Sister Denise Bourdet (formerly Sister Mary Denise)

The members of the Bourdet family are very proud of their French heritage. Leon Paul Bourdet came from Arette, France to California, where he met his future wife, Irene Anne Marie of Antioch, who was also of French background. They married and had two children, Denise Jean and Paulette Lee.

Leon and Irene started their successful French laundry business in San Francisco. When Denise began kindergarten, she stayed with relatives in Alameda, attending Washington School. When she returned to her family in San Francisco, she attended Emerson public school for kindergarten again, and first grade. Then her parents enrolled her in St. Dominic School on Pine Street.

Upon graduating from the eighth grade, Denise enrolled in Presentation High School, graduating in June, 1951. For the next two years she worked in downtown San Francisco where she enjoyed her job in the medical information bureau at Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and playing on the company basketball team, but felt called to religious life. She entered the Sisters of the Presentation on Masonic Avenue on September 11, 1953. Six months later, on March 28, 1954, she received the religious habit and was given her baptismal name, Denise, as her religious name

Sister Denise made her first vows on April 1, 1956 at St. Joseph the Worker Church in Berkeley – she was part of that novitiate temporarily housed in Berkeley – and five years later, on April 7, 1961, made perpetual vows at the Motherhouse in San Francisco. She earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of San Francisco in 1964, and General Elementary Education certification the following year.

Sister Denise began her teaching career in 1956 at St. Anne School in San Francisco, where she taught second grade for two years. Then she was missioned to Our Lady of Lourdes School in East Los Angeles; St. Mary School, Gilroy; St. Benedict School, Montebello; and St. Columba School, Oakland, always teaching second or third grade. In 1972, she moved to St. Joseph the Worker School in Berkeley, where she remained until 2009. In addition to teaching she served as the school’s Sports Coordinator and Athletic Director. She coached various sports teams in competitions with other schools as part of the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) of the Oakland Diocese.

Sr. Denise holding sign with team on parade at CYO track meet	Sr. Denise, left, at Oakland A's recognition of St. Joseph's 1986 CYO championship softball team	Sr. Denise distributing awards at cross country event Photo: Bill Ford, Oakland CYO

Sister Denise filled various league and CYO roles over the years: treasurer of the Boys League and the Girls League; CYO Girls Council member; and Section II Coordinator for track, organizing the matches for West Contra Costa County, Alameda, and parts of Oakland. In what is most certainly an understatement, Sister says, “Many a weekend was taken up with coaching or refereeing CYO games.”

Presentation of Diocesan Medal of Merit, Oakland Diocesan CYO Track and Field Championship Meet, May, 1999. Photo: Bill Ford, Oakland CYO

In 1999, Oakland Bishop John Cummins awarded the Diocesan Medal of Merit to Sister Denise.  The award is given to "laity, religious or clergy known for their faithfulness to the Church and who have performed extraordinary service to the Diocese of Oakland on a parish or diocesan level...” 

After 35 years, Sister Denise left St. Joseph’s and moved to San Francisco. It was Ash Wednesday, 2009. With six other Sisters she began a new ministry at The Lantern, a ministry for hospitality, education and advocacy that had been established in 2006 to minister to the poor and marginalized and to respond to the needs of the immigrant population in the Mission District of San Francisco.

Because of her many years of teaching young children, Denise became the childcare director at The Lantern - in other words, the babysitter. She was made for the job and was loved by all – children, moms and staff alike. Her ‘graduates’ and their parents still ask about her.

In addition to her work at The Lantern, Sister Denise continued to volunteer with the Oakland CYO.  She organized activities connected with track and field, and many weekends were still taken up with coaching or refereeing CYO games. 

Sister Denise’s inspiration has always been the children, and former students with their children. She found that coaching children in sports allowed her to know them in ways not possible in the classroom. “Children don’t fake it on the playing field!” She always enjoyed helping children, especially those who struggled in school. It has kept her young and happy. Sister’s favorite prayer is the Prayer of St. Francis, and she tries to live that out every day.

Another of Sister Denise’s activities and loves is the Day Laborer Program, a weekly program for giving food to those waiting for jobs.  This program began in 1999, and Sister Denise has been an active participant for many years.

A special memory Sister Denise has is having made several special trips over the years. One was to France in 1985, where she was able to visit her father’s home and the homes of her maternal grandparents. She also traveled in Canada and was able to make the pilgrimage to Ireland, following the footsteps of the Presentation foundress, Nano Nagle.
           
Family remains a very important part of Sister Denise’s life, and she loves being with them during family or other holiday events.  Other enjoyable activities are working on jigsaw puzzles and playing cards with friends.

After living ten years in the Mission District, Sister Denise moved to the Motherhouse on Turk Boulevard. As she celebrates seventy years since entrance to religious life, she continues to be involved and interested in the things she loves and continues to pray and live the Prayer of St. Francis.

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