The journey of faith began for Elaine Isabel Byrne May 28, 1946, when she was born to John D. and
Anna Marie Coomes Byrne of Curdsville, Ky. She joined Margie, John Jr., and J.L. Later there would be Mary Lou,
Eddie and Tony. She was baptized at St. Elizabeth Church in Curdsville, June 4, 1946, by Father John Glenn,. Her Godparents, Pauline Coomes and James Coomes, survive having walked the entire journey with Elaine. The Coomes’ family lived on a farm, so the children learned from their father and their mother a genuine work ethic and basic human values.
The faith life that began in her home was enriched and deepened when she started to school at St. Elizabeth in Curdsville taught by the Ursuline Sisters. Within the first three years of school, Elaine received the sacraments of Eucharist, Penance and Confirmation. Elaine registered as a day student at Mount Saint Joseph Academy for high school. In her senior year, she applied for entrance into the novitiate.
On September 6, 1964, Elaine became a postulant in the Mount Saint Joseph Ursuline community. On August 14, 1965, she began her novitiate training receiving the Ursuline habit and the name Sister John Mary. During this two-year period of preparation for making vows, Sister James Rita Sims and Father Bernard Powers taught formal classes in theology, scripture, the sacraments, vows, religious life in general and Ursuline life in particular, documents of Vatican II and directed the development of a life of prayer as essential to growth in spiritual maturity. This concentrated period of study ended in 1969, and Sister John Mary was sent on her first teaching assignment, Saint Paul, Leitchfield, Ky. One of the changes following Vatican II advised that religious women return to their baptismal name, so Sister John Mary left for St. Paul School known as Sister Elaine.
Sister Elaine entered the journey of apostolic ministry and continued the journey of personal education and growth in mature spirituality. She received her first degree from Brescia College and a master’s in education from Western Kentucky University. Her ministry of teaching at St. Paul led her next to other elementary schools: Mother of Good Council, Louisville; St. Teresa, Glennonville, Mo.; St. Mary, Whitesville, Ky.; St. Peter, Stanley, Ky. She became principal of St. Romuald High School, Hardinsburg, Ky., for two years and then served as coordinator of religious education in the parish for five years.
During all these years – 1969-1988 – Sister Elaine continued her own pursuit of knowledge. She received a master’s in theological studies from the University of Dayton, Ohio. In 1988, she served as administrator of St. Mary Parish, La Center, Ky., and did parish work at St. Charles, Bardwell. Along the way, Sister Elaine earned a certificate in spiritual direction from Atchison, Kan. Beginning in 1994, she served for four years as Director of Vocations for our community. She became campus minister at Western Kentucky University, 1998-2005; pastoral minister at St. Thomas More, Paducah, Ky., 2006-2007; then returned to St. Thomas Aquinas Campus Center at Western Kentucky University as coordinator of Liturgy and Spiritual Formation. In 2009 she became pastoral associate at St. Jerome Parish, Fancy Farm, Ky.
Sister Elaine came to Saint Joseph Villa in late November 2011, after losing a long battle with melanoma. God came to take her home January 20, 2012. Father Patrick Reynolds was celebrant and homilist at the Mass of Resurrection in Mount Saint Joseph Chapel, Tuesday, January 24th. Sister Elaine’s family, many priests, friends and the Ursulines formed the procession accompanying Sister’s remains to Mount Saint Joseph Cemetery for burial.