Sr. M. Pauline Kijek, OSF, died unexpectantly at her residence, Maria Hall, on the Motherhouse campus in Sylvania, Ohio, on January 12, 2026. The daughter of Joseph and Louise Kijek entered the convent in Sylvania in 1953 from St. Cunegunda Parish in Detroit, Michigan. She made her first profession as a Sylvania Franciscan Sister in 1956 and her final profession in 1959. She earned a B.A. degree from Mary Manse College, Toledo, Ohio and a M. A. degree from the University of Detroit in Michigan.
Sister Pauline would have celebrated her 70th Jubilee this year after 54 years in the teaching ministry in elementary and junior high schools in Minnesota, Ohio and Michigan. She always felt that though she was the teacher, she learned a lot from her students. Following her teaching ministry, she became a caregiver for a friend and then came to Sylvania where she volunteered anywhere she was needed. In the past few years she was involved with Holy Aromas, the fragrance department of All Good Things, the Sisters’ gift shop in Sylvania. Recently, due to some health issues, she was no longer able to work there but continued to be of help wherever and whenever she was able. Her sudden and unexpected death was a shock to the Sisters with whom she lived, worked and prayed, and was a reminder to all that God calls us in God’s own time. Her friends commented that she would have wanted to die just as she did — privately, with no fuss or bother.
In an interview for her 60th Jubilee, Sister Pauline commented that the saying, “God is Good,” had been and continued to be a source of inspiration for her life and ministry. She loved gardening, decorating chapels, listening to classical music, working on puzzles, playing Scrabble, and doing embroidery. They were all signs of God’s love and goodness to her as she looked forward to whatever God had planned for her in the future. She now knows what that final plan was.
Sister Pauline will be greatly missed by her Sylvania Franciscan Sisters, her blood sister, Sister M. Margaret Kijek (Felician Order), and her family and friends.
The Welcome Service for Sister Pauline will be held on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at 6:00PM in Our Lady Queen of Peace Chapel in Sylvania. The Funeral Liturgy will take place on Thursday, January 22, 2026, at 10:30AM in the Chapel. The Funeral Liturgy will be livestreamed here. The link is also available at sistersosf.org.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Francis, Sylvania, Ohio. Arrangements by the Thomas I. Wisniewski Funeral Home, Toledo, Ohio.
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