Sr. Colleen Nolan, OP, died on September 3, 2025, at St. Dominic Villa, Hazel Green, Wis. Her remembering service and Memorial Mass will be held 11 a.m., on Monday., Sept. 15 at St. Clara Chapel, Sinsinawa, Wis. Casey-McNett Funeral Home and Cremation Services is handling arrangements.
She was born April 23, 1946, to Tom and Elizabeth “Dede” (Peters) Nolan in Omaha, Neb. She professed vows with the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa in 1966 and received the Religious name Lillian. Sister Colleen received a BS in elementary education from Edgewood College, Madison.; an MA in reading from Cardinal Stritch College, Milwaukee, Wis.; and an MA in pastoral studies from Loyola University of Chicago, Ill.
Her ministry was dedicated to education. She taught at St. Barnabas School and St. Basil School, Chicago; St. James School, Rockford, Ill.; St. Rose of Lima School, Baltimore, Md.; SS. Peter and Paul School, Kingfisher, Okla.; and Sacred Heart School, Lake Worth, Fla. Sister Colleen also ministered as children’s ministry director at the Church of St. Mary, Tulsa, Okla. She served as co-director and director of the Apostolic Volunteers program for the Sinsinawa Dominican Congregation; as mission educator for the Missionary Society of St. Columban, Forest Park, Ill.; and as director of religious education at St. Luke Parish, River Forest, Ill. Sister Colleen joined the Sinsinawa Mound community in 2017 and went to St. Dominic Villa in 2021. She filled the Villa with love, laughter, and goodness during her years there.
Sister Colleen was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Kevin Nolan. She is survived by a brother, Thomas Nolan; sisters Elizabeth Charrat, Mary Cippera, and her twin Kathleen Shrauger; and her Dominican Sisters. Memorials may be made to the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa, 585 Cty. Rd. Z, Sinsinawa, Wis., or given online at sinsinawa.org/donate