She entered the BVM congregation Sept. 8, 1937, from St. Paul Parish, Burlington. She professed first vows on March 19, 1940, and final vows on Aug. 15, 1945.
Virginia was an elementary school educator in Burbank, Calif.; Chicago; and Washington, Iowa. She served in religious education ministry in the diocese of Davenport, Iowa; and the Archdioceses of Chicago and Washington, D.C. She volunteered at Loyola University Chicago at the Center for Religious Education.
She was preceded in death by her parents; brothers: Calvin, James and Gerald; and sister Mary Kathleen Pajer. She is survived by nieces and nephews and the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, with whom she shared life for 77 years.
Sister Virginia (Flocella) Hughes, BVM
Funeral Welcome
Marian Hall, Feb. 13, 2015
Good afternoon and welcome to the celebration of life of our Sister Virginia Hughes.
Virginia Hughes was born on Oct. 19, 1919, in Burlington, Iowa, just as many soldiers were returning home from World War I. This eldest child of Charles Hughes and Helen Ireland Coleman was born a “blue baby” and had to be resuscitated. Over the next 15 years, siblings Calvin, James, Charles and Kathleen followed.
In her autobiography, Virginia wrote, “We were campers minus the four wheel campers of today. Often our Sunday steak was grilled over an open trench in one of the family’s favorite picnic spots. The Mississippi River from . . . Lookout Point wore many faces—joy, sorrow, everyday living. Mother and I spent leisurely moments of reflection on warm summer afternoons in the company of the younger members of the family.” During the Depression, Virginia’s mother made clothes out of drapery samples from the furniture store where her father worked and relied on a shoe repair kit from the dime store instead of buying new shoes. They always had enough to eat and her mother never turned away anyone who came begging for food.
Virginia attended St. Paul School and was mentored by Sister Mary Alcantara Vogt. She received her acceptance letter the same day that Sister Mary Alcantara died. Virginia deeply appreciated that her mother supported her calling and commented that “The mother who loved life and children never selfishly clung to them.” Virginia entered the congregation on Sept. 8, 1937, when her baby sister was only two years old. “It was the hardest separation . . . I never had the opportunity to really get to know her . . .” Virginia received the name Flocella upon reception on March 19, 1938, professed her first vows on March 19, 1940, and lived 77 years as a BVM.
Virginia’s first mission was to Bellarmine-Jefferson in Burbank, Calif., where many of the parents worked at the nearby Warner Brothers Studio. She recalled that the very militaristic atmosphere at the school was the pastor’s attempt to show critics that Catholics were indeed patriotic. Virginia spent 30 years as an elementary teacher with additional missions in Chicago and Washington, Iowa, where she also taught 10th grade religious education. In the mid-1960s, she taught a course in St. John’s Gospel to BVM novices at both Guadalupe and Mount Carmel.
Inspired by Jesuit Johannes Hofinger’s The Art of Teaching Christian Doctrine, Virginia devoted herself to religious education for 25 years. She served five years on the congregational Religious Education Commission. In the Diocese of Davenport, she directed the formation of catechists for 15 parishes. Since Virginia did not have a car, she was transported from parish to parish by the pastors and parishioners and lived with and shared in the lives of farm families. In the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., she worked as both a consultant and a field representative for the Religious Education Office, and also as a catechesis consultant for Immaculate Conception Parish in Mechanicsville, Md. With many years of traveling from town to town, parish to parish, Virginia dubbed herself the “Circuit Riding Catechist.”
Virginia moved to Wright Hall in 1990 and for the next five years she volunteered and consulted at the Religious Education Media Center at Loyola University’s Institute for Pastoral Studies. Afterward, she served on a several committees at Wright Hall until moving to Mount Carmel in 2007.
Virginia was a dedicated reader and intellectually curious about a wide variety of topics. Her commitment to the BVM community was deep and enriching to all. She was especially engaged in the BVM Heritage Society and made numerous contributions to the discussions and activities of that group.
Virginia was an authentic person who greatly enjoyed people. She lived a rich spirituality with God at the center and all God’s people in her circle. Her genuine interest in the lives of others was evident through her deep concern and compassion. She was a great correspondent and seemed to know exactly when to send a note of encouragement and love.
In the gospel of John, it is written, “John was sent from God. He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” As a cherished family member, a BVM, a teacher, a catechist and a friend, Virginia testified to God’s great love for us. Her testimony is now complete. May she rest peacefully in the palm of God’s hand.