We share news of the death of Sister M. Kenneth Regan, CSC, who died at 3:40 p.m. on December 24, 2025, in Saint Mary’s Convent, Notre Dame, Indiana. Sister Kenneth entered the Congregation from Austin, Texas, on July 30, 1945. Her initial profession of vows took place on August 15, 1948.

Please join us in prayer for Sister as we renew our faith in the resurrected Jesus and strengthen our hope that all the departed will be raised to eternal life.

Funeral Arrangements

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Mass of the Resurrection:
10:30 a.m.

Church of Our Lady of Loretto
Notre Dame, Indiana

Mary Kathleen Regan was born during Holy Week on March 30, 1926, in Chicago, Illinois. She was the first born of Daniel James and Kathleen (Koock) Regan, who met while in college. Daniel was a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, while Kathleen was a Saint Mary’s College graduate. Mr. Regan was an accountant, then federal bank examiner, requiring his family to move periodically. Mary Kathleen’s maternal grandmother was the matriarch of a long succession of strong Texas women, so she was not thrilled about Mary Kathleen being born in Chicago. To ensure her granddaughter was born on Texas soil, the grandmother sent Mary Kathleen’s parents a box of dirt that was to be placed under the bed when she was born. The family moved to Austin, Texas, within a few years of her birth, where all three of her younger sisters —Pat, Dona Ann and Brigid—were born.

In Austin, Mary Kathleen was taught by Holy Cross sisters at Saint Mary’s Academy from the first through 10th grades, and then at Saint Mary’s Academy in South Bend, Indiana, until her graduation. She was a happy teenager and was known for her cheerfulness and “spirit of cooperation.” After graduating high school in 1943, she worked as a clerk for the local post office in Austin until her entrance into the Congregation. Her “indescribable love” for Holy Cross, fostered by her Holy Cross teachers, guided her in discerning her vocation. On July 30, 1945, Mary Kathleen entered the Sisters of the Holy Cross, Notre Dame, Indiana. Upon reception of the holy habit, she received her religious name—Sister Mary Kenneth.

For 67 years, Sister Kenneth was missioned to parochial elementary schools in Washington, D.C., New York, Virginia and Texas. She taught a variety of subjects to students in kindergarten through eighth grade, including religion, math, reading and spelling. She also served as a principal for three elementary schools in Texas. In 1963, Sister Kenneth graduated from Incarnate Word College in San Antonio, Texas, with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She also earned two master’s degrees—one in elementary education from Incarnate Word College in 1971, and another in theology from Saint Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, in 1989.

Sister Kenneth firmly believed that she belonged in the classroom. Her positive attitude toward life and passion for Catholic school education made her a beloved teacher. Many former students would often visit her, which gave her a great deal of satisfaction. She felt that teachers had an obligation to accommodate diversity and “break down prejudice,” so she often found herself “going to bat” for students that needed encouragement and support. Bishops in Texas became very familiar with Sister Kenneth, as she routinely went to them to advocate for the improvement of Catholic education in their dioceses.  

A few of Sister Kenneth’s favorite hobbies were knitting and crocheting. Once her nieces and nephews started having children, she knitted and crocheted “enough booties and afghans for the Regan clan to clothe a small army.” Sister Kenneth was also an avid sports fan. She often said that “the only TV I liked to watch are the educational programs—football, baseball and basketball!”

In 2015, Sister Kenneth concluded her lifelong education ministry and retired to the motherhouse at Saint Mary’s, Notre Dame. Her many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews always made time to travel to Saint Mary’s to visit and celebrate special occasions with her. Sister Kenneth was grateful for all the love, joy and support she felt from living in her religious community for more than 80 years, dying at Saint Mary’s Convent at 99 years old, in the last hours before sunset on Christmas Eve. Be assured that this daughter of Texas will be commended to the holy ground of Our Lady of Peace Cemetery in the company of the Holy Cross sisters she loved so much.

We invite you to donate to the Congregation in Sister’s name.