Sister Ludmilla Benda takes a short break during a Sunday dinner in 2014.
During her ministry, Sister Ludmilla Benda spent nearly half a week preparing for Sunday dinner, beginning with planning and shopping. Here she adds bags of salad to her shopping cart at Sam's Club on Elmore Avenue in Davenport.
As breakfast winds down, Sister Ludmilla Benda begins assembling the noon meal by pouring already-made chili into one of her new roasters.
Sister Ludmilla Benda walks through the crowded space, offering small cups of orange juice.
Sister Ludmilla Benda, who for decades served the poor and homeless of the Quad-Cities, for a time with Father James Conroy and then on her own when Conroy passed away, died Wednesday at the age of 93.
Benda served for 73 years as a member of the Religious Sisters of Mercy. For more than 18 years she operated Father Conroy’s Vineyard of Hope at the corner of 4th Street and Pershing Avenue in Davenport.
Benda and her volunteers at the Vineyard served meals to the homeless and poor on Sundays, but it was also a place where people could take a shower and wash their clothes, and if they needed shoes or a coat, or socks or a blanket, Benda usually had something that would fit.
“She was a living saint,” former Davenport Mayor Bill Gluba said. “If everyone were like Sister Ludmilla we’d have a wonderful, wonderful world.
“Sister Ludmilla, Father James Conroy and Father Marvin Mottet, they devoted their whole lives to helping others,” Gluba said. “They practiced humility and poverty in accordance with their religious vows, but she was a brilliant woman.”
Gluba said Benda was ahead of her time in terms of women breaking the glass ceiling because she had nurses training before entering the religious life in 1947 and then served as head administrator for the former Mercy Hospital (now Genesis Medical Center West) in Davenport and Mercy Hospital in Chicago.
Gluba said Benda helped Conroy begin a food window for the needy in 1987 at St. Anthony’s Church in downtown Davenport. When Conroy passed away, she opened the Vineyard, which served 120-200 people on Sundays and holidays.
Former Scott County Attorney Bill Davis, a longtime volunteer for the Vineyard, said Benda was extremely organized and she was in charge.
“Unless you went to Catholic school, you don’t understand,” Davis said with a chuckle. “There was no discussing things. I would help her when she needed to go shopping, and, boy, could she shop. She got quality stuff but never paid too much. She would cook all week to prepare for Sunday.
“Nobody else served on Sunday,” Davis said. “If they hadn’t come to us they wouldn’t have eaten. Sister Ludmilla saw a need, and she filled a void.
“Hers was truly a labor of love, but she was all business,” Davis said. “She, Father Conroy and Father Mottet, they were religious people for the people.”
Mary Bakeris-Gullion and her husband, Randy, also volunteered at the Vineyard.
“My grandparents were friends with Father Conroy and Sister Ludmilla,” Bakeris-Gullion said. “My mother was a nurse at Mercy when Sister Ludmilla was there, and she said, “Your mom was one of the best nurses we ever had.’”
On Sundays, Bakeris-Gullion volunteered at the Vineyard at 7 a.m. and stay until noon until the second-shift volunteers arrived.
“She did all the shopping for the breakfasts and lunches that she served,” Bakeris-Gullion said. “Everything she made was homemade.”
But Benda had a way for doing things and a place for everything. “Bill Davis and I, if we did something wrong, she’d say, ‘That’s not how I do it,’ ” Bakeris-Gullion said. “She ran a tight ship.”
The homeless respected her and looked up to her, Bakeris-Gullion said. “They respected her and they thanked her. They looked up to her like family.
“It was an honor to volunteer for her every Sunday,” she added. “This was her mission in life, to take care of the homeless. She worked so hard and never wanted anything.”
St. Anthony’s will have a Mass for Sister Ludmilla on Feb. 13 and 14, Bakeris-Gullion said.
Photos: Sister Ludmilla
Sister Ludmilla plays "Silent Night" on the accordion for people at the Christmas meal in 2012 at Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope, 4th Street and Pershing Avenue, Davenport. (John Schultz / Quad-City Times)
Benda
Sister Ludmilla Benda moves an empty roasting pan to the sink during an Easter lunch at Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope in Davenport.
Sisters Elizabeth , 21, and Mary Therese Gehrmann, 16, both of Bettendorf, help serve Easter lunch Sunday at Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope in Davenport.
Volunteer Bill Davis hands out bags of necessities Sunday to people attending the Easter lunch at Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope in Davenport.
During her ministry, Sister Ludmilla Benda spent nearly half a week preparing for Sunday dinner, beginning with planning and shopping. Here she adds bags of salad to her shopping cart at Sam's Club on Elmore Avenue in Davenport.
Sister Ludmilla Benda, from an earlier time.
Sister Ludmilla Benda, from an earlier time when she wore a modified habit indicating that she was a religious sister.
Students from a Geneseo, Ill., religious education class help distribute crackers and cheese, one of Sister Ludmilla Benda's give-away items on this particular day.
As the dinner ends, any leftover food is placed in take-away containers for guests to take home.
To make best use of their small space, volunteers serve food in three different rooms. Here guest Deanna Escoto comes through the line in the kitchen.
