Sister Adelaide Ortegel

Sister Adelaide Ortegel was born on June 12, 1928. She died no December 13, 2017. She was 89 years old and had been a Sister of Providence for 71 years.

She entered the Congregation on July 19, 1946. She pronounced her first and final vows on January 23, 1949 and 1954, respectively.

She graduated from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College with a bachelor’s degree in education, and also a master’s in art education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Sister Adelaide began her teaching ministry of 45 years at Corpus Christi in Oklahoma City in 1949. She also taught at schools in Indiana, Illinois, Massachusetts and Antigua, West Indies. She helped start the art department at Mother Guerin High School. In 1970, she began a ministry as Wobbles the Clown for a Chicago Archdiocese weekly’ television show Christmas special.

Sister Adelaide also created the clowns “Patches the Clown” and “Little Patches” as part of her ministry.