News broke last night. Memories and tributes started pouring quickly. God Bless our Queen. What an extraordinary life and soul. A legend and an icon. We were all lucky to have her holiness on campus and at every game, daily, till last winter. The importance and impact Sister had on everyone in our community and worldwide cannot and will not be adequately summarized.

A life of faith, service, and basketball. Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM, a beloved icon of Loyola University Chicago for more than six decades and a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary since 1937, passed away on October 9, 2025 at the age of 106. Celebrated worldwide for her infectious smile, quick wit, and basketball acumen, Sister Jean — as she was affectionately known to friends far and wide — was universally adored and touched the lives of countless people throughout her lengthy tenure at Loyola and her incredible life.

https://www.luc.edu/sisterjean/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUJqux7JT7w

Norlander @ CBS Sports with a very nice tribute too - https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... sses-away/

Amen. God Bless. And Go Ramblers.

Its not lost on me that the day she passes, the Israel Hamas war gets the ceasefire she prayed for before so many games. Shes still got pull with the big guy upstairs.

Such an amazing life. And the impact she had on Loyola goes well beyond the basketball court, as many of us have witnessed and experienced over the years.

I also saw news that Tony Parker passed away this week. I’m sure they’re all having a great discussion up there today

What an amazing person she was. Everyone should take a lesson on how to live your live from her.
Sister Jean, thanks for everything.

Was a legend and hero to so many in the Loyola community long before 2018. I am glad the entire world got to see how special she was. I'll never forget meeting her my first day on campus in 2007. Then, months later, I randomly ran into her and she remembered my name and what high school I went to! She truly cared for and loved the Loyola community.

RIP Sister Jean

It wasn't that long ago that she was able to walk out on that court for the pregame prayer. I am sure there will be some sort of (well-deserved) remembrance of her somewhere around Gentile. She will be pulling for the team from a more peaceful place. RIP Sister Jean.

I have many treasured memories of Sister Jean.

The first time I encountered her was in the 1994-95 season-- I think. We were playing at Alumni Gym that year after leaving the Rosemont Horizon, and the Gentile Center (I believe) was just a plan without any dedicated funding at that point. I walked up to the Gym for one of the first games of the year, and I saw a small, smiling, very gentile elderly woman with perfect posture standing at the front door to greet fans and welcome them in for the game. This was odd.... but nice.

I didn't have any idea who she was. I had graduated a year or two before, but had never seen her in the context of the basketball team or on campus events. Later that year I might have arrived for a game early and I might have seen her prayer and interaction with the team before the game. But over the next few years as we moved into Gentile Center and went through the Burmeister coaching tenure, she became a known fixture. I still remember the first shocking time she warmly welcomed me to a college basketball game standing outside to greet everyone. It was extraordinary, and any college team looking to buiild a loyal fanbase might do that small thing instead of expecting throngs to suddenly appear.

I had the feeling that some coaches appreciated or disapproved of Sister Jean's involvement more or less than others-- Ken Burmeister, Larry Farmer, Whitesell. But Sister Jean and Porter Moser were a perfect mix. When coaches use the word "culture" to try to show they're making positive changes more than just athletically, an influence like Sister Jean is a godsend (pun intended). If you're looking to cleanse a moribund sports program of selfish uncaring team dynamics, a selfless nun who has taken a vow of poverty is a pretty good spokesperson to get down to the basics of what you're exisiting for.

And as a spokesperson, Sister Jean was outstanding-- very approachable, always kind, always gentle, sometimes mildly challenging. And what a super living and breathing example of a person giving of themselves for a moral and spiritual imperative.

There's a mention in one of those obituaries in the paper (I think the Sun-Times) that talks about how she injured her leg in the 2017-18 season and missed a few games. But she was determined to come back for Arch Madness in St. Louis. My most incredible memory of Sr. Jean was seeing Dr. Hitcho wheeling her from the hotel in St. Louis to the arena, just the two of them, before she became a nationally known celebrity. It was the last time I talked to her directly.

I walked up to her about a block and a half before she got to the stadium and had a personal one-on-one. I knew we were going to beat Illinois State to get to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 33 years, and I wanted to thank her for her faith, and tell her how she had inspired me to have faith through dark times. She didn't know my name, but she'd seen me going to 75% of the home games for the past 25 years, including when I was one of only a few dozen in the stands.

That was our moment, me and her, on a corner in St. Louis in 2018, a few weeks before she was a celebrity, when I had a chance to thank her personally holding her hand, and telling her how much I appreciated her work.