Eugenia Olivia was born July 9, 1914 near Richardton, N.D., the third of 13. children of Melchior and Margaret (Hagel) Kopp. At the age of 3, the

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1 Reflections for Sr. Virginia Kopp by S. Bonia Gacnik Eugenia Olivia was born July 9, 1914 near Richardton, N.D., the third of 13 children of Melchior and Margaret (Hagel) Kopp. At the age of 3, the family moved to a sheep ranch near Helena, Montana. However, the family moved back to Richardton, ND two years later when the older children were of school age. Catholic education was of prime importance to her parents and there was not a Catholic elementary school near Helena. The Kopp children attended St. Mary s Catholic School in Richardton taught by the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton. By the age of 10, Sr. Virginia was already planning to become a sister and was sure she would be in a convent somewhere by the age of 15. Sr. Virginia writes, Against the wishes of my grandmother, but with the encouragement of Abbot Cuthbert of Assumption Abbey and Sister Baptista of Yankton, my parents approved of my entering the convent.. Mother Frances welcomed me to Sacred Heart Monastery on September 3 rd, 1929 Sister continues, On a home visit two years later, before I was to enter the Novitiate, my father was dying at the age of 45. I realized how painful and difficult this was for my mother. I hesitated and prayed in my heart whether to stay (at home and assist my mother in caring for my 1

2 father) or return to the Monastery to begin my Novitiate. My dear mother blessed me and said, go and be happy and pray for Dad, the family, and me too. My dear father died 5 days later. I returned to the Monastery, became Novice Virginia with joy and with a heavy heart too. Sr. Virginia s first ministry assignment sent her to Stephan, SD. She had 53 children in her first grade classroom. She writes, every day was exciting and I really enjoyed it. Not one day was the same The children s names were like a fairy tale (names): Moses Along the Back, Peter Comes A Flying, (and) Vincent Pretty Bonnet (he was my favorite). After one only 1 year at Stephan, Mother Jerome called Sr. Virginia back to Yankton to begin her 3 years of study at Sacred Heart School of Nursing. Sr. Virginia writes My mother said she didn t want any of her daughters in nursing because she thought that nurses worked too hard. Nonetheless three of her daughters became nurses. After nursing school, she worked as a nurse at Sacred Heart Hospital for two year before being sent to St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City, CO. Of her time at St. Thomas More, Sr. Virginia writes, I took over as night 2

3 nurse where Sr. James left off. When I went on night duty, there were just two of us and one was the maintenance man. Being on night duty was a scary situation. Coal mining was the chief industry at the time. One night soon after I came, a doctor came in with an injured miner slumped over his shoulder... We had no elevators, so the doctors transported the patients up and down the stairs on stretchers The Ku Klux Klan was still active in region... and there was a lot of bigotry We worked 12-hour shifts 7 days a week. But we had fun too. We participated in community events such as Blossom Days and we enjoyed having our Sisters from Gardner and Pueblo spend days with us. It was a highlight when Mother Jerome came to visit us, especially in September when she would help with canning peaches from the Western Slope. She loved to do that. We were delighted with her stories and she would make fudge and popcorn. After 13 years at St. Thomas More, Mother Jerome called Sr. Virginia to Tyndall, SD to replace Sr. Liutgard as administrator at St. Michael s Hospital. Sr. Virginia writes, I had no desire to be an administrator. I was a nurse at heart. There were tears and heartbreak after spending thirteen of my youthful years in Colorado. However, I knew that a new challenge could be exciting too with no experience in administration, I was scared 3

4 and overwhelmed. While in Tyndall, Sr. Virginia also attended evening classes at Mount Marty College. She completed her bachelor s degree in After 15 years in Tyndall, Sr. Virginia was transferred to Parkston, SD where she replaced Sr. Beata Meyer and became the administrator of St. Benedict s Hospital. At that time, Sister was also taking courses at the University of Minnesota in Healthcare Administration. After 11 years in Parkston, Sr. Virginia resigned as administrator and returned to Yankton for about 8 months. In March of 1979, Sr. Virginia began a program at the Institute in Pastoral Care in Colorado Springs, CO. She completed the program the following December. During her pastoral studies, Sister Virginia went to Richardton, ND to get her mother and bring her to the progressive Care Center in Canon City. That was in August. Her mother died of a massive heart attack only 16 days later. So, she took her mother s body back to Richardton for burial. After that, Sr. Virginia was welcomed back to St. Thomas More Hospital and began her duties as a pastoral care minister 4

5 where she served until May of 2001 when she returned to Yankton. In all, Sr. Virginia served in our hospitals for 64 years. Sr. Virginia loved to do jigsaw puzzles and to play Scrabble & Quiddler. She kept her appetite to the end. She was not a picky eater, but she was especially fond of pepperoni pizza and beer. She also loved sweets. Sr. Virginia always attended the retreat conferences, the Spirituality Institutes, and our many college presentations and music concerts both in our chapel and in Marian Auditorium. She also loved children. She had a winning smile and deep blue eyes. When she was younger, she followed baseball and enjoyed watching movies that included baseball as a part of the story. Regarding her love of baseball, some of you may know that as young sisters, Sr. Virginia and Sr. Jean Marie were special friends. And, they both enjoyed baseball. They had their own little getaway places where they would eat snacks, drink coffee, and share the events of the day. They were always laughing about something. It is a wonder that their frequent outbursts did not gave away their hideaway. In 1967, Srs. Jean Marie and Virginia were both working at St. Benedict s in Parkston. In that year, Mickey Mantle hit his 500 th career home run. Sr. Virginia decided that it 5

6 would be great fun to send Sr. Jean Marie a baseball autographed by Mickey Mantle. So, Sr. Virginia bought a baseball, got it autographed by one of the workmen, wrapped it up, went down to the post office, and with the cooperation of a postal worker, she got the package stamped and postmarked. With the help of that same postal worker, S. Jean Marie received a special delivery package one afternoon. Sr. Virginia and many of the hospital staff gathered round as she opened her special delivery package. As she began to unwrap the package, she realized what it was. Jean Marie was awestruck. How did he know me?, she puzzled. Sr. Jean Marie was euphoric until she noticed that some of the packing material was from the hospital storeroom. Then she slowly lifted her head and looked directly at Sr. Virginia, and they both began to smile. They and the staff all laughed heartily. Those who knew Sr. Virginia enjoyed her great sense of humor and those who were close to her were often on the receiving end of her practical jokes. I would like to close these reflections with a poem written by Sr. Virginia in anticipation of her Golden Jubilee celebration in

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8 It has been an honor and a privilege in my life to be Sr. Virginia s Monastery Buddy and to call her, my friend. After more than 82 years of living a life of faith and service, Sr. Virginia died peacefully. Finally, what she had longed for her entire life The Master Beckoned, Please Sister Come! 8