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On Friday morning, Loyola University Chicago students flocked to a black-clothed memorial table in the Damen Student Center to pay their respects to Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM, who died yesterday at the age of 106.
Sister Jean was a beloved figure on Loyola’s campus who joined the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1937, and held numerous teaching and academic advising roles at the University before becoming an international celebrity as the witty and competitive team chaplain who rallied behind the Loyola men’s basketball team, which reached the Final Four round of the 2018 NCAA March Madness tournament.
Around a table laid out with mementos from Sister Jean’s celebrated life, including a letter jacket, a maroon and gold scarf, a Bobblehead doll, and a pair of red Nike sneakers with her name emblazoned across the left (“Sister”) and right (“Jean”) heels, students expressed a bittersweet mix of grief, nostalgia, and fondness for Sister Jean, with many sharing memories and tributes on remembrance cards placed on the table in her honor.
Evie Abderraza (BA ’28), a first-year student at Loyola University Chicago, expressed the view of many students, saying she was devastated to hear the news of Sister Jean’s passing. “Everyone I know is really, really upset,” she said. “She really was the soul of our school.”
Some students shared their memories of Sister Jean’s warm and uplifting presence on campus. Alie McDougall (BA ’26), a senior French and Global Studies major who worked closely with Sister Jean as a programming intern for the University’s first-year student Orientation team in 2024, said that she will never forget Sister Jean’s comforting presence during welcome sessions for new students and their families.
“Whenever Sister Jean spoke at those welcome sessions, she would tell a story about a caterpillar coming out of its cocoon and becoming a butterfly … and parents, students were sobbing during the welcome session, wanting to thank her and greet her. It just proved how much of a light she was and how much wisdom she had, and people wanted to be a part of that,” McDougall said.
Other students, like Alex McClure (BS ’27), a clarinet player in the University’s pep band, Band of Wolves, recalled Sister Jean’s vitality and fiercely competitive spirit at Rambler basketball games.
“I remember specifically when we had a basketball game against Harvard last year, and she dissed them a little, saying, ‘We have the same graduation rate of student athletes that Harvard does. And then we beat them really badly. That was quite a fun game to go to.’”
Alex Von Gillern (BA ’25), a recent Loyola graduate and classroom assistant in Information Technology Services department, described Sister Jean as “everybody’s smiling grandma,” who provided “a little blip of positivity” for students, especially during stressful periods like finals week. “I don’t think it’s too crazy to say that she is or was Loyola — almost a second mascot.”
Many first-year students recognized Sister Jean’s role in elevating Loyola’s national reputation. William Richter (BBA ’29), a first-year student majoring in accounting, analytics, and supply chain management, first learned about Loyola and Sister Jean during the men’s basketball team’s 2018 March Madness Final Four run when he was 11 years old. “I grew up Catholic. So seeing her at a nationwide level … it was kind of inspirational how she shared her faith with the world.”
Speaking to reporters in Joseph J. Gentile Arena this morning, Drew Valentine, head coach of the men’s basketball team, stressed that Sister Jean would have wanted her life to be celebrated and remembered with positivity, a sentiment shared by former players. He also highlighted Sister Jean’s deeply competitive nature, evident in her detailed “scouting reports,” pre-game prayers, and graceful handling of the media’s attention during the team’s Final Four run.
“When it got on that national stage, it was just authentic, and those relationships were real,” Valentine said.
Lucas Williamson (BA ’21, MS ‘26), a former shooting guard for the Ramblers who joined the team as a freshman during their celebrated 2018 Final Four season developed an especially close relationship with Sister Jean, who would often include a post-script addressed specifically to him in her group emails to the team. “It would be a “P.S. ‘Lucas, I think you’re doing a great job leading the team.’”
Williamson, who now plays for the Memphis Hustle of the NBA G League, presented Sister Jean with the Sword of Loyola, the University’s highest honor, in 2019. “I think a big part of her legacy will be the values that she had: being a person for other people, bringing people together, and her service and faith in God.”
