January 17, 1950 - February 18, 2005
Sister Regina Marie O’Rourke, OP, 55, died Feb. 18 in Louisville, Colo. She was born on Jan. 17, 1950, in Walsenburg, Colo., the daughter of William and Marie Fortarell O’Rourke. She attended schools in Walsenburg and graduated from St. Mary’s School in 1968. She was employed for many years at Otero Savings and Loan in Walsenburg. She joined the Dominican Sisters of Great Bend on March 19, 1988, and took her final vows on Aug. 4, 1995. Her past service included managing Cedar Park Place in Great Bend and housing ministry and pastoral work in the Denver Archdiocese. She spent most of her life volunteering and helping others.
Sister Regina is survived by one brother, William P. O’Rourke of Pueblo, Colo.; two sisters, Kimberly Lessar and Kathleen Sierra of Walsenburg; and her nephews and nieces, Jerad and Shawn Lessar, Karina and Symone Sierra, all of Walsenburg, Patrick Salazar, Brandy Montoya and Christopher Martinez, all of Pueblo, Colo.; one great-niece, Shelby Lessar.
A vigil service was held Sunday at St. Scholastica’s Catholic Church in Erie, Colo. A funeral mass took place Monday at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Frederick, Colo. There will be a vigil service at 7 p.m. today and a funeral mass at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Dominican Chapel of the Plains in Great Bend, with the Rev. Robert Whipkey officiating. Burial will be in the Sisters’ Resurrection Cemetery in Great Bend. There will be a memorial service at 2 p.m. Friday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Walsenburg. Memorials are suggested to the Dominican Sisters’ Mission and Ministry Fund, 3600 Broadway, Great Bend, KS 67530.
