In Memoriam

We Remember

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(1934-2021)

Literally and figuratively tall in stature and standing, Sister Maureen opened many doors and broke many glass ceilings in American Catholic higher education for women, religious and laypersons because of her contributions at St. Xavier University, Mercy College of Detroit and University of Detroit Mercy. Thirty-one years after the bold collaboration of her and Fr. Robert Mitchell, S.J. to make Mercy College of Detroit and University of Detroit a strong Catholic institution, she leaves a legacy that will benefit tens of thousands of future leaders in Michigan, the United States and the world for decades. — Dr. Antoine Garibaldi, President, University of Detroit Mercy

In his tribute to Sister Maureen Fay, one of his predecessors, after her passing, Dr. Garibaldi was honoring the Adrian Dominican Sister who had helped direct the consolidation of Mercy College and the University of Detroit and served for twenty-one years in the institutions’ presidency.

Sister Maureen was born May 18, 1934, in Chicago to Michael and Anne (Whalen) Fay. Michael was an Irish immigrant from County Roscommon who had come to America at the age of eighteen, while Anne was a Chicago native but was the daughter of an immigrant from Galway, Ireland. According to a biographical sketch of herself that Sister Maureen wrote for an Irish publication in Detroit, family lore had it that Michael had left Ireland one step ahead of the British, who were hunting him for his involvement with the Irish Republican Army. Sister Maureen said in her 2016 “A Sister’s Story” video that when her father got to Ellis Island, he wrote down his name in such shaky handwriting that the immigration official could not read it – and so the family name, Fahey, became Fay.

Read more about Sister Maureen (pdf)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221.

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Tagged With: Marie Timothy, Maureen Fay / 2890 Views

Sister Arlene Seckel, OP (Robert Anthony)

Sister Arlene Seckel, OP (Robert Anthony) (1937-2021)

The Detroit of the 1940s – complete with penny candy and Saturdays at the movies – was the environment in which Sister Arlene Seckel had her formative years.

Arlene Rose Seckel was born on August 17, 1937, in Detroit to Robert and Ruth (LaBell) Seckel. She was the couple’s first child, followed by Judy, Melvin, Patricia, Arthur, Kathleen and Donald. Donald came into the family in 1956 after Sister Arlene had entered the convent.

The Seckels lived in a series of rental homes during Sister Arlene’s childhood, and their frequent moves meant she attended multiple elementary schools. When the family moved into a subsidized housing unit on Detroit’s east side, in Holy Name Parish, Arlene became the babysitter for a whole cadre of younger children in the neighborhood, and on Saturdays she would walk all fourteen of the kids to the Nortown Theatre to take in the serials. A local grocery store was a regular stop along the way so everyone could buy their ten cents’ worth of penny candy. Sister Arlene wrote in her life story that she thought she inherited her love of movies from her mother, who even named her oldest after Arlene Dahl the actress.

Read more about Sister Arlene (pdf)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221.

Leave your comments and remembrances (if you don't see the comment box below, click on the "Read More" link).

Tagged With: Arlene Seckel, Robert Anthony / 1609 Views

Sister Alma Marie Messing, OP

Sister Alma Marie Messing, OP (1926-2021)

During her four years as a student at Dominican High School in Detroit, Carolyn Mary Ann Messing, the future Sister Alma Marie, enjoyed all sorts of academic subjects, including math and Latin, but was not at all fond of science. What makes that fact especially ironic is that she went on to earn her graduate degree in science, teach the sciences, and help set up school science programs throughout her time in elementary and secondary education, and work at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

Carolyn was born on May 25, 1926, in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to Frank and Alma (Treppa) Messing. She was the first of three children born to the couple; one brother, Frank, was born three years later, and her other brother, Don, joined the family in 1939.

The siblings had a happy childhood, often riding their bikes to see their grandparents and as a family visiting each set of grandparents regularly. In her life story, Sister Alma Marie recalled how her Grandmother Messing loved to cook and how the family would gather at the Treppa home for spirited games of Monopoly followed by midnight snacks. Her family and her maternal grandparents also traveled to many exciting places, such as New York City where, she wrote, the best part of the trip for her was seeing the Planter’s Peanut man.