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Sister Clotilda Spezia, ASC dies Dec. 29, 2011

Sister Clotilda Spezia, ASC died Dec. 29, 2011 of congestive heart failure at the Ruma Center in Ruma.
A daughter of Italian immigrants, Louis and Antonietta Berra Spezia from Cuggiono, Italy, the child was baptized Mary.

Sister Clotilda celebrated her 100th birthday in October.
She made her first vows on July 2, 1930 and final profession on July 1, 1935. She had been an Adorer for 81 years.

Proud of her family and Italian heritage, she was born and grew up in Herrin, an Italian immigrant enclave.
Education was a focus of her life, as evidenced by her degrees, certificates and long years in high school classrooms.

She taught business courses at St. Teresa’s Academy in East St. Louis, and a photo from her time there was part of a September Messenger advertisement encouraging people to give to the religious retirement fund.

She taught at St. Teresa’s from 1934-1955. Returning to the diocese after teaching in Fort Dodge, Iowa, Sister Clotilda taught at Mater Dei Catholic High School in Breese from 1965-66, Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville from 1969-81.

Former student, Sister Clare Boehmer, recalls that young women who graduated from St. Teresa’s with business courses in their resumé were almost assured of a job.

Both Sister Clare and Sister Mary Ellen Hubbard, another former student, remember Sister Clotilda as a teacher who loved her students.

Sister Mary Ellen said: “We felt loved by her; she was there to help. She was a marvelous teacher, an upbeat and happy person.”

When she retired, many of her former students kept in touch with her.
In 1981, she moved to De Mattias Hall in St. Louis to assist with clerical duties; in 1995 she retired at the Ruma Center.

Sister Barbara Biver, pastoral care director at the Ruma Center, said Sister Clotilda’s later years were marked by a love of the Eucharist and a longing and desire to receive Communion even if she was not able to be in the chapel during the Mass.

Her parents, infant sister who died in Italy before the family came to the United States, and brother, Dr. Joseph Spezia preceded her in death.

She is survived by many nieces and nephews.

She is buried in the cemetery at Ruma.