Brother Mario Ibison, OSB, a monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey, died in the monastery infirmary on Wednesday, January 19, 2022, after suffering a stroke two days before. He was 83.
Br. Mario was born in Evanston, Illinois, on August 5, 1938, to Raymond and Elizabeth (Henneberry) Ibison, and was given the name Thomas Raymond at his baptism. He completed his elementary education at St. Ita Grade School in Chicago in 1954, and then graduated from St. George High School in Evanston in 1958.
He was invested as a novice at Saint Meinrad on November 5, 1960, and he professed simple vows on November 12, 1961. He was in his 60th year of his monastic profession.
Br. Mario’s monastic assignments included stints in the plumbing department, the library, the sacristy, the tailor shop, and the shoe shop.
Two assignments, in particular, occupied 50 of Br. Mario’s 60 years of monastic life. In 1970 he began working with Physical Facilities on the grounds and landscaping crew and in the monastery vineyard. Twenty-one years later, he took on the assignment of painter, work he would continue for the next 30 years until his death.
Br. Mario also was known for his fierce games of chess with fellow monks and for being an avid reader.
He is survived by two sisters, Donna Leonard of Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Jackie Kilkenny of Colorado Springs, Colorado; and many nieces and nephews.
The Office of the Dead will be prayed at 7 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, January 23, in the Archabbey Church. The funeral liturgy will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Central Time on Monday, January 24, in the Archabbey Church. Burial will follow in the Archabbey Cemetery. The services will be livestreamed at www.saintmeinrad.org/live.
