By Suzanne Sparrow Watson
In the 13 years that Bob and I have been writing this blog there are a few posts that stand out. For me, one of them was the piece I wrote in 2023 about Sister Jean, the Loyola basketball “good luck charm”. That fall the college sports world was obsessed with conference realignments and the effect they would have on the future of the sport. When a few journalists wrote columns about a nun at a Catholic university, their stories were buried by articles speculating about NIL, travel schedules and unfair scheduling. But they shouldn’t have been. Because that nun, at 104 years old, seemed to be the only person in college athletics who had her priorities straight. Sadly, Sister Jean passed away last week at the age of 106. Now, more than ever, we need the wisdom, spirit and good humor she sent out into the world. So today I am once again telling the story of Sister Jean, and the inspiring message she left us with in the final weeks of her life.
Jean Dolores Schmidt was born in 1919, the same year as our mother. She was raised in San Francisco, just 18 miles from our mother. I’d like to imagine that she and Sister Jean crossed paths at some point, but that seems unlikely since our mom loved a good gin rickey and I don’t think Sister Jean frequented many bars. Sister Jean attended St. Paul’s High School at the beautiful St. Paul’s Cathedral in San Francisco and played on the girls’ basketball team. After graduation in 1937 she entered the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary convent in Iowa. She eventually returned to California to further her education, earning BA and MA degrees. She taught school in California until 1961, when she moved to Chicago to teach at Mundelein College. She was hired by Loyola in 1991 when it merged with Mundelein. She planned to retire in 1994 but was asked by the administration to stay on as the team chaplain to the men’s basketball team to help student athletes keep up their grades so they could maintain their eligibility to play. Imagine that.
She steadily provided counsel to the students and cheered on the basketball team without fanfare. That is until 2018. That year Sister Jean became a household name when the team made a Cinderella run to the national semifinals — the farthest Loyola Chicago had made it in the NCAA Championship Tournament since 1963. Sister Jean’s spirited antics on the sidelines attracted national media attention and won over the hearts of viewers across the country. She became a star along with the team – orders for Sister Jean bobbleheads broke records, and she got a shout-out from former President and Chicago resident, Barack Obama. Afterwards she quipped, “It only took me 98 years to become an overnight sensation.” In March 2021, at the age of 101, Sister Jean traveled to Indianapolis to watch Loyola beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and eventually make it to the Sweet Sixteen.
But Sister Jean didn’t let the fame and attention alter her in any way. She kept the door to her office open for students to drop in and chat and she retained her position as the team chaplain. She even went so far as to email scouting reports, encouragement and advice to each of the players after every game. She attended every home game and opened them with a prayer, in which she urged the refs to make good calls, the players to share the ball and God to nudge the Ramblers to a big W. In 2022, at the age of 103, she published a book, “Wake Up with Purpose! What I’ve Learned in My First 100 Years.” It was filled with her trademark sense of humor and good-natured observations about her century of life. On her 104th birthday students celebrated her by gathering in her office and bringing her one of her favorite foods – CAKE! Later that week she threw out the first pitch at a Cubs’ game and was honored with a block party at Loyola’s Water Tower Campus.
In August of this year, on her 106th birthday, Sister Jean wrote the following message to the Loyola community — directed at students as they began a new academic year:
“It has been wonderful for me to be with you these years and to watch you grow spiritually, intellectually, and socially, and to see the friends you’ve made. And to see the progress you’ve made in your academic life. I’ve always been happy to share my time with you. Let your dreams become reality. Don’t let anybody stop you. You are the future leaders of our churches, our schools, our country, and our world.”
This past September 25th Sister Jean retired from her job at Loyola due to health concerns and on October 9th she passed from this life. The world is a lesser place without her. In these times of overwhelming news and division it is good to let the spirit of Sister Jean guide us: live life with joy, encourage others, and maintain a sense of purpose. And, of course, eat cake.