Volunteer Bill Ashton, far right, is known as the chief dishwasher at Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope in Davenport.
During the winter months, Sister Ludmilla Benda tries to keep a good supply of boots, shoes and warm socks on hand for special requests. Here she helps a man find of pair of boots that fits.
After breakfast, Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope tends to clear out a bit. Then, as noon approaches, a line begins to form outside for dinner.
The parking lot turns into a dinning room as the lasts guest get their food. On this particular day, the hymn "Ave Maria" plays from a loudspeaker.
A line of guests waits outside for the noon meal at Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope, Davenport.
Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope, Davenport, provided a hearty, home-cooked meal on Sundays for anyone who wanted one. At right is a statue of the Blessed Virgin. In May, Sister Ludmilla would arrange May crowning ceremony.
Dinner-serving is in high gear as a guest stops at the beverage/dessert table where pie is one of the offerings. Sister Ludmilla Benda, right, almost gets lost in the crowd.
Volunteers serve food in the kitchen at Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope.
The dinner food line begins with rolls and warm potato salad. Here volunteer Mary Jo Heming returns a plate to a young girl.
Every Sunday, Sister Lundmilla Benda tries to have an assortment of seasonal clothes available to guests if they need something.
Sister Ludmilla Benda takes a short break during a Sunday dinner in 2014.
As breakfast winds down, Sister Ludmilla Benda begins assembling the noon meal by pouring already-made chili into one of her new roasters.
Sister Ludmilla Benda cuts up a tomato for the tossed salad.
With a full house inside, guests move outdoors to eat. The day is sunny and there's no wind, so the south side of the building is a fairly comfortable place to sit. In the summer, a pop-up tent is set up to provide shade.
During serving, Sister Ludmilla Benda circulates around the property to greet her guests and to see that all is going well.
A dinner guest eats his meal.
A full meal includes pie with whipped cream, chili with crackers, ham and tossed salad.
Deanna Escoto of Davenport looks over some of the donated clothes available to guests.
A breakfast guest steps outside for a smoke. At right is a shrine to the Blessed Virgin, installed two years ago in memory of the parents of Tom Roederer, who donates use of the building to the ministry.
Deanna Escoto of Davenport looks over some of the donated clothes available to guests, limit of two.
Ray Lipke Jr. ponders his last bite of toast.
While guests come through a line for dinner, breakfast plates are handed out. Volunteer Bill Davis cooks, while volunteer Marcia Muesing serves. On the menu today: Scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, and toast.
Ray Lipke Jr. sips coffee on the porch of Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope in Davenport. Lipke found an apartment through the Humility of Mary, but living alone can be lonely, he says.
Deanna Escoto of Davenport takes a break in her game of rummy to eat breakfast.
By opening for breakfast on Sundays and holidays when other facilities aren't open, Sister Ludmilla Benda gives guests, especially the homeless, a place to warm up early in the day. This group was waiting at 7 a.m. one recent Sunday for her to arrive and open the door.
After waiting outside in the cold, it's a welcome sight when Sister Ludmilla Benda comes to the front door and opens the way to warmth.
Helper Toby Greer of Davenport springs into action as soon as the front door opens, setting up tables and chairs in the parking lot outside to accommodate what will be an overflow crowd.
Some guests will stake out a place outside because it's too crowded inside while others will drift outside because they prefer to be by themselves.
Sister Ludmilla Benda fills small cups with orange juice as volunteer Bill Davis cooks eggs and volunteer Marcia Muesing comes in for another couple of plates.
One Sunday it might be orange juice, another Sunday it might be tomato juice ... with hot or mild sauce.
Sister Ludmilla Benda walks through the crowded space, offering small cups of orange juice.
Volunteer Bill Davis cooks up scrambled eggs with tomatoes in the main room, as Hector Herrera pours himself a cup of lemonade.
Sister Ludmilla Bend adjusts the lemonade container in the main dining room of Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope in Davenport.
Volunteer Marcia Muesing is in charge of traffic control. That means she hands out breakfast, calls for people to take showers and do laundry and monitors the front door when there's a long line waiting to get in.
No matter how cold the temperature, a crowd is always waiting by 7 a.m. on Sundays outside Father Conroy's Vineyard of Hope.
Sister Ludmilla Benda never sits down, but she does occasionally take a short lean against a counter to sip a bit of coffee. In front of her are the containers for Sunday coffee, hot chocolate and lemonade.
Volunteer Bill Davis whisks up some scrambled eggs.
Sister Ludmilla Benda pours a pot of steaming hot chocolate into a large dispenser. Hot chocolate with marshmallows is a hit on cold winter mornings.
After the dishes are done, the floors are mopped and the guests have gone home, Sister Ludmilla Benda lingers a bit longer. She has a few take-away boxes of food in the refrigerator in case anyone comes late.
Sister Ludmilla Benda rehearses with youth ensemble at St. Anthony Catholic Church. She's directing an instrumental group and choir, which will perform Christmas. Music is a hobby, as well as part of the job for this busy nun. Photo taken Wednesday, Dec. 6, 1989. Published Tuesday Dec. 19, 1989, page 13. (Photo by Jeff Cook/Quad-City Times)
