The Hallowian 2020: Vol II - Flipbook - Page 11
Katie Duczmal:
A passionate tech
pioneer
Vale
Katherine Jane Duczmal, better known as Katie,
passed away after a short battle with a rare and
aggressive form of cancer on 19 March 2019.
Sr Monica (Mary) Nugent:
A life of generous service
in Japan
Sr Monica (Mary) Nugent SGS died on 27 July 2020,
aged 101 years. Sr Monica was one of All Hallows’
oldest past pupils, having attended the School from
1934 to 1936. Like many girls of her era, Mary studied
shorthand, bookkeeping and typewriting and, after
leaving All Hallows’, was employed as a steno-typist
in Brisbane. Meeting some Good Samaritan Sisters
changed the course of her life and she entered the
Good Samaritan Novitiate at the age of 21. She trained
as a teacher and taught in schools in New South Wales
and Victoria from 1944 to 1949. In 1950, at the time
of her perpetual profession of vows, her life changed
profoundly again as she heard God’s call to go to Japan
to join the Good Samaritan Sisters’ mission in Nagasaki.
Sr Monica spent most of the next 38 years ministering
in Japan, where she became proficient in Japanese
and specialised in teaching English and typewriting.
She completed the General Certificate Education Exam
(Honours) in 1964 and Japanese Honours in 1969, both
at London University. She also served as Superior of the
Good Samaritan community at Nara from 1960 to 1963.
In 1988, Sr Monica returned permanently to Brisbane,
where she was engaged in visitation and outreach
ministries through Lourdes Hill Convent and later the
Wynnum West Community. She retired to Holy Spirit
Home, Carseldine in 2011. At her 100th birthday
8
The Hallowian | 2020
celebration in 2019, Sr Monica spoke with love about
the joys, blessings and challenges of her Japanese
ministry.
Sr Monica is remembered with love both in Japan
and Australia and was well known for her patience,
compassion, continuous care for others, gracious smile,
prayerfulness, and intelligence. May she rest in peace
with God who she courageously and generously served
for so many years.
The above tribute draws on the Prayer at the Graveside
booklet for Sr Monica (Sisters of the Good Samaritan of
the Order of St Benedict, Brisbane). The article
‘A treasured privilege over 100 years’ was first
published in the July 2019 edition of The Good Oil, the
e-journal of the Good Samaritan Sisters
www.goodsams.org.au.
Katie attended St Dympna’s Catholic Primary
School from 1990 to 1996 and began her passion
for playing the euphonium in Year 7 when a band
commenced at the school. She completed high school
at All Hallows’ (1997 to 2001) and was active in the
orchestra, jazz ensemble and wind symphony, playing
euphonium, trombone and bass guitar. In later years
she played in various brass bands, adding drums to her
skills. She also completed AMEB music examinations
and achieved an Associate in Music (Euphonium).
Computer science was always Katie’s passion. She won
the first prize for the subject Information Processing
and Technology for Years 11 and 12 at All Hallows’ and
she went on to complete a Bachelor of Information
Technology at The University of Queensland. She won
a Dean’s Commendation for High Achievement and an
Australian Computer Society Prize at UQ during that
time.
Katie went on to complete a Bachelor of Information
Technology (Honours Class I) and was awarded a
University Medal for Outstanding Scholarship. During
her time at UQ, she also participated in research and
tutoring.
Katie’s area of
interest was
information
security and she
worked in several
companies where she was highly regarded. Her most
recent position was Principal Security Consultant for
the company Shearwater Solutions, which is honouring
her memory by renaming an annual award after Katie,
which she had dominated by winning two years in a
row. In addition, a scholarship and internship program
is being established in her honour. It is designed
to encourage other young women to take on the
demanding and rewarding field of cyber security.
Katie’s colleagues have commented that people were
struck not only by her intelligence and capability, but
also by her ability to be balanced, warm, articulate,
thoughtful, diligent, positive, determined, insightful,
and caring. Above all, she was a very kind and generous
person.