Birth: December 6, 1929 Profession: July 30, 1956 Death: May 13, 2010
Nancy Kane, RSCJ – beloved history professor, vicar for women religious, and vocation director - died peacefully on May 13, 2010, Ascension Thursday, at Oakwood, the Society of the Sacred Heart retirement center in Atherton, California.
The daughter of Margaret Kastner and Leo D. Kane, she was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1929. After graduating from Duchesne Academy in Omaha, she attended Barat College of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest, Illinois, and left after one year to enter the Society of the Sacred Heart. Sister Kane then received a B.A. in history from Duchesne College, Omaha, in 1953; an M.A. in history from San Francisco College for Women in 1956; and a Ph.D. in history from Stanford University in 1958.
She entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in 1948 at Kenwood in Albany, New York, and made her final vows in 1956 in Rome.
Sister Kane was a dedicated educator who taught elementary and secondary students at Duchesne Academy from 1951- 1955; served as Associate Professor of History and Dean of Students at Duchesne College, Omaha, from 1958-1962 and also served there as history professor and senior class counselor in 1967/68. She then went back to Barat College, Lake Forest, Illinois, where she served as Associate Professor of History, Graduate Studies Advisor, and Director of Foreign Study programs from 1962-1984.
In 1987, she became Academic Dean at St. Francis Seminary, San Diego, and also served as Vicar for Women Religious from 1987-2003 and as Vocation Director of the Diocese of San Diego from 1990-1997.
Sister Kane is survived by two brothers who both live in California: Donald in Palm Springs, and Robert in Orange County.
A funeral Mass will be celebrated at Oakwood on May 22, 2010, at 10:00 a.m.; burial at Oakwood cemetery will follow.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Society of the Sacred Heart, 4120 Forest Park Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63108.
Note: Sister Kane’s biography will be posted at