Sister Mary Christine Greenslade
1917-2007

Of the ninety years and eight months of life that God allotted to Sister Christine Greenslade almost seventy-one years were devoted to God's service. Over sixty-six of those years were in the Edmonds, Washington, Congregation; and, after the merger in June 2003, the last years were in the Adrian Congregation.

She began her autobiography, written in 1997, in a rather unusual way: “In an instant of glory, God created me.” That “instant of glory” culminated in her birth on Easter Sunday, April 8, 1917, when she was born at home to Frank and Margaret (Lechman) Greenslade “in the orchard tracts” of Grandview, Washington (the Yakima Valley), and christened Esther Marie.

In 1920, when Esther was three years old, the family moved to Seattle. Shortly before the move their second daughter (Dorothy) was born, and in 1924 they welcomed their last child (Eileen).

In their move to Seattle they at first rented a home in St. John Parish, where Esther attended first grade with the BVM Sisters and was prepared for First Communion. She conceived a great admiration for her teacher, Sister M. Valicia, “I loved her so much that I wanted to grow up and be a Sister so I could teach little ones about God.” She remembered the beautiful shrine to Our Lady in the first grade classroom, and the rosary (her first) that Sister Valicia gave her. After the family's move to a large home on three acres near Haller Lake, however, the three little girls attended public schools.

In their new home the three girls enjoyed much freedom—playing in the woods, hiking, and gardening. Frank Greenslade rented out the home and orchard tract at Grandview, but, in the warm months of the year, worked there in the apple and cherry orchards, and the girls enjoyed helping him during the summer vacations.

The Great Depression attacked the country in 1929, but the Greenslades had much for which to be thankful.

We never missed a meal, and always had a warm house and a roof over our heads. I remember my mother saying that we were so blessed. We had three acres of land and a large garden of flowers and vegetables, plus a cow and chickens. . . . Even though we were poor, we had the love of each other. This included my mother's family, who were always gifting us with clothes, toys, and food.

My mother had opened our home to foster children, so we always had lots of children to play with. Thanks to our big home, we sometimes had as many as ten children around our kitchen table. Being the oldest, I had lots of chores to do.

Margaret Greenslade's family, the Lechmans, owned an eighty-six-acre ranch in the the Yakima Valley; and when the girls helped their father in the orchards, they enjoyed seeing their grandparents who spoiled them.

Esther graduated from Lincoln High School, Seattle, in June 1936. She had met the Everett Dominicans (later the Edmonds Dominicans), and was determined to become one of them.

I earned money working in the orchard to help pay for my clothes so that I could enter the convent. According to my father, I ate more cherries than I picked for shipping. So my granddad supplied most of the money for my entrance.

On July 1, 1936, she entered the Everett (later Edmonds) Dominicans at St. Dominic Convent in Seattle. Since she had not attended Catholic schools and was acquainted with few sisters, she did not know what to expect. “I never realized that God had invited me into the unknown.” She wrote that Sister Evangelista, the novice mistress, “made it easier to accept all the surprises that made up our life.” The group received the habit and their religious names on January 8, 1937, and professed their first vows on January 9, 1938.

For the first five years of her ministry she was kept in Seattle as a teacher of third grade: a year at Holy Angels Academy, two years at Blessed Sacrament, and two years at St. Benedict. In 1943 she was sent to Bremerton, where she taught for eight years: at first in third grade, then in fifth. Returning to Seattle, she taught for a second time at St. Benedict School, this time in fourth grade, for a year; two years at Blessed Sacrament for the second time, this time in first grade; and a third time at St. Benedict in sixth grade for a year. In 1945, as a result of summer study, she received a Bachelor's Degree in Education from Holy Names College in Spokane.

Beginning with 1955 she again taught third graders in Everett at Our Lady of Perpetual Help for five years, then for a year at Sacred Heart in far-away Miles City, Montana. Illness had come upon her, and she returned to Washington. After surgery, she spent some months recuperating at Chehalis Hospital.

From that time on, Seattle was the site of her service. In January 1962 she began her ministry with first grade children at St. Alphonsus School for the second semester of that school year, then moved to St. Benedict (for the fourth time} for four years. She wrote of her friendship with a BVM sister, Sister Kathryn Marie, with whom she attended first grade meetings.

In 1967 she was again at Blessed Sacrament for the third time. Through Sister Kathryn Marie, she had become interested in the Montessori Method of teaching reading, and that year she earned a certificate from St. Nicholas Training Center in London, England. She used this method to good advantage during her eight years at Blessed Sacrament. In 1969 she earned a diploma from St. Christina Montessori School in London, and also became a member of the International Association of Progressive Montessorians. In her autobiography she wrote, “In 1970, during my first trip to Europe, I was able to visit both Montessori Training Centers, thanks to Sister Kathryn Marie.” She also studied for three summers at the University of Portland in Washington.

