Sister Jean, who rose to fame as the endlessly cheerful team chaplain for Loyola Marymount’s basketball team, has died at the age of 106.
To put her age in perspective, she was born one year after World War One ended. She only took on her role at Loyola in 1994 at the age of 75 when most people are slowing down. She never slowed down.
Her age was part of her appeal of course, but it was much more than that. She was kind and gracious, she looked after her team like they were family and she was always
a delight to hear from. No one ever said a bad or mean word about her. Your tongue would fall out if you did.
She retired very recently, saying that she was having some health challenges and that health was more important.
Very few people rise to prominence the way that she did so late in life. She leaves as a beloved figure who arguably could be a posthumous candidate for the Hall of Fame.
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