Rosemary Ellen Keough was born on December 11, 1938, in Auburn, N.Y. Her parents were Thomas Patrick Keough and Catherine Agnes Scully. She was baptized on January 15, 1939, and confirmed on October 17, 1948, in St. Patrick’s Church in Aurora, N.Y. Her siblings were Sara K. Scully, Thomas Patrick Keough Jr., and John Roger Keough.
Her early education took place in the following schools: Sherwood School in Sherwood, N.Y., Holy Family School in Auburn, N.Y., Aurora Elementary School in Aurora, N.Y., and St. Denis School in Louisville, Ky. She attended Mount Saint Joseph Academy for high school.
She entered the Ursuline community on September 7, 1956. She was received into the Novitiate on August 14,1957, and received the name Sister Thomas Catherine, after her parents. (Later she returned to her baptismal name.) She professed first vows on August 15, 1959, and made final profession on August 15, 1962. She received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Brescia College in 1967 and earned a master’s degree in guidance and counseling from Western Kentucky University in 1974.
Sister Rosemary’s teaching assignments took her to St. Andrew’s School in
Harrodsburg, Ky., St. Sebastian’s School in Calhoun, Ky., the Diocese of Lincoln, Neb., Mount Saint Joseph Academy, St. Charles School in Albuquerque, N.M., and Brescia College.
In January 2000, Sister Rosemary joined Sister Fran Wilhelm at Centro Latino in Owensboro, Ky. She called it her favorite mission. She loved helping to empower the Hispanic people and making them independent.
In 2018, Sister Rosemary moved to the Villa but continued to help by taking a turn as a receptionist at the front desk. Her sense of humor never left her, and she enjoyed visits from relatives and friends.
Sister Rosemary Keough, 81, died on Saturday, November 21, 2020, at Owensboro
Health in her 63rd year of religious life. The funeral Mass was at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December l, 2020. Burial was in the convent cemetery.