Marjorie M. Kalinowski, 93, St. Cloud

November 13, 1923 - March 5, 2017

Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11AM, Thursday, March 9, 2017 at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, St. Cloud for Marjorie Kalinowski, who died on Sunday, March 5, 2017 at her home. Rev. Robert Harren will officiate and burial will take place in Assumption Cemetery following the funeral mass. Visitation will be one hour prior to the services Thursday at the church. Arrangements entrusted to Williams Dingmann Funeral Home, St. Cloud.

Marjorie Mary Kalinowski (Marge) was born in Devils Lake, North Dakota, the sixth of Clemens and Katherine (Rubbelke) Kalinowski’s seven children. She graduated from Crary, North Dakota High school; earned a Baccalaureate Degree from the College of St. Catherine; and graduated as a registered nurse from St. Mary’s Junior College in Minneapolis.
As a member of Saint Benedict’s Monastery, Sister Blaise (Marge) taught for five years in Little Falls and Sauk Centre. Then, as a member of St. Paul’s Monastery, Marge taught in the Catholic elementary schools of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul for an additional twenty years. Later, as a registered nurse, she worked at the St. Cloud Hospital for over thirteen years and at St. Scholastica Convent in St. Cloud for three years.

Ms. Kalinowski was one of the first nurses in St. Cloud to be trained as a Parish Nurse, a work she loved and pursued as a volunteer at St. Anthony’s Parish in St. Cloud for almost nine years. In 1998, in recognition of her work with the Parish Nurse Program in the greater St. Cloud area, Marge was admitted into the Central Minnesota Nursing Hall of Fame.

At an age when many people would be content in a rocking chair, Marge moved to St. Stephen Parish, in St. Stephen, for twelve years where she assisted the pastor in a variety of tasks; accounting, organization and domestic work. Marge was a member of the Christian Women of St. Anthony’s and Catholic Aid. In 2014 Marge moved to Sterling Park in Waite Park.

Ms. Kalinowski is survived by her sisters, Rosemary Maher of Graham, NC and Kathleen Kalinowski, OSB, of Saint Benedict’s Monastery. She was preceded in death by her parents and brothers, Leo, Edward, Rev. Walbert, OSB, and Clement.

In lieu of flowers, memorials should be sent to Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, MN or St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN.