Sister Elizabeth Peplow, CSJ obituary: Worked for racial and social justice

This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, March 31, 2011 - Sister Elizabeth Peplow, whose imposing persona, perpetual happiness and unwavering dedication to racial and social justice spurred her to co-found an organization to help develop African-American leadership in the Catholic Church, died suddenly on Tuesday at Barnes Jewish Hospital of a stroke. She was 73 and had lived in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood.

A mass of the Resurrection will be at 10 a.m., Fri. at the Sisters of St. Joseph Mother House.

Sister Liz, as she was universally known, co-founded the St. Charles Lwanga Center, named for a Roman Catholic saint who was one of 22 young Ugandan men who were martyred for their faith in 1885 and 1886. The organization, located in the heart of north St. Louis, was formed in 1978 as "a house of spiritual formation and leadership development for the African-American Catholic community." Four years after helping to establish it, Sister Liz served as the Lwanga Center's first executive director.

"You could tell that she was a leader," said the Rev. Arthur Cavitt, the organization's current executive director and former chaplain.

Cavitt said Sister Liz's work continues because "we still need hope in this city, we still need education in this city and we still need to inspire outside our neighborhood."

"Liz's neighbors were everywhere, from north St. Louis to south county, to south St. Louis, from Peoria (her hometown) to Africa," said her friend of five decades, Sister Betty Leiwe, who will be offering the eulogy. "We all experienced her care, concern, support and sensitivity."

Her friends also experienced her stories.

At nearly six feet tall, she would often lean down conspiratorially to share a good story, which, more often than not, was preceded by "Girl, don't you know," dragged out in a bit of a drawl complicated by an impending laugh.

"Her stories will be told for years to come," Sister Betty said.

The stories began early, one of the best coming when she was only 5 years old. Often described as "a strong woman," she began as a strong child. When she was to begin kindergarten, she simply refused. She demanded and got the privilege of staying home like her younger brother, whom she called "Baby."

"She left (school) and came back home," said her sister Susan Herring, laughing at the family story that had been passed down to her. "She said if Baby wasn't going to school, neither was she. And she didn't. She waited until Baby went to kindergarten and she started first grade."

Elizabeth Peplow, CSJ (S. Walter Suzanne) was born in Peoria, Ill., the second child of Walter David and Theoclete (Jacobs) Peplow. She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1956 and made her final profession in 1964. The following year, she received her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Fontbonne College, where she would eventually serve on the board of trustees. She earned her master's in theology from the University of Notre Dame in 1971.

Sister Liz spent the first nine years of her career as a teacher at St. Mary Magdalen Grade School and St. Edward Grade School. She later worked several years as a parish work coordinator at Saints Mary & Joseph Parish.

For more than 20 years, she served as a pastoral associate at Blessed Sacrament Parish and subsequently St. Dominic Savio Parish. While serving the parishes, from 1982 to 1987, she was also executive director at the St. Charles Lwanga Center, which she co-founded with the Rev. Edward Fuerbacher. (When Rev. Fuerbacher died about five years ago, she inherited his already much-used Honda and promptly set out, it seemed, to break a mileage record.)

In 2001, Sister Liz was named director of development and programming for Nia Kuumba Spirituality Center, called a house of discernment for African-American women. The name comes from two African traditional values: purpose (nia) and creativity (kuumba).

"The purpose is to invite African-American women to experience their own culture in the 21st century," said Sister Marian Boberschmidt, Nia Kuumba's director. "I used to be a teacher and I would say that Liz's performance in planning our programs was A+++.

"She was a vibrant, energetic and personable director who had great respect for the women we served," Boberschmidt added. "She made sure that the women served were deeply involved in developing the programs."

In 2009, Sister Liz moved to the international stage, with her focus still firmly fixed on empowering people in need. Until her death, she served as outreach coordinator for Microfinancing Partners in Africa, an organization founded by Sister Toni Temporiti to help Africa's poorest people improve their lives -- and perhaps escape poverty -- by funding small loans. MPA is in three African countries: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

"Liz was sunshine for the MPA program," said Sister Toni.

"She gave life not only here but also in our visits to Africa where she was immediately loved. Her belief in each person's goodness was really her hallmark; she believed that her job was to help each person carry out their dreams."

As soon as she joined MPA, she began raising funds for "The Cow Project," a program that provides thousands of Ugandan families with a cow to provide milk and nutrition, as well as waste products used for biofuels for cooking, lighting and crop fertilizer. Her first year on the job, she helped MPA raise $110,000 for the project.

Sister Liz, whose friends and colleagues agree "party on" fits her departure better than "rest in peace," was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Walter "Baby" Peplow, who called her "Honey."

In addition to her sister Susan of Peoria, Ill., her survivors include another sister, Madeline Peplow of Peoria; two nieces and a nephew, Amanda Schulze (Ryan Jones), Julie Schulze and Christopher Schulze, and a great niece, Katie Schulze.

Visitation will be from 3-8 p.m., with a prayer service at 7 p.m., today at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet Motherhouse, 6400 Minnesota Ave., St. Louis. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m., Fri., April 1 at the Motherhouse. Burial will be at Resurrection Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, St. Louis Province, 6400 Minnesota Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63111, or Micro Financing Partners of Africa, 4949 Columbia Ave., St. Louis, Mo. 63139.

Gloria Ross is the head of Okara Communications and the storywriter for AfterWords, an obituary-writing and production service.