Jane Wyman, the actress, first wife of Ronald Reagan, was a Third Order Dominican. She was buried in the Dominican habit. She died on September 10, 2007, age ninety, with the congregation reciting the Rosary before the funeral service. Perhaps this request was in her will. Jane Wyman had a special devotion to the Sacred Heart, giving $100,000 to her parish church, Sacred Heart, in Palm Desert, California. Her adopted son, Michael, had these words to say at his mother’s funeral: “She built men, not boys. I am lucky to be her son.” The actress was married four times before she converted to the Catholic Faith n 1953. After her conversion, she never remarried. However, to her discredit, in the 1980s she had a major role on a rather licentious TV series called Falcon Crest. She suffered much in her last years from diabetes and arthritis while living a reclusive life.
Wyman’s friend, renowned actress Loretta Young, despite her marriage problems, some objectionable films (at least the titles are), and a scandalous affair with Clark Gable (with whom she had a daughter), was raised Catholic and, later in life, she became a very devout Catholic. The abiding influence of the Sisters of the Holy Name, who educated her at Romona Convent High School, no doubt helped her get her life in order after whatever moral failures. Loretta Young, too, had a fervent devotion to the Sacred Heart and was a member of a Sacred Heart League. She established the St. Anne’s Foundation, which supports St Anne’s Maternity Hospital for Unmarried Mothers and sponsors the Holy Family Adoption Agency. She helped support the media work of Father Francis Peyton and his Family Rosary Crusade, as did several other actors including Bob Newhart. Loretta Young traveled to San Giovanni Rotundo to attend Padre Pio’s Mass and she also visited the Servant of God and stigmatist, Theresa Neumann. She also devoted several of her segments of the Loretta Young Show to Catholic themes, such as the “Road to Lourdes,” where she played the part of a terminally ill woman who finds her faith through the grace of the simple sick people whom she meets there. She died on August 12, 2000, at the age of eighty-seven. (Note, June 12, Brian Kelly: For those who read this original post from June 9, there was an unfortunate bit of misinformation regarding Loretta Young and Gary Cooper. Cooper, who did die a Catholic, had nothing to do with Loretta Young, It was another actress, Patricia Neal, that he coerced into an abortion. Apologies for this grave error.)
