‘God bless and go Ramblers’: Sister Jean Dead at 106

Loyola’s beloved Sister Dolores Jean Schmidt, BVM, died at the age of 106 Oct. 9.

The university shared the news in an email to the Loyola community around 11 p.m. Oct. 9. The message was signed by President Mark C. Reed, who expressed his sadness at her passing. 

Schmidt retired from her official campus duties at the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester due to health reasons, The Phoenix reported.

“Sister Jean was an invaluable source of wisdom, grace, and inspiration for generations of students, faculty, and staff,” Reed wrote in the statement. “Her ministry was one of presence, and she was part of the fabric of our daily lives at Loyola.” 

Schmidt was the official team chaplain for the men’s basketball team up until her 2025 retirement, a role she stepped into in 1994 at age 75, according to the university website. 

Schmidt became a household name with the success of the men’s basketball team in the historic 2018 NCAA Tournament Cinderella run, where the Ramblers advanced to the Final Four — the fourth 11th seed in tournament history to do so. She was noticed for her constant presence on the sidelines of their games.

Schmidt witnessed the team make it into the NCAA Tournament two more times — once in 2021 when they made it to the Sweet Sixteen and again in 2023 with a first-round exit against Ohio State University.

The university announced they will host a wake service and visitation for Schmidt Oct. 15, followed by a church service Oct. 16. Both events will be held in Madonna Della Strada Chapel and are open to the public on a first-come first-serve basis, according to an email sent to the Loyola community Oct. 13.

In his statement, Reed said he is appreciative of the positive impact Schmidt had on students and faculty of the university. 

“While we feel grief and a sense of loss, there is great joy in her legacy,” Reed wrote. “In her honor, we can aspire to share with others the love and compassion Sister Jean shared with us.”

Boasting a 34-year-long career at Loyola and 64 years total in Rogers Park, Schmidt first began working at Mundelein Women’s College in 1961. She remained at the school as a dean and professor until it merged with Loyola in 1991, when she then transitioned to an assistant dean and academic advisor.

In 1994, Schmidt began offering tutoring services to members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams, which eventually led to her becoming the men’s basketball team’s chaplain in 1996.

Athletic Director Steve Watson said he was grateful for the impact she had on Athletics at Loyola.

“Sister Jean had an amazing impact on the lives of everyone she met, including the countless student-athletes, coaches and staff members that have passed through the halls of Loyola’s Norville Center,” Watson wrote in an email to The Phoenix. “So many of us had the good fortune to work alongside her and share in her wisdom, compassion, wit, empathy and understanding.”

Watson said he will always remember what a blessing it was to have her on campus for so much of her life.

“She truly cared for all the people she crossed paths with,” Watson wrote. “Everyone in the athletic department, the students on campus she so loved spending time with, her community in the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the countless friends she met along the way. She was someone you could talk to about anything, from basketball to religion to how to best run an athletic department, and she was never shy about sharing her opinion.”

Schmidt was a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which she joined in 1938. After being officially received by the group, she worked in an elementary school in North Hollywood, Calif. where she began a sports program for students, including basketball. She received her master’s degree in 1961 from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles before coming to Chicago that same year, according to the website.

In 2023, Schmidt collaborated with journalist Seth Davis to write her bestselling book “Wake Up With Purpose! What I’ve Learned In My First Hundred Years,” The Phoenix previously reported. 

In an interview with The Phoenix, Davis said he was feeling grateful for the time he spent with her, joyful for the life she lived but still sad about her death.

“She’s 106, but I can tell you she had every marble and never had a bad day,” Davis said. “She never had a bad day. She lived an amazing life. I’m going to miss her.”

Davis said he last heard from Schmidt around two weeks ago, just after the announcement of her retirement from official campus duties. 

“I’m just unbelievably lucky that she was in my life,” Davis said.

In 2017, after years of service to the university, Schmidt was inducted into the Ramblers’ Athletics Hall of Fame, and in 2018 she received the Sword of Honor — the highest honor available at the university. In 2023, she was inducted into the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, The Phoenix previously reported. 

Though her involvement with basketball remained consistent throughout her life, Schmidt’s main purpose was her devotion to God. She continued her work with Loyola until the time of her death, and it wasn’t uncommon for her to stop and pray with a group of students on campus, according to the website. 

In honor of her 103rd birthday in 2022, the plaza outside the Loyola Red Line stop was named in her honor by Governor JB Pritzker and former Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot, The Phoenix previously reported. 

Schmidt told the university her favorite part of her life was connecting with students. She maintained an open-door policy, allowing students to walk into her office in the Damen Student Center throughout the day. 

“That’s because I love working with these young people,” she said. “I think that’s what kept my heart young — not my body young — but kept my heart young all these years.”

Schmidt has received recognition internationally for her work in Catholicism and with the university. In 2019, she received an Apostolic Blessing from Pope Francis, and on her 105th birthday in 2024, she received a proclamation from former President Joe Biden recognizing her lifetime of service, The Phoenix previously reported.

On her 106th birthday Aug. 21, Schmidt left some of her final words the student body would receive from her in a statement from Reed.

“It has been wonderful for me to be with you these years and to watch you grow spiritually, intellectually, and socially, and to see the friends you’ve made, and to see the progress you’ve made in your academic life,” Schmidt said. “I’ve always been happy to share my time with you.”

Before her retirement, Sister Jean opened every men’s basketball home game with a blessing, where she would reflect her spirituality and team spirit onto students. Throughout her career, she regularly ended her statements and blessings with one phrase. 

“Amen, God bless and go Ramblers,” Schmidt said.

Editors Note: This article was updated Oct. 9 with additional information provided by Athletics.

Editors Note: This article was updated Oct. 14, 2025 to include information about funeral services.