Sister Felicia Haidysz
1915-2009

Sister Felicia has been described as “a most gracious, efficient, and conscientious woman, prayerful and concerned about others.” She was also a humble woman, faithful to God and to the Congregation.

Her parents, Andrew and Anna (Michniewicz) Haidysz were both European immigrants, Andrew from Russia and Anna from Poland. In her autobiography Sister Felicia did not describe their meeting, but after their marriage they settled in Biddeford, Maine. There they began their family. Three of their children died in infancy. The surviving four were Chester, Leona, Felicia, and Viola. Felicia Veronica was born on December 20, 1915.

When Felicia was very young, her parents moved the family to Hamtramck, Michigan. They had decided to buy a farm, and both found work in a factory in order to earn the money. In 1923 they bought a farm that was six miles from Gagetown. The Haidysz youngsters had started their education at Playfair School in Hamtramck, but when the family moved to the farm they attended a school with all eight grades in one room. She wrote that they were always asked to sing at the various programs put on by the school, and that Chester, who was a good student, was always given the lead in the plays. They eventually attended Hillside School in Gagetown.

Religion played a big part in the lives of the Haidysz children. Their parents did not speak English, so they traveled several miles to Bay City to attend a Mass in Polish. Finally, their parents learned English, and they attended Mass at St. Agatha in Gagetown. She wrote, “My mother was fluent in seven languages.”

In 1926 Andrew Haidysz was seriously injured, and had to be confined to an institution. The family visited him frequently, but he never recognized them again. The children’s lives were altered, since they had to help their mother with the work of the farm. During the Great Depression the family struggled, but their mother’s deep faith and charity carried them through. When Felicia told her mother that she hoped to become a Dominican sister, her mother was pleased. Felicia graduated from Gagetown High School in June 1933, and accompanied a friend and her parents to the Chicago World’s Fair.

On July 2, 1933, a month after her graduation from high school, Felicia entered the postulate at Adrian. She wrote that she “fell in love with” Holy Rosary Chapel. She was assigned to care for De Profundis Hall and to help in Sister Annunciata’s kitchen. With her group, she received the habit and her religious name on December 27, 1933. She felt it a privilege to be allowed to keep her own baptismal name. “Most rewarding” is how she described the novitiate year, filled with classwork, daily routines, and preparation to accept the challenges to be met in religious life. On December 31, 1934, she professed her first vows.

Within a short time she found herself assigned to St. Patrick School in Joliet, Illinois, where she taught second and third grade. She wrote, “This was my first experience on a train, and I enjoyed my trip immensely.” In 1938 she was brought back to Adrian for three years as a teacher of third and fourth graders at St. Mary School. She studied during the summers, and in 1941 Siena Heights College (now University) in Adrian awarded her a bachelor’s degree with a major in Latin and minors in English and history. That same year she was changed to St. John in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where she again taught second and third grades, then in 1943 was transferred to Precious Blood in Detroit with fifth and sixth graders.

During the summers of 1942 and 1943 she and a few other sisters studied nursing at Toledo Mercy Hospital, but they were informed that they could not obtain nursing degrees with only summer study, so her nursing studies ended.

In 1944 she was again in Illinois, at St. Celestine in Elmwood Park, teaching first grade. After a year, she was sent to St. Catherine of Siena in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she did census work for two years. During the summer of 1947 she was assigned to help care for the sisters at St. Clement Infirmary in Adrian, and then was one of the first sisters sent to Henderson, Nevada, to open a hospital there. Basic Magnesium Hospital was a government hospital. The need for the hospital had ceased after World War II, and it was sold to the sisters for a dollar. This hospital was renamed Rose de Lima Hospital. She served there for thirteen years. She wrote: 

We worked long hours the first year, trying to get everything moving in the right direction. With the capable administration of Sister Carolyn [Harrison], we really broke down many barriers and, with the grace of God, were making strides in operating a good hospital. 

