Wednesday, August 12, 1987/The Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
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Nun commits herself to position
as leader at hospital in Bryan
Sister's choice
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By Pam Tragesser
Reporter
_ When she first decided to join the
1 n I convent, Sister Gretchen Kunz’s
' shouldtt|family and friends didn’t think she
o in his | would last.
“My friends and family didn’t give
me three months,” she says.
Kunz not only stuck with her com
mitment but also excelled in her
housandil eclesiastic profession. She has served
eateda ^ as P res *dent or administrator of St.
, Hoseph Hospital and Health Center
dent topij ^ B r y an for the last six years.
. Only St. Joseph is a Catholic hospital
dollars. I with a concern for the community,
|specially the poor.
The hospital is committed to help
ing these people, keeping the hospi-
1 stocked with the newest technol-
gy, having a good team spirit,
aking all the ends meet and having
a reputation for excellent and com
passionate care, she says.
1 “It means keeping all the diverse
lorces and departments pulling to
gether as a team to accomplish the
purpose of this institution,” Kunz
says. “It involves empowering peo-
Ble to grow so they can be more re
sourceful.”
I These diverse forces include the
hospital’s board of trustees, the med
al staff, the administrative team
nd all the department heads, she
rys.
Aside from visiting with patients,
Jiunz’s job involves planning, pro
gram development and budgeting.
And, as a member of the Board of
Franciscan Services, Kunz visits the
mother house in Sylvania, Ohio,
about six times a year to attend
meetings.
But Ohio is more to Kunz than a
place to go for conferences.
I It was as a second-grader at St.
James Parochial School in Toledo
U coukk ^ at ^ unz ^ rst thoughts of be-
^ioming a sister.
When she entered a Catholic high
school, Kunz had several lay people,
priests and seven communities of sis
ters as teachers, she says.
| And by this time in her life, Kunz
Says she had a strong relationship
a job wet with God.
t “My parents and my teachers
helped establish that,” she says.
|| Kunz also says she couldn’t help
but think she was being called to
Some kind of service within the
church.
| So after high school, she decided
to give the convent a try.
a
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Sister Gretchen Kunz, administrator of St. Joseph
Hospital in Bryan, laughs with C.W. Lucas (left)
Photo by Rodney Rather
and Ben Fanette during her visit at the hospital’s
outpatient center.
Mon:
Burgers & French Fries
Tues:
Buttermilk Pancakes
Wed:
Burger & French Fries
Thur:
Hot Dogs & French Fries
Fri:
Beer Battered Fish
Sat:
French Toast
Sun:
Spaghetti & Meat Sauce
nningho;!
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boy.
d the mat
je about
ds with lit
order totjP ° nce
rents.
eVWIfe
sd. Web;
■ and ontf 1
ntskirtsol
Kunz started looking
around, the Sylvania Franciscan or
der of nuns stood out precisely be-
■ I cause it is Franciscan,
varatn j|p This attracted Kunz because she is
OUt what, fascinated by St. Francis and his tea-
: drivintt' c hings.
., 0 r Even today, her love for St. Fran-
it WlulOli. c i s j s evident throughout her office.
It to mm Wood carvings and pictures of St.
Francis are displayed on her walls,
niplainillj Although Kunz joined the Fran-
theswell dscan Community, her parents were
very much against the idea, espe
cially her mother.
5 “She hated the idea,” Kunz says.
“It took her about 10 years to get
over hating the idea.”
* Although her mother gave her a
tough time, Kunz says it was an un
usual kind of grace because it made
ce on eait;
■ the tire
oad map
led my ait
ist. The
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oad ascofl
lie and hit (AP) — At least four Texas coun-
. J ties could be at the starting gate in
to their the race to snare a pari-mutuel horse
track if voters approve the issue at
the polls on Nov. 3.
erfortht Voters statewide will decide that
e it to the? d' 1 )' whether county-option wa-
•r,u il Bering should be allowed Texas,
IrthatOt while voters in Blanco, Gillespie,
in at least? Tarrant and Goliad counties also will
be casting ballots on the issue locally.
her stronger at what she set out to
do.
Kunz went through formation —
what it means to be a nun — in what
she calls “boot camp.” Here she
learned what kind of commitments
she had to make and what kind of
relationship she should develop with
God, she says.
Formation, like learning, is a life
long process, she says.
The first years are probationary
years, which begin with spiritual de
velopment — learning how to pray,
studying the Old and New Testa
ments and learning about St. Francis
and how he interpreted Christianity.
Later, she learned about the spe
cial vows that a religious woman
takes and made them on a tempo
rary basis, Kunz says.
The three vows — poverty, chas
tity and obedience — are called con
secrated religious life, she says.
“Everyone can be religious and
live a religious life, and everyone is
called to,” she says.
The first vow, poverty, involves
living a simple life.