In 1975 she began her eleven-year ministry in North Seattle as Directress at Holy Spirit Montessori School in Good Shepherd Center, Wallingford. In an advertisement for the school, besides explaining and praising the Montessori method, she wrote, “We sustain and teach God the Father, offering children of all faiths and races a trusting faith in their Creator.”

The closing of the school in 1986 was caused by increasing demands from the Department of Health and Social Services and the insurance company, and its closing was publicized in the University Herald. The article included a large picture of Sister Christine with a student, as well as a writeup. Another article appeared in the Times.

Sister Mary Christine Greenslade prayed constantly for a miracle when her insurance company said it would cancel her policy unless she installed new fire doors and generators, and remodeled stairwells, at Holy Spirit Montessori School in Wallingford. “I was hoping an angel would appear with $10,000 and save the school,” says Greenslade, of the Dominican Sisters of Edmonds. No angel arrived. The deadline is here—midnight tomorrow. Greenslade will spend the day packing boxes of teaching aids at the school she opened eleven years ago.

The people at Shine Bright Montessori School in Ballard invited her to join the faculty in the fall. Besides the new job, the school closure has another silver lining. Greenslade will be moving back into a convent (Ballard's St. Alphonsus) for the first time in years. “I'll be able to go to Mass, and then walk (twenty-one blocks) to the school. Isn't that wonderful?” Anyone who has watched the exuberant sister at work knows a little thing like a twenty-one-block walk, morning and night, wouldn't deter her. She's as light on her feet as a teenager.

As stated in the Times, Sister Christine moved to Shine Bright Montessori School for three years. Then she helped open Queen of Peace Montessori school, taught there in the mornings and afternoons at Shine Bright. In 1990 she taught for the first semester at Perkins School; and then slowed down a bit, teaching two days a week at Kinder Palace Montessori School. She returned to Perkins School and for five years taught from 9:00 to 1:00 five days a week.

In 1992, she was a nominee for the Archbishop Raymond G. Hunthausen Humanitarian Award.

A teacher for more than fifty years, Sister Christine has positively influenced hundreds of children and their families. She opened a Catholic pre-school, Holy Spirit Montessori, and gave children from all economic backgrounds the benefit of a “head start.” Today she teaches to help support older or infirm sisters, many of whom live at St. Alphonsus Convent.

“Since 1984 I have had four hip surgeries,” Sister Christine wrote. “My bones were out and I even managed to wear out two artificial hips.” She loved gardening, and looked forward each year to being able to attend the Seattle Flower Show. For twenty-five years she helped serve Sunday dinners to the poor at Blessed Sacrament Parish, and learned that doing for others earned her hundreds of wonderful friends.

Sister Christine was seventy-nine years old in 1996, and thought it time to retire. She could not, however, be idle, and volunteered her time at Kidus Montessori House for two years. “The little ones gift me daily with love and laughs that I can share with the sisters at St. Alphonsus,” she wrote. “It is a Christian school where we can talk to God and about God's love with the three- and four-year-olds.”

In one of the ending paragraphs of her autobiography she wrote:

As I go forth into the unknown, I pray that I can always remember God's love for me in the past and all the wonderful friends God has sent along my road of life to make my journey toward heaven a happy one most of the time. The snags have made it possible for me to stop and really appreciate God's love for me.

In 1998 illness forced her to stop teaching, and she took up residence at Assumption Convent. In 2005 she moved to St. Joseph Residence, where she remained until her death on December 10, 2007.

On December 14, 2007, Sister Christine's funeral liturgy was celebrated in Seattle at St. Joseph Residence Chapel. Present were Dorothy and Eileen, Sister Christine's sisters, nieces and nephews, and many Dominican friends. Sister Catherine Olds, Prioress of the Dominican West Mission Chapter, welcomed those present and summarized Sister Christine's life and ministry. She also spoke of Sister's last days.

Through the past several years, Sister Christine walked the path of illness—heart problems, back pain, memory, dislocated hip, car accident, and, most recently, breathing problems relating to her heart and leading to her hospitalization. During these illnesses, and after moving from Assumption Convent to St. Joseph Residence, she would often ask, “When will I be going home?”

What I personally treasure was her welcoming smile each time I walked into her room. Even this past week in the hospital, once she was more alert and realized where she was, the smile would appear in spite of the pain, as well as the words “thank you” for the least thing that we did for her.

Sister Catherine described Sister Christine as “a woman of the Lord, eager to go home to her God.” Her wait is over. Her God has taken her home.