She is still highly respected at the hospital, now known as St. Rose Dominican Hospitals. In a letter read at her wake, the current President, Rod Davis, wrote in part: 

After her first six years of service, Sister Felicia was appointed administrator of Rose de Lima. In this role, she influenced some of the hospital’s most important achievements. Under her direction, for example, Rose de Lima became the first hospital in Southern Nevada to be certified by the Joint Commission which accredits and certifies hospitals and healthcare organizations across the United States. . . . She also saw the hospital through some of its toughest times.

He wrote of Sister Felicia’s compassion for the poor, and how she reached out to the community for help. She organized the Women’s Auxiliary, which founded the Mardi Gras Ball, still held every year, and she made direct appeals to local business leaders. When she was reassigned in 1960, the local newspaper, the Henderson Home News, encouraged the people in Henderson to write to the Mother General and ask that their “Angel of Mercy” be allowed to stay on in Henderson for another six years.

Of this time Sister Felicia wrote: 

I had worked directly all along with Sister Carolyn, really as her right hand. I attended American College of Surgeons meetings in Los Angeles with her, and I was exposed to so many of the things she was doing. . . . However, I was more concerned about the patients than I was about the financial aspects. . . . When it came to sick people who were admitted without means to pay or who needed a special nurse, I saw that they had what was needed.  

A return to Michigan was necessary in 1956 when her mother died; and in 1960, in spite of requests from the hospital and the people in the area, she was reassigned to a Michigan school, SS. Peter and Paul in Ruth, where she taught in the middle elementary grades, and also in the high school. She wrote, “What a delight to be in a country setting and close to my family—only thirty-five miles away.” After four years, she was changed to St. Lawrence in Utica, where she was superior of the house and taught Latin and English in the high school. A sad occasion during this time was the death of her father in 1965.

In 1966 she was assigned to St. Theresa Home in Cincinnati, Ohio. There she cared for the elderly and sick. In 1968, as a result of summer study, Siena Heights College awarded her a master’s degree in administration and supervision. During this time, also, she took her Practical Nursing Test, and became eligible for registration in Ohio.

Again she was sent to the West, this time to California, where she served for eight years at Dominican Santa Cruz Hospital in Santa Cruz as nurse, secretary, and in pastoral care. She wrote: 

The work with patients, sisters, and medical staff was tremendously fulfilling. My extended ministry reached out to the discharged patients and nursing homes. . . . I will always treasure those years of bringing the Eucharist to the shut-ins and holding prayer services for the patients at the various nursing homes. 

She returned to Adrian in 1977 as a full-time worker in the Office of Information and lived in Regina Residence. She felt it a privilege to be working with Sister Mary Philip Ryan “who continues to be an inspiration through her dedication in serving God and maintaining a hold on the history of the Congregation.” She spent twenty-one years in this ministry. At the wake, Sister Jo Gaugier said: 

When St. Rose Dominican Hospital-Rose de Lima Campus celebrated its fiftieth anniversary [in 1997], she was able to return and was Queen of the Mardi Gras ball. I am told that Chuck Norris was the king, and that the two danced the opening dance, much to the pleasure of all. 

In November 1998 Sister Felicia retired. Illness attacked her, and in 2002 she found it necessary to move into the Maria Building of the Dominican Life Center. God took her to eternity on December 13, 2009, seven days before her ninety-fourth birthday.

Sister Felicia’s wake-remembrance service was held on December 17 in St. Catherine Chapel. Sister Jo Gaugier, Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, opened the service and welcomed those attending: Sister’s nephews Eric and Corine Stadlberger, Timothy and Gail Sauvage, and Ernie; her many Dominican and other friends. Sister Jo summarized Sister Felicia’s life and ministry, and spoke of her last days. 

She was prayerful and concerned about others. Nightly, when she was feeling well, she spent time going from room to room, praying with the sisters.  

In recent years, she has suffered various falls and setbacks. Each time she came back, she was a bit weaker. Several months ago, she suffered a setback when she developed respiratory problems. Although she was treated, her aging body didn’t respond as it had in the past. 

Sister Rose