COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dominican Sister of Peace Tomasa Sigala, OP, 83, died at Mohun Health Care Center, Columbus, Ohio on July 25, 2015.
Many people of this area knew Sister Tomasa when she lived and ministered here in Great Bend.
Born Dec. 10, 1931, in Rocky Ford, Colo., Sr. Tomasa was the daughter of Ramon and Ysidra Gonzales Sigala. She entered the Dominican Sisters’ Community in Great Bend Aug. 30, 1956, and pronounced her first vows June 13, 1959. She celebrated 50 years of religious profession in 2009.
Sr. Tomasa ministered most of her religious life in the healthcare field as a nurse aide in Sacred Heart Hospital, Lamar, Colo.; St. Rose Hospital and Central Kansas Medical Center, Great Bend; St. Joseph Memorial Hospital, Larned; St. Catherine Hospital, Garden City; and the convent infirmary, Great Bend.
She served as detox aide in the chemical dependency unit in St. Joseph Hospital and in the alcohol treatment center in Alamosa, Colo. After 1992, Sr. Tomasa ministered as a reflexologist at Heartland Farm, at the Heartland Center for Wholistic Health, and at the Motherhouse, all in Great Bend.
In her work in reflexology, she brought a healing presence to her clients. She had a very caring heart for people that instinctively picked up a way to gently and practically be of support or assistance to them. She also spent some time in 2002 as a pastoral ministry assistant in Sharon, Kiowa, and Medicine Lodge. In 2009, she retired in the Motherhouse infirmary in Great Bend.
Members of Sister Tomasa’s large family have lived in Colorado, Missouri, Nevada, Florida, California, and Mexico. Sister Tomasa gave her religious community a connection with the Spanish, Mexican, and Indian cultures.
Her friends remember her with fondness and convey many stories of her love of nature, the outdoors, and her dog, Mia, a border collie. She was a wise woman and friends could count on some sweet wisdom to come from her heart.
The funeral services were held July 27-28, 2015, at the Motherhouse of the Dominican Sisters of Peace in Columbus, Ohio. Burial took place at St. Joseph Cemetery on the Motherhouse grounds.
Friends who wish to remember Sister Tomasa with a memorial in her honor may submit them securely online at oppeace.org or mail them to Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement, 2320 Airport Dr, Columbus, Ohio, 43219-2098.

Great Bend (Kan.) Tribune. Aug. 23, 2015 #