Sister Linda Chavez

Sister of Charity

of Cincinnati DELHI TOWNSHIP, OHIO. Sister of Charity of Cincinnati Linda Chavez (formerly Sister Leo Margaret) died April 19, 2018, at the age of 91 in Mother Margaret Hall, the nursing facility of the Sisters of Charity.

Sister Linda was born Erlinda Elisa Jeraldine Chavez on May 31, 1926, to Leonardo and Leonor (Perea) Chavez in San Ysidro, New Mexico. She entered religious life on Sept. 7, 1947, and was a Sister of Charity of Cincinnati for 70 years.

From an early age Sister Linda knew she wanted to become a teacher, and the desire never left her. She met the Sisters of Charity as a student at St. Vincent Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but instead chose to attend the University of New Mexico at the age of 17 before entering religious life in 1947.

Sister Linda earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from the College of Mount St. Joseph (Cincinnati, Ohio) in 1948, and a master’s degree in home economics from St. Louis University (Missouri) in 1960. She also earned a master’s degree in religious education from Loyola University (Chicago, Illinois) in 1974.

Sister Linda’s love for teaching provided her with 40 years of classroom memories. She began her ministry in education teaching seventh grade at Corpus Christi in Dayton, Ohio (1949-’51) then transitioning to secondary education at Holy Trinity, Middletown, Ohio (1951’52); Catholic Central, Springfield, Ohio (1952’56); Seton High School, Cincinnati, Ohio (1956-’60); Bishop Fenwick, Middletown, Ohio (1960-’67); St. Mary, Jackson, Michigan (1967-’68); and Lumen Christi, Jackson, Michigan (1968-’69).

Sister Linda once wrote that her years at Catholic Central in Springfield were the most enriching of her teaching years. “Both young men and young women appreciated the values and skills they were receiving in class. For me, the realization that these young people wanted to be and for the most part are committed family builders was satisfaction beyond belief.”

For 20 years, from 1969 until 1989, Sister Linda ministered at St. Pius X in her hometown of Albuquerque. She had found a welcome place. Recognizing the school’s lack of emphasis in the humanities, Sister Linda introduced “Spirituality through the Arts.” She once said she would run into former students on occasion who would tell her, “Every time I see a Monet or a Chagall, I think of you. ” Sister Linda cherished her years at the school, and appreciated the dedicated, committed faculty and staff.

During that time, in 1970, Sister Linda was appointed the Associate Vicar for Religious for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, the second woman in the country to hold that office. She remained in the position for 13 years, performing her duties along with her full-time teaching assignments.

Following Vatican II, Sister Linda was graced with being actively involved in serving on two committees introducing significant changes to the Sisters of Charity congregation: the habit committee in 1965 and the Constitutions Committee in 1983. In addition she was a charter member of the National Assembly of Women Religious and of Las Hermanas, an organization which fostered leadership among Hispanic women religious. In 1989, she was elected to Congregational leadership, managing SC activities in the western region; she was honored to be the first Hispanic Sister of Charity elected to leadership. “My four years in Congregational leadership were very special for me,” she once wrote. “I learned to know my Sisters as no other experience could have afforded me. For this time I shall always be grateful.”

In 1993, Sister Linda found herself in a new ministry serving the poor in Albuquerque through S.E.T. (Service, Empowerment, Transformation). She served as the organization’s executive director from 1994 until 2002, during that time establishing well-being clinic sites for low-income seniors and educating poor families to improve the quality of their health through clinics and self-care programs.

Among her awards and honors, Sister Linda was inducted into the Albuquerque Senior Foundation’s Hall of Fame in 2000, and the St. Pius X Wall of Recognition in 2004. She also received the Senior Foundation’s Special Achievement Award in 2000 along with the 1998 Sister Mary Lea Mueller Award from the College of Mount St. Joseph (Cincinnati). Following her retirement from S. E.T. in 2002, Sister Linda continued her board and committee participation for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and volunteered for many organizations throughout Albuquerque, including St. Joseph Community Health, Bernalillo County Detention Center, and Good Shepherd Center for the homeless.

Sister Linda is survived by her sister, Priscilla Chavez, and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her brothers Leo (her twin) and Robert.

Sisters, family and friends will greet visitors in the Heritage Room of the Sisters of Charity Motherhouse from 2–3 p.m. on Friday, April 27, followed by the Mass of Christian Burial at 3 p.m. in the Motherhouse chapel. Burial will be in the Sisters of Charity cemetery.

Memorials may be made in Sister Linda Chavez’s name to the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati Retirement Fund, 5900 Delhi Rd., Mount St. Joseph, Ohio 45051.

The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati, whose Motherhouse is located in Delhi Township, a western suburb of Cincinnati, is an apostolic Catholic women’s religious community that exists to carry out the Gospel of Jesus Christ through service and prayer in the world. Sisters, using their professional talents as ministers of education, health care, pastoral and social services, as well as caring for all creation, currently live and minister in 17 U.S. states, in Guatemala, Mexico and the West Indies. They also sponsor institutions to address education, health care and social service needs, with particular concern for direct service to the poor.

The Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati are joined in mission by 208 Associates.

Visit the Sisters of Charity Web site at

www.srcharitycinti.org