August 2007

Alumni Now

Remarkable Lives Celebrated

The Viterbo community mourned the passing of two members of the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration and the Viterbo faculty, who died within one hour of each other May 29.

Celestine Cepress, FSPA, 102 (left), earned degrees in Latin, English, and history and taught at Viterbo University for 35 years. She served as chair of the English department, the language and literature department, and was the founder of the Lumen student newspaper and Touchstone literary and art magazine. She was named Viterbo Teacher of the Year in 1980.

Sr. Cepress is remembered as a beloved member of the faculty who instilled in her many students the love of literature and poetry. She genuinely loved life, and she had a profound effect on countless students, many of whom remembered her with one of the 700–800 birthday cards she would receive each year.

“Some teachers change minds and some teachers change hearts,” said Tom Thibodeau, a member of the religious studies faculty. “Sr. Celestine changed souls.”

Rose Schapman, FSPA, 95 (right), taught in the St. Francis School of Nursing from 1942–66. When the school of nursing moved to Viterbo in 1966, she taught here until 1978.

Sr. Schapman is remembered as an excellent teacher who instilled in her students the importance of outstanding and loving patient care. She also greatly enjoyed seeing her students grow personally and professionally.

“Sr. Rose touched so many nursing students in profound ways,” wrote faculty member Mary Burke Christianson ’79 on a Viterbo Web site tribute page dedicated to Sr. Rose. “She accomplished so much with kindness, a soft voice, and reverent respect for her students and patients. She is a role model for me and an inspiration to become a better teacher every year.”

To learn more about Sr. Cepress and Sr. Schapman, and to read and share memories of each, please visit www.viterbo.edu/alumnifyi.aspx.