(1939-2018)

“I am not worried because I know that my God will walk with me through this as He has all my life. We will take this one day at a time.”

Those words, written by Sister Rose Celeste O’Connell in her autobiography the day after she was diagnosed with cancer, sum up her attitude about not only her battle with the disease but toward the rest of her life’s challenges as well.

Sister Rose Celeste was born Mary Ann Theresa O’Connell on January 10, 1939, in Chicago, Illinois, to Thomas Eugene and Edna Bernadette (Dion) O’Connell. Three children came into the family: a son, Thomas, who died soon after birth; Mary Ann; and Elinor, born when Mary Ann was eight years old.

The extended family on both Thomas’s and especially Edna’s sides were quite close, and gatherings with relatives were commonplace. But both Thomas and Edna worked as Mary Ann was growing up, and as a result she spent much of her time either with older adults, especially her paternal grandmother, or alone.

Read more about Sister Rose (pdf)

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

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(1939-2018)

I am very grateful to our loving God Who has caused great things to happen in the day-to-day little things of life.

My life is full. My feline friends, human friends and a vast ocean with beautiful sunsets are just a few of my many blessings. How I treasure each day and the gifts that God has bestowed on me throughout my life. How can I ever thank God for all that he has done in my life!

So concluded the autobiography written in 2001 by Sister Judith Ann (Judy) Seefeld who at the time was living in Monterey, California, and, although retired from her teaching ministry, was living an active life as a hospice volunteer.

Judy was born on July 20, 1939, in Pontiac, Michigan, to James and Charlotte (Higgins) Seefeld. James, originally from Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, owned his own refrigeration service business. He and Charlotte, from Clawson, Michigan, met and married after high school.

Read more about Sister Judith Ann (pdf)

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

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(1926-2018) 

On March 6, 1943, having received the application of a not-quite 17-year-old Rosemary Ferguson to enter the Congregation, Mother Gerald Barry wrote a note of reply that included this sentence:

I know that you have a little idea of the good things that you can do for Him, but you have no idea of those greater things that you can work in Him and through Him and for Him with that special grace that he gives to a young girl who offers herself as a handmaid in the same manner as did Mary, His glorious Mother and ours.

While Mother Gerald of course could not know what lay in Rosemary Ferguson’s future as an Adrian Dominican, in hindsight her words seem especially prescient. Just twenty-five years later, Sister Rosemary would be called upon to lead the Congregation through tumultuous times, and did so with God’s “special grace” very much upon her.

Read more about Sister Rosemary (pdf)

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

View the news article Adrian Dominican Sister Rosemary Ferguson, OP, Former Prioress, Dies at 92

(1919-2018)

The first postulant to enter the Adrian Dominicans from Albuquerque, New Mexico, came in the person of 18-year-old Marie Concepta Garcia.

Born August 15, 1919, Marie Concepta was the daughter of Edwardo and Ramoncita Luna Apodaca. Edwardo died before Marie was born, a victim of the flu epidemic that swept around the world during that time. Ramoncita remarried when Marie was about two years old, and her new husband, Charles Garcia, adopted the little girl. In all, four children came into the Garcia family, including a brother, William, and two sisters, Marceline (Lena) and Rita. Ramoncita worked as a schoolteacher and Charles as an inspector for the Santa Fe Railroad.

Read more about Sister Marie Amada (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).