(1937-2025)

Sister Margarita “Margot” Ruíz, formerly known as Sister Maria Teresa, died on Monday, May 26, 2025, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian. She was 88 years of age and in the 71st year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
 
Sister Margot was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Humberto Ruíz and Ana (Berges) Castillo. She graduated from Colegio Santo Domingo in Santo Domingo and earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Barry College (University) in Miami, Florida; a licentiate in pastoral theology from Lumen Vitae in Brussels, Belgium; and a master’s degree in sociology from the University Iberoamericana in Mexico. 

Sister Margarita served for 17 years in elementary and secondary education in Dearborn, Michigan; Guayama, Puerto Rico; Jacksonville and Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and San Juan de La Maguana and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She served two years as a pastoral promoter, five years as a rural community organizer, and three years as team coordinator in the Dominican Republic. 

Sister Margot ministered for five years as the director of the Conference of Religious Studies, the Conferencia Dominican Religious, in Santo Domingo and served for seven years on the Congregation’s Dominican Republic formation team. She also taught for 13 years at the Centro de Teología Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Santo Domingo and later served for more than seven years as a volunteer at the De Porres Place Literacy Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. 

Sister became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in 2020. She was preceded in death by her parents and her siblings, Fernando, Humberto, Hugo, Felix, and Pura Ruíz. She is survived by her sister, Teresita Ruíz, OP, also in the Adrian Dominican Congregation; other loving family members; and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Visitation will be held from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in the gathering space of St. Catherine Chapel. The Vigil Prayer will be held at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 3, 2025, in St. Catherine Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Prayers of Committal will be held in the Congregation Cemetery. 

Those not attending services in person are welcome to participate via live stream at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Adrian.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

 

Vigil and Funeral Recordings

Note: To view recordings with closed captioning, they must be viewed on our public video library rather than through the links below.

Recording of Sister Margarita's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Margarita's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

 

LEFT: Margarita at the age of five, 1942. MIDDLE LEFT: First Holy Communion, 1943. MIDDLE RIGHT: From left, Sisters Maria Teresa (Margarita) Ruíz and Margarita Maria (Teresita) Ruíz, blood sisters. RIGHT: Sister Margarita’s parents, Ana and Humberto, at the World’s Fair in Belgium, 1958.

LEFT: Sister Margarita attends a school Mass in Haina, the Dominican Republic. RIGHT: Members of the Martin de Porres Mission Group, gathered in 1998, are: standing, from left, Sisters Anne Liam Lees, Joyce Caulfield, Elisa Doherty, Helen Faiver, and Rosa Reyes, and seated, from left, Sisters Margarita Ruíz, Carol Gross, and Ana Feliz.

LEFT: Sister Margarita Ruíz, left, and Joaquina Pacheco-Villar at the beach in Juan Dolio, Dominican Republic. MIDDLE: Celebrating Christmas together are, from left, Sisters Yolanda Pomante, Margaret Augustine Exworthy, Andrea Balconis, Mary Jean Clemenger, and Margarita Ruíz. RIGHT: Sister Margarita Ruíz preaches a homily during a spirituality course in Brazil, 1993.

LEFT: From left, Sisters Margarita and Teresita. RIGHT:  Members of the 2013 Diamond Jubilee Crowd B, December 1953 reception, are: back row from left, Sisters Joan Schroeder, Margaret Ann Roggenbuck, Marie Rose Bauer, Attracta Kelly (Prioress), Dorothy Guettler, Janet Wright, and Carol Fleming; middle row, from left, Sisters Margaret Marie Ringel, Frances Wetzel, Janice Scholl, Patricia Ann McKee, Patricia Sporer, Pauline Richter, and Barbara Chenicek; and front row, from left, Sisters Joan Mary Dwyer, Josephine Gaugier, Margarita Ruíz, Mary Vianne Bayus, Lorraine Brennan, Mary E. Waldron, and Mary Cullen.

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

(1927-2025)

Sister Anne L. Lindquist, formerly known as Sister Cecilia Mary, died on Saturday, May 17, 2025, at the Dominican Life Center. She was 97 years of age and in the 79th year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.

Sister Anne was born in Chicago to Lawrence and Anne (Danne) Lindquist. She graduated from Aquinas Dominican High School in Chicago and received a bachelor’s degree in applied music from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian and a master’s degree in music education from Michigan State University in East Lansing.

Sister ministered for 48 years, most of that time in music education, in Detroit and St. Joseph, Michigan, and Chicago and Wilmette, Illinois. She also ministered for three years as a musical services provider in Deerfield, Illinois, and for six years as an assistant activities director in Wheeling, Illinois, before retiring in 2006. 

She moved to the Dominican Life Center in 2022. Sister Ann was preceded in death by her parents and is survived by loving relatives and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Prayers of Committal were held on Sunday, May 18, 2025, in the Congregation Cemetery. A Memorial Mass will be in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 22, 2025. Those not attending services in person are welcome to participate via live stream at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Adrian.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

Recordings of Memorial Liturgies

Recording of Sister Anne's Memorial Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Anne's Ritual of Remembering - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as."

 

LEFT: Anne as a junior at Aquinas High School, Chicago, 1944. 

LEFT: From left, Sisters Anne (Cecilia Mary) Lindquist, Mary Cherubim (Joyce) Banks, and Camen Joseph Dominguez. RIGHT: From left, Sisters Catherine McKillop, Anne Lindquist, and Loretta Glanz, Summer 2009.

