Remembering Sr. Dolores Ellwart, SP
Sisters, family and friends gathered in De Smet, Idaho, to celebrate the life of Sr. Dolores Ellwart, SP, who devoted much of her life and ministry to the children and people who lived near the Sacred Heart Mission and the surrounding communities.
Sr. Dolores was an enrolled member of the Coeur d’Alène tribe and fellow members of the tribe reminisced about her and what she meant to generations of school children and, later, parishioners of the Mission.
She taught at St. Mary Immaculate School, eventually serving as superior and principal.
“She was a good soul,” said dear friend and colleague Cindy LaDeaux, who learned how to care for others through Sr. Dolores’ example. When helping a stranger “she would always say, ‘You never know, it might be Jesus.’ Now, whenever I help a stranger, I think of Sr. Dolores.”
When the school closed, Sr. Dolores moved to Sacred Heart Mission preparing children for their First Eucharist and Confirmation. After closing, the school buildings were given to the Coeur d’Alene tribe and were eventually named as a national historical site.
The school burnt down several years ago, with a modern facility now standing near the historic site. In a beautiful remembrance, bricks from the old school building form the foundation of the altar in the Mission Church.
Sr. Dolores lived in the same trailer on the reservation, 14 miles south of Coeur d’Alene, for 37 years and promised to serve the people for as long as she is able. (See her Jubilee story here: https://sistersofprovidence.net/dolores-ellwart-sp-sr-camilla-75-years/)
Upon her demise, she left only brief instructions, the most poignant of which: “I want to be buried among my people.”
