Sr. Rose Bernadette Van Ooteghem, IHM, 85, died June 27 at her home, the IHM Motherhouse in Monroe.

Sr. Van Ooteghem was one of five children of Oscar and Alice (Van Hauwaert) Van Ooteghem. She was born Feb. 8, 1928, in Detroit and given the name Josephine Alice. Sr. Van Ooteghem attended St. John Berchman Grade School and St. Martin High School, both in Detroit. She entered the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Monroe in 1945 and received the religious name of Sr. Rose Bernadette.

Sr. Van Ooteghem earned a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Arts in Education from Marygrove College. For more than 30 years, she taught all subjects in the primary grades at St. Michael, Monroe; St. Stephen, Port Huron; Holy Redeemer, Detroit; Sacred Heart, Dearborn; St. Joseph, Trenton; and St. Mary of Redford, Detroit.

In 1978, Sr. Van Ooteghem was part of the second IHM mission community to the island of Grenada, West Indies. She served in pastoral ministry to the people of Holy Family Church, Hilarion House and St. Patrick Parish. She returned to the United States in 1981 just prior to the closing of the mission.

After a period of transition, she entered a ministry of senior citizen services, serving as coordinator at St. Rose of Lima Parish and as director at St. Rose Senior Center and Samaritan Center, all in Detroit.

Sr. Van Ooteghem retired to the IHM Motherhouse in 2006 and remained active by participating in local Monroe and many campus activities including the IHM Volunteer Program, as a volunteer for the IHM Motherhouse Chapel Concerts and a dedicated supporter of justice, peace and sustainability works as an “armchair activist.”

Sr. Van Ooteghem is survived by her sister, Irma Hammang, and several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her brothers, Charles and Theophile, and sister, Mary Jane.

The Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated July 2 at the Motherhouse. Burial is in St. Mary Cemetery on the Motherhouse Campus. Memorials may be made to the IHM Retirement Fund, 610 W. Elm Ave., Monroe, MI 48162-7909.