SINSINAWA — Sr. Milla Derby, OP, died September 26, 2015, at Oahu Care Facility, Honolulu, Hawaii. Her religious name was Sister Chia Ta Liana. A funeral Mass will be held at the Sinsinawa Dominican motherhouse, Sinsinawa, Wis., at 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 19, 2015, followed by burial of the cremains in the motherhouse cemetery. Friends may call at 10:30 a.m. for a remembering service prior to the funeral.
Sister Milla made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa Dominican February 4, 1953, and her final profession August 5, 1956. She taught music for 12 years and art for 23 years before ministering as artist-in-residence in her native Hawaii. Sister Milla served in Minnesota, Wyoming, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Wisconsin and Hawaii. In the Diocese of Madison, Sister Milla taught at Edgewood High, Madison, 1961-1963.
Sister Milla was born February 16, 1926, in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Hans and Eunice (Young) Derby. Her parents preceded her in death. She is survived by a sister, Donna Strasburg, and her Dominican Sisters with whom she shared life for 62 years.
Memorials may be made to the Sinsinawa Dominicans, 585 Cty. Rd. Z, Sinsinawa, WI, 53824-9701 or online at www.sinsinawa.org by clicking on “Donate Now,” then “Honors and Memorials.”
Repeat broadcasts of the wake and funeral for Sister Milla are available online at www.Sinsinawa.org/live. Click on the “on demand” tab.