Funeral Mass was celebrated Feb. 19 at Carondelet Center, Brentwood, for St. Joseph of Carondelet Sister Saint George Skurla, 87, who died Feb. 9 in Los Angeles.
Born March 5, 1926 in San Diego to Croatian immigrant parents, Eva Elizabeth Skurla entered the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet on March 19, 1944, having decided in the second grade that she would become a nun. After making temporary vows in 1946, she began teaching in elementary schools in California and Arizona, including Ascension and St. Anselm in Los Angeles, and made her final vows in 1949.
Sister Skurla then served for 18 years at Mount St. Mary's College in the English department. She also taught at St. Mary's Academy in Inglewood, Daniel Murphy High School in Los Angeles, and Queen of Angels Seminary High School in Mission Hills, before retiring from teaching.
“She enjoyed classical music, plants, animals, books and reading,” said a statement from her family. “As a teacher who loved subjects she taught, she appreciated a well-made sentence wherever she found it, and had no patience with dangling participial modifiers, antecedent-less pronouns, and such like.”
She is survived by her brother George (Kim) Skurla; nephews Greg (June) Antonovich and L.A. County Supervisor Michael (Christine) Antonovich; niece Dr. Jean Liemert; four grandnieces and three grandnephews.
Graveside service was at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City. Donations in her memory may be sent to: Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, 11999 Chalon Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90049.
