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When I reached her on the big day, Sister Jean told me that her phone had been ringing constantly and she had seen some of the local TV coverage devoted to her. I checked in again the following night, and she joyfully reported that the celebration was still going strong. \u201cA lot of people have come to see me,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had a nice party. They had cookies, we took pictures and did a little singing. All those good things that come with a birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though she does not spend time on social media, she was well aware that tributes to her were populating everyone\u2019s feeds. \u201cOh, that\u2019s what they told me, yes. They told me I was all over the place,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How has she lived so long and so well? That is the question she gets asked the most, and her answer never wavers. \u201cWhat I say is that I eat well, I sleep well and hopefully I pray well,\u201d she told me. \u201cAnd then I go on to talk about having a purpose in life and waking up in the morning and saying, \u2018Thank you God. I\u2019m here to do what you want me to do, and may I do it for your honor and glory.\u2019 And of course, it helps to have good genes. My dad had six sisters and two brothers and they all lived between 90 and 95. I thought when 95 came along it would be my turn, but I guess God has more work for me to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
I first met Sister Jean at the 2018 Final Four. She was sitting courtside before the game, and I went over to introduce myself. My CBS partner Greg Gumbel came, too. His sister Rhonda had been a student of hers at Mundelein College (an all-female school that incorporated with Loyola in 1991). Greg didn\u2019t expect Sister Jean to remember, but when he mentioned it, she shouted above the din, \u201cI know! Every time I see you on TV I think of her!\u201d Greg\u2019s jaw just about hit the ground.<\/p>\n
As I watched Sister Jean become a huge story, it occurred to me that she must have a great story to tell. Three years later, I asked Porter Moser, who coached those Ramblers to the Final Four and has since moved on to Oklahoma, to put us in touch. I got Sister Jean on the phone and pitched her on the idea of writing a book together, but she was a hard sell. \u201cI\u2019m very busy,\u201d she said. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you just write it?\u201d I suggested that we have a couple of conversations so she could better understand the process, and then decide if she wanted to commit.<\/p>\n
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At 106, Sister Jean remains sharp and driven as ever. She credits good food, good sleep and routine prayer.<\/p>\n
Photo courtesy of Sister Jean<\/p>\n
We clicked right away. Far from thinking of our project as a burden, she loved strolling down memory lane. \u201cI haven\u2019t thought of this in ninety years,\u201d she would marvel as she described events like walking with her mother across the Golden Gate Bridge on the day it opened. The result of our work was \u201cWake Up With Purpose! What I\u2019ve Learned During My First Hundred Years.\u201d It was published by Harper Collins in February of 2023 and spent four weeks on the New York Times\u2019 best seller list.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve authored four collaborations and I\u2019m currently writing a fifth with Larry Brown. A special relationship always forms between author and collaborator, but Sister Jean has been especially diligent about staying in touch. She emails me regularly and we speak on the phone at least once a month. I visited her a couple of times last winter when my work travels took me through Chicago. I also get voicemail messages from her every couple of weeks. They typically last a minute or two and are choc full of information about her schedule, the weather in Chicago, and of course, the latest happenings with Loyola\u2019s basketball team.<\/p>\n
Through it all, Sister Jean\u2019s mind has remained sharp. Her body, alas, is not so cooperative. She suffered a setback last spring when fell off her wheelchair in her room. (\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a fall,\u201d she corrected. \u201cI call it a little slide.\u201d) Over the last few months, Sister Jean has been getting regular physical therapy, and she reported to me on her birthday that she stood by herself for 11 straight minutes that morning. She hoped to celebrate her birthday with the Loyola community, but she caught a cold recently and has been unable to shake it. Her doctors advised her to remain indoors.<\/p>\n
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