You might not know her name, but if you have attended any concerts in Sun City, outdoor or indoor, you might have seen Juliana Krupka encourage residents to get up and dance to the music.
“We have music in our hearts,” Krupka said.
From nun to nurse to teacher one thing Juliana Krupka has carried with her through all her vocations is music. (Photo by Christine Such/Sun Day)
Krupka is a retired nurse who has worked with Alzheimer patients and has used music in her work.
“If they are upset, I sing to them. I tell my son if you put me in a nursing home make sure that I have music,” she said.
Krupka has had a life that has taken her down different paths. Her philosophy is “Life is a Journey.” She said, “What we plan may not be the life that is waiting for us.”
Krupka’s journey began with a train ride to Kenosha, Wisconsin. “I was 17 years old, and I was Catholic, but never had attended Catholic school. My parents did not believe that I should even have a high school education. I met a priest and talked to him about his choice and he advised me to talk to the Benedictine nuns. I grew up in ‘Little Italy.’ I had never seen open land, water, and when I got off the train in Kenosha, I felt like Julie Andrews in the ‘Sound of Music.” My heart soared to see the water and open land.”
That journey led Krupka to her vocation as a nun for 29 years. “The Church gave me options that would not have been available to me. I was able to attend college and receive a degree in Teaching and later a degree in nursing and finally a master’s degree.”
Krupka’s life took a change when the convent closed its doors in Wisconsin. This led her to Erie, Pennsylvania. Krupka said, “My faith kept me going. I was looking for something and one day while I was praying outside, I turned around and saw a fawn right there before me, and I knew that I needed to move on. I left the ordered and started teaching and training nurses in Des Plaines, Illinois.”
Krupka’s home is filled with fawn figures reminding her of an important point in her life. Krupka said, “I was happy in my decision and I had friends, but I was lonely. One day I answered an ad in the paper to meet a gentleman for lunch. I called a friend and gave her the facts about who I was meeting, and where. I said if I disappear let the police know. That was in August of 1996. In May of 1997, on my 50th birthday, Manfred Krupka, my husband of 20 years proposed to me.”
Krupka’s life took a turn one more time. Her husband of 20 years, Manfred, passed away in 2018.
Krupka said, “Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That is why we call it a present.” Her home is filled with positive quotes and music.
Darlene Rutledge, a neighbor said, “I could imagine her as a jolly little nun! She once said to me, ‘Yes, I was trouble before the convent, during the convent, and trouble now in Sun City.’”
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