Sister Kathleen Cogan, OSB died peacefully August 6, 2022, at the Mt. St. Francis Nursing Center in Colorado Springs. Kathleen is preceded in death by her parents John and Elizabeth (Esser) Cogan, her siblings Sister Leann, OSB, John, Jerry, and Joseph Cogan. She is survived by siblings Mary Margaret Eggleston and Sister Elizabeth Cogan, OSB.
Sister Kathleen was born on February 4, 1929, in Salida, Colorado to a large, tightly knit family. Her parents owned a working ranch near Buena Vista, Colorado. Kathleen’s mother was a schoolteacher before marriage, so education was a high priority for the family as was forming their children in the Catholic faith. Three of their daughters became Benedictine sisters.
After graduating from high school, Kathleen went to Mt. St. Scholastica College earning a Bachelor of Science. While there, she heard God’s call and entered Monastic life as a Benedictine at Mt. St. Scholastica in 1949. She taught in Kansas, Missouri, and Colorado. In 1968, Kathleen completed a Master of Science from St. Mary University in Minnesota. She continued to teach in various places including Benet Hill Academy until the early 1970s. When she felt the call to enter nursing, she studied at the University of Colorado, graduating in 1974 as an RN. She worked at Penrose Hospital in intensive care, obstetrics, and rehab. Kathleen became a Hospital Chaplain, caring not only for patient’s physical needs but also tending to their spiritual needs. She was a Chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Iowa and St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City, Colorado.
Sister Kathleen would often return to her family’s ranch to read, pray, and fish. In retirement, she wrote the book Three Nuns from the Ranch in which she relates hilarious family stories and adventures of the three Benedictine sisters.
Along with teaching and nursing, Sister Kathleen loved to sing. She was a member of the Benet Hill Schola and a cantor for the Liturgy of the Hours. Later in life, she became disabled but her trust in God never wavered. She took very seriously her mission of prayer. Sister Kathleen’s passing reflected her living, an unwavering trust in God and deep love and concern for all around her. She truly lived to love God, her family, community, students, and patients.
