Sister M. Carmen Baca died peacefully early in the morning on July 24, 2023, at the age of 89. She was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on November 7, 1933 to Carmen Nunez and Alfredo Baca, and entered the Sisters of the Holy Family in San Francisco, CA, on January 6, 1955 at the age of 21.

During her early years with the Sisters, Sister Carmen served in religious education in the Bay Area of California, then in Los Angeles and back to the Bay Area. In 1976 Sister Carmen went to Reno, Nevada, and she never looked back! She started out at St. Michael’s in Stead, and from there went to parishes in Reno, serving in various capacities at Our Lady of the Snows from 1977 until 2020, when she “retired” to the Sisters’ Motherhouse in Fremont, California (she continued her ministry by phone after “retirement”!).

During the time she was in Reno, Sister Carmen returned to San Francisco in 1996 to 1998 to earn a certificate in Hispanic Theology and Pastoral Studies from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley. From being Director of Religious Education she then became the Director of Seniors, Needy and Hispanic Ministry at Our Lady of the Snows, where she worked tirelessly with great love to meet the needs of all her people, building a parish ministry which knew no boundaries but her heart. Of course, she also loved dogs.

When Sister Carmen and her companion, Sister Carol Bettencourt, left Reno after serving there for more than 40 years, we were in the beginning stages of the Covid pandemic. The Sisters were called back to Reno when the pandemic relaxed a bit,
and a grand party was held for them. They will never be forgotten!

Sister Carmen’s funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, August 28, at 2:00 pm in the Sisters’ Oratory. A memorial service will be held in Reno at St. Therese the Little Flower Catholic Church on Wednesday, August 23, at 11:00 a.m. Burial will take place at a later date at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma