In her own quiet way Doris Pekarek is helping people become closer to God.

Pekarek, who is retired from the former Hecht's store shoe department, makes rosaries. Then she gives them away, mostly to children, people who are ill or handicapped, or who seem like they need a little prayer.

Since she began making them four months ago, Pekarek, of Cape Girardeau, said she's made about 75 rosaries. She attends the 8:30 a.m. Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral, where she gives them away.

"It gives me therapy and makes me feel wonderful when I can give them away and see the smile on children's faces," Pekarek said. "It's such a joy to me."

She recalled a time she gave a rosary to a young boy at Mass with his grandfather. When the child saw her at a later date, from across the pews, he rewarded her with a wave and huge smile.

Pekarek passes out the rosaries at the healing Mass at Saint Francis Medical Center's chapel on Wednesdays.

"It makes me feel good to give them to children, the handicapped, young girls in trouble, different things like that," she said.

She makes the rosaries from plastic beads linked with silver chain and anchored with a religious medal and a crucifix. To women she gives rosaries in white or various colors. For men she gives rosaries made of black beads or of Job's Tears, a bead made from a seed pod, which is a plant native to Indonesia used as a food.

Pekarek became familiar with Job's Tears when Tom Meyer gave her a prayer bracelet made of the beads, she said. She has joined him in making and giving away the bracelets, which are numbered. Each person who is given a bracelet also receives a sheet of paper describing how the prayer bracelets work and giving the number of the bracelet.

"That number," she said, "that's how many people are praying for you."

Her brother, Melvin Hamm of Benton, Mo., grows Job's Tears and gives her the pods to make the beads. She gets the other materials for the rosaries from Hobby Lobby or any company that sells materials to make rosaries.

It takes her about 45 minutes to make one, she said. She usually puts one together while watching Sister Angelica pray on the rosary on cable television. She tries to make two rosaries each night.

Pekarek has given rosaries to her four children, eight grandchildren, friends and strangers.

At St. Mary's Cathedral, the staff know who she is, but had been unaware that Pekarek is one of several people in the church who make rosaries to give away. She doesn't make the rosaries and the Job's Tears bracelets expecting recognition -- it's simply something she does to encourage people to pray.

"As long as I can find children to give them to, and see them look up and smile, I'll be making rosaries," she said. "I just enjoy doing it."

lredeffer@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160