Friendship and generosity entwine through the years

Fifty years ago last April, Russ and Irene H. exchanged their marriage vows at St. Pius X Church in Wauwatosa, Wis. The Salvatorian parish has been their home parish ever since.

Sitting in a Pius pew back in 1989, Russ and Irene heard Sister Carol Thresher, SDS speak about the Sisters of the Divine Savior worldwide missions. The couple was especially touched by the dedication and love Sr. Carol expressed for people living in the favelas of São Paulo, Brazil, where she served for 18 years. Listening to how Sr. Carol opened her heart to Brazil’s impoverished people inspired Russ and Irene to open their hearts with their first gift to support our Salvatorian Sisters’ missions there.

Since then, Russ and Irene’s friendship with the Sisters of the Divine Savior has entwined with their generosity. When Irene received rehabilitation services at St. Anne’s Salvatorian Campus in 2011, they came to know our sisters who served there. After Irene died last January, it was their faithful friendship with the sisters that inspired Russ to fulfill a desire the couple shared, by naming the Sisters of the Divine Savior in his trust. Years earlier, Russ and Irene had taken their support to a deeper level with their pledge of a monthly gift. Russ continues that commitment today as a Mission Well Charter Member.

Russ and Irene worked for many years, he as a Milwaukee County corrections officer, and she as a medical technologist. The couple also shared a love for travel that included trips to Kenya, Russia, Spain and Portugal, and the Holy Land. When they weren’t traveling the world, they always felt at home at St. Pius. Russ doesn’t need to think long and hard about what makes his Salvatorian parish so special. “It’s very simple,” he says, “It’s a caring, loving community.”

Our Apostolic Circle recognizes the generosity of Russ and Irene H. and other friends who name the Sisters of the Divine Savior in their will or estate. With their consent, we list Apostolic Circle members on a plaque at our Community House in Milwaukee. Each year, we remember them at Mass at our Motherhouse in Rome, near our founding site in Tivoli, Italy.