Sister Vivian Ivantic, OSB papers

Sister Vivian Ivantic, OSB was born Rosalie Mary on August 28th, 1913 in Waukegan, Illinois to Slovenian parents. The third of nine children, Sister and her siblings attended Mother of God School in Waukegan, before Sister began high school at Saint Scholastica Chicago, in which she was an aspirant. However, her aspirancy was interrupted when she returned home to care for a new sibling, and she completed her final year of high school at Holy Child High School. Sister returned to the community when she entered as a postulant on September 7th, 1932. She made her first vows on August 16th, 1934, and her final profession on August 16th, 1937.

Sister Vivian earned a BA from DePaul University and a MLIS from Rosary College, supplementing her education over the course of her life through numerous archival workshops and other certification courses. Sister taught at various parish schools in Illinois, Colorado, and Arizona. In Illinois, she taught at Saint Hilary, Saint George, Saint Joseph, Saint Symphorosa, Saint Scholastica High School, and at Mother of God School in Waukegan, wehere she was assigned House Superior and teaching Principal from 1952-1953. In Colorado, she taught at Saint Mary School in Pueblo and Saint Scholastica Academy in Canon City, while in Arizona she taught for four years at the Sacred Heart School in Tucson. In addition to teaching, Sister also served as a librarian and dorm prefect at Saint Scholastica Academy Canon City, as a teaching librarian at Mother of God School, and as a librarian at Saint Scholastica High School Chicago for over 17 years.

In 1978, Sister Vivian became the community's archivist, moving it's historical record collection to the second floor of the Monastery's laundry building, and renaming the space the "Heritage Room." She developed, maintained, and arranged the collection substantially, promoting the community's legacy both internally and externally through the publication of the Archives Newsletter.

Among her many ministries were managing and arranging charitable donations to various organizations, procuring reading material for the blind and visually-impaired, and advocating for the ordination of women in the Catholic Church. She was also an avid gardener, enjoyed listening to audio books, and kept in touch with her large and influential family.

Sister Vivian died at the age of 109 at Saint Joseph Court on February 11th, 2023. She is buried in Calvary Cemetery in Evanston, Illnois.