DeChantal Whelan came into this life November 10, 1914, on a farm near Curdsville, Ky., the daughter of Joseph Leslie and Florence Eugenia Neal Whelan. She was the sister of Ruth and five brothers: Francis, Robert, Tom, Aloysius (called Tim) and Jim. Her mother named the baby DeChantal. DeChantal’s father, who didn’t like it, usually called her “Sis.” DeChantal found it hard to understand why some of her friends did not find joy in religion. In her family, Sunday was a day to look forward to getting all dressed up for church, then spending the rest of the day in family fun. DeChantal claimed, “The joy of religion was the main motivation in our family. Mom thought that every time there was a celebration at church, a Whelan should be there.” In her home, DeChantal grew in the qualities that made her such a unique person. One of these was a great love of nature that she “caught” from her mother. Her father once cut down a big walnut tree to sell to help support the family. Her mother cried as it fell, and DeChantal said, “I helped her cry.” Toward the end of her life DeChantal said that she dreamed about heaven and saw her mother going up and down the fence rows looking for wild flowers. Her insatiable love of reading began as a small child when she and her Dad would go out on the Green River in a row boat and spend hours parked by a shady bank reading book-link stories.
DeChantal was inspired by the Ursulines who taught her during grade school, especially Sister Generose Ray, to whom she credits her great love for learning and deep-seated devotion to the Eucharist. After graduating from Mount Saint Joseph Academy, DeChantal entered the novitiate September 8, 1933. She was given Mary DeChantal as her name in religion the day she received the habit, March 18, 1934; she made temporary vows on March 18, 1936; and three years later she made perpetual vows on March 15, 1939. By this time Sister DeChantal had been teaching from Affton, Mo., to Louisville, to Curdsville, to Buechel, Ky. She then taught high school at New Haven and St. Francis, Ky. From her novitiate days through these years, DeChantal never stopped pursuing education. She studied at Mount Saint Joseph Junior College, and earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in English from St. Louis University. Thirty hours of credit in Journalism from Marquette University in 1958 changed the direction of her ministry: teaching journalism at Brescia College. Soon she was teaching English full time at Brescia. At age 53, she began work at Indiana University on her doctorate in Modern British and American Literature, which she received in 1973. This work gave her the opportunity of research and study abroad, in England and Ireland, as well as extensive European travel.
At Brescia, DeChantal’s gifts as teacher and innovator exploded. Countless programs originated from the her creativity: the Humanities Curriculum, the Humanities Learning Center; Weekend College, Student Support Services; Grant Writing which funded faculty development; technological upgrading, building renovations, scholarships; bringing nationally known speakers to campus. Her vision never dimmed of seeing Brescia as a place to nurture an adult, questioning faith, to prepare students for leadership in the Church and nation.
In 1997, DeChantal’s physical health forced her into retirement for nursing care at the Motherhouse. Her deep spiritual life, which had sustained her from childhood, was a strong anchor for her in the decade of intense suffering that followed. She continued to gift her friends, her family and her Ursuline Sisters with her strong spirit, her intense conviction that God is Love, her faith, her determination, generosity and genuine hospitality, her sense of humor. Sister DeChantal remains an example of a full and happy life as a follower of Saint Angela in the service of God and God’s people.
On the evening of September 3, 2009, Sister DeChantal did finally “go gentle into that good night.” The Mass of Resurrection was celebrated on Tuesday, September 8, 2009. Her surviving sibling, Jim, his wife, Pat, and many nieces and nephews, coworkers, students and the Ursuline Sisters accompanied Sister’s remain to the convent cemetery for burial in bright sunshine dampened only by the tears of several dear friends.