Dolores Elaine was born April 23, 1932, to Josephine Schmedding Boyles and William Owens Boyles in Kansas City, Missouri. She grew up on a farm in Germantown, Missouri, with her grandparents Joseph Henry and Minnie Schmedding. Family life in the Schmedding household revolved around the parish of St. Ludger, Dolores, and the farm, in that order. Grandpa Joe was the one who taught her to love God above all things, to live a good moral life, and what it meant to be gentle and loving. Grandma Minnie taught her what happened when you didn’t live right and how to get back on the right path.
She attended St. Ludger’s School and St. Francis Academy in Nevada, Missouri. At St. Francis she continued her growth into womanhood and found her vocation as a Sister of St. Francis. She entered the convent in 1950 and professed first vows March 19, 1952, the feast of St. Joseph. She took the name Josephine after St. Joseph, her mother, Josephine, and most importantly after Grandpa Joe, the man she loved the most in her earthly life.
Sister Josephine became a teacher and principal at St. Mary’s in Higginsville, Nativity in Independence, Immaculate Conception in Lexington, Our Lady of the Snows in Mary’s Home, Holy Rosary in Clinton, St. John LaLande in Blue Springs, Coronation in Grandview, and St. Mary’s in Montrose, Missouri. She was a great organizer in the office, the classroom, and the life of her students. Those skills led her to be elected Sister Servant (Superior General) of the Sisters of St. Francis of the Holy Eucharist in 1976. She remained in an administrative role in the community until 1992. During that time, she helped establish the Mission of St. Joseph in Rodrigues Alves, Brazil. She coordinated the purchase of the Police Academy in Independence for the new Motherhouse, the sale of the Nevada property, the move to Independence, and the first renovations of the new property, including the construction of Our Lady of the Angels Chapel. She was a visionary and never let any opportunity pass her by. Sister had energy and ideas enough to keep everyone “hopping”. In her spare time, she established the Franciscan Prayer Center and the Good News Bookshop. After her “retirement,” she was an early promoter of the Divine Mercy devotion in the area, True Life in God, the Charismatic Renewal, Marian Conferences, and the Secular Franciscan Order. A teacher from the heart, she was a sought-after speaker in parishes, prayer groups, and religious organizations.
She herself could not physically hop because of a childhood hip handicap, but it did not keep her from staying on the move. When she couldn’t walk unassisted, she used crutches or a cane or a walker or a scooter or a wheelchair. Nothing was going to stop Sister Josephine from her rounds. As age took her hearing, her sight, and her short-term memory, nothing limited her quick wit, her love for her friends and family, and her memories of Grandpa Joe, Snippy (her puppy), and the days on the farm. So many stories, so many memories of cherished experiences and the people who touched her life these 92 years filled her heart and her soul. On Monday, March 3, she called for Jesus and Grandpa and Grandma just one last time and she was with them. She is with them for all eternity.
Sister Josephine is survived by her religious community, her cousins, Gary Schmedding and wife Rose Marie, Judy Wagner and husband Dennis, and their children and grandchildren especially Joseph and Henry. She will be remembered by all whose lives she touched particularly the members of the Secular Franciscan Order.
Special thanks to the Little Sisters of the Poor and the staff of St. Joseph Medical Center who cared for her in her last days and moments.