Sisters do not accumulate any
money for themselves. Salaries accu
mulated by sisters are sent back to
the mother house in a combined
check.
In return, they receive health in
surance, room and board and $45
per month for other expenses.
“You make the little things in life
count,” Kunz says. “Sitting on the
patio in a rocking chair watching the
moon, having a little glass of wine
can be an awful nice thing to do in
an evening.”
Local Franciscan sisters have re
ceived several gifts from people in
the area, including a VCR and free
movie rental coupons that they re
deem occasionally.
The vow of chastity is both diffi
cult and rewarding, Kunz says.
“Chastity means we have prom
ised not to marry or enjoy any of the
joys of the married, and that’s tough,
too,” she says. “The up side to this
promise is never to choose one per
son, but be open to everybody. This
was the Lord’s view as well as St.
Francis’. Nobody is turned away.”
The obedience vow includes sensi
tivity to and awareness of needs of
the community and the other sisters.
Kunz’s sensitivity and community
awareness shows when she describes
how she felt when she was asked, at
47, to attend nursing school.
“I really felt I would be a wonder
ful caregiver,” she says.
Kunz attended nursing school in
Sandusky, Ohio, where she even
tually earned her nursing degree.
Kunz was a staff nurse, a charge
nurse, supervising nurse and direc
tor of nursing service for 10 years
and did some in-service education
work.
After completing her second mas
ter’s degree in health and hospital
administration, Kunz was asked to
come to Texas and become adminis
trator at St. Joseph Hospital and
Health Center.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Kunz
replied when asked if she would
come to work.
Despite reservations about taking
on the task and moving 1,300 miles
from home, Kunz says she is glad
she gave it a shot.
And although Kunz already has
been in Texas three years longer
than she originally intended, she
now has no plans to leave.
4 Texas counties give voters chance
to decide pari-mutuel betting issue
Gillespie, Tarrant and Goliad voted
unanimously Monday to add the is
sue to the ballot, with some officials
citing cost savings as the reason for
combining the two issues on one bal-
said Commissioner O.L. Watson,
who predicted stiff competition for
race tracks if wagering is legalized.
“There probably will be two race
tracks built in North Texas — a
“This will give Tarrant County the opportunity to get a
jump on other counties and get a track here. ”
— Tarrant County Commissioner O.L. Watson
icate
| A group of racing enthusiasts,
■teanwhile, appealed to the Harris
County Commissioners Court Tues
day to follow suit and get the issue
Commissioners said they would
consider the issue later this month.
icMAiMaS b e f° re voters at the same time as the
state referendum.
are those of Ay
:essarily reptc*;
faculty or At''
ry newipipo
iphy classes wfe
trough Fridu
ar holiday aisl 4
semester,
Mvertising tt*|
«d McDorali
S43-4111.
auon.TXliHiJ
Jes to The
ersity, College
And in Sherman, members of the
Texoma Horse Racing Assocation
ended a four-week petition drive
with enough signatures to put
county-wide pari-mutuel horse rac
ing on the Nov. 3 ballot. That would
allow Grayson County residents to
vote whether they want county-wide
horse racing.
Commissioners courts in Blanco,
lot and others saying they wanted to
be on the starting line for getting a
track.
A state racing commission would
have to approve track permits in
counties where the issue has been
sanctioned by voters.
The statewide referendum limits
the number of race tracks to three in
Texas. Only counties with a popula
tion of 750,000 or more — or their
adjacent counties — can qualify.
“This will give Tarrant County
the opportunity to get a jump on
other counties and get a track here,”
quarter-horse track and a thorough
bred track,” Watson said.
Tarrant County election adminis
trator Robert Parten said the county
could save up to $125,000 by adding
the local issue to the state vote.
Former Houston Oilers Coach
Bum Phillips, a horse breeder, led
the Harris County racing enthusiasts
in appealing to the commissioners
court to put wagering up for a local
vote.
Albert J. Poujoul, a longtime pro
ponent of horse racing in Texas,
said having both elections at the
same time would save Harris County
taxpayers $500,000, the cost of a
separate local-option election.
“People would much rather see
horse-racing than taxation,” he said.
Last March, the Texans for Eco
nomic Development Committee said
Harris County would reap $30 mil
lion in annual revenues and 1,200
permanent jobs from a horse-racing
track.
The Texas Department of Agri
culture has estimated that horse rac
ing would bring $1.25 billion a year
to the state’s economy and create
10,981 jobs.
The Gillespie County Fair and
Festivals Association asked its county
commissioners to call for the elec
tion.
The group operates a race track
in Fredericksburg, with seating for
about 3,500, and schedules races for
six days annually.
Kim Schofield, secretary for the
group, said the facility would be up
graded if the pari-mutuel issues
pass, but there are no plans to in
crease seating.
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