LEFT: From left, Sisters Catherine McKillop, Anne Lindquist, and Loretta Glanz, Summer 2009. MIDDLE LEFT: From left, Sisters Anne Lindquist and Richard Clare Burke. MIDDLE RIGHT: Sister Anne, as music instructor for Wilmette (Illinois) Public Schools, 1975-1988. RIGHT: Sister Anne and Gretta, Pet Therapy Ministry at Addolorata Villa, 2000-2006.

Members of the 2006 Diamond Jubilee Crowd are: back row, from left, Sisters Marcelline Fouchey, Marie Siena Chmara, Jeanne O’Laughlin, Anne Lindquist, Therese Tighe, Jane Quirk, and Clare O’Connor; and front row, from left, Sisters Sean Therese Halpin, Marie Sheila Beatty, Therese Margaret Roberts, Therese Craig, Joyce Rybarczyk, Betty Foster, and Mary Margaret Donnelly. Not pictured: Sister Margaret Mary Heinz.

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

(1935-2025)

Sister Rita Brunett, formerly known as Sister Raymond Cecile, died on Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Michigan. She was 89 years of age and in the 73rd year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.

Sister Rita was born in Detroit to Raymond and Cecilia (Gill) Brunett. She graduated from St. Joseph Academy in Adrian and received a bachelor’s degree in English from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian and a master’s degree in counseling from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Sister ministered for 24 years in elementary education and two years in adult education in Chicago, Illinois; Detroit, Northville, and Wyandotte, Michigan; and Toledo, Ohio. She served as a hospital chaplain for one year in Norwich, Connecticut, and two years in Canton, Ohio. Sister ministered six years as the Associate Director for Family Life in the Diocese of Toledo, Ohio. She also served as the Nursing Service Coordinator at Maria Health Care Center (Dominican Life Center) and for more than four years as a pastoral minister in Livonia and Royal Oak, Michigan.

Sister Rita became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in 1994. She was preceded in death by six siblings: Raymond Brunett (Beverly), Most Rev. Alex J. Brunett (former Archbishop of Seattle), Michael Brunett (Juanita), Anne Brunett (former Adrian Dominican Sister), William Brunett (Joan deceased), and Grace Kassa (Jerry). She is survived by seven siblings: John Brunett (Patricia), Rose Philips (Armon) (former Adrian Dominican Sister), Jean Dawson (Richard), Mary Jennings (Edmun) (former Adrian Dominican Sister), Paul Brunett (Ann), Ruth Brunett, and Margaret Kassa (George deceased); other loving family; and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Visitation will be held from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2025, in the gathering space of St. Catherine Chapel. The Vigil Prayer will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2025, in St. Catherine Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 6, 2025. Prayers of Committal will be held in the Congregation Cemetery.

Those not attending services in person are welcome to participate via livestream at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Adrian.

 

Vigil and Funeral Recordings

Recording of Sister Rita's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Rita's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

 

LEFT TO RIGHT: Rita Mary in 1938, about 2 or 3 years old; Rita Mary, 4 years old; First Holy Communion, circa 1942; Graduating from St. Joseph Academy, 1950.

CENTER: Blood sisters, from left, Sisters Rita Margaret (Ann), Rita Gerald (Rose), Raymond Cecile (Rita), and Rita Michael (Mary), circa 1955. RIGHT: Sister Rita Brunett on Hat Day, September 1, 1995.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Sister Rita with her mother; Sister Rita Brunett and Associate Carol Jean Kaufman, a chaplain; Sister Rita with her friends, Simba and Pooh Bear

Members of the St. Philomena community are, from left, Sisters Mary Louise Gass, Norma Dell, Rita Brunett, Mary Kay Homan, and Nadine Sheehan.

Members of the 2011 Diamond Jubilee are: back row, from left, Sisters Attracta Kelly (Prioress), Julianne Wolny, Jeannine Holway, Anne Liam Lees, Judith Ann Lieder, and Agnes Peplinski; middle row, from left, Sisters Elizabeth Lynch, Rita Brunett, Thérèse M. Haggerty, Mary Daria Herbella, Catherine Ahern, and Elisa Joan Doherty; and front row, from left, Sisters Dolores Marie Dolan, Dolores Slosar, Nancy Hanna, Celine Marie Regan, Marian Edward Guethlein, and Clara Ann Budenz.

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

(1939-2025)

Over the course of time, the Adrian Dominican Sisters teaching at St. Kilian School on Chicago’s South Side had all seven of the Traut children – all of them girls – come through their classrooms. The three oldest of those girls went on to be educated by the Congregation at Aquinas Dominican High School, and one of those, Janet, went on to become an Adrian Dominican Sister after graduation.

Born on October 25, 1939, in Evergreen Park, Illinois, to James and Ethel (Heinrich) Traut, Janet was the third oldest child in the family. Her sisters were Marjorie, Kathryn, Linda, Judy, Susan, and Bernadette.

James was a Chicago police officer who rose to the rank of detective sergeant in the homicide bureau. “His views of the causes of poverty were far different than Janet’s after she taught in Detroit,” Judy wrote in a remembrance after Sister Janet’s death. “They had arguments many times and both got exasperated with each other. But it taught us there were many dimensions to social issues.”

Janet was in her senior year at Aquinas Dominican in 1957 when she wrote to Mother Gerald seeking entrance to the Congregation. She graduated from high school that June and arrived in Adrian late that same month.

Read more about Sister Janet (PDF)

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

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

Vigil and Funeral Recordings

Recording of Sister Janet's Memorial Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Janet's Ritual of Remembrance - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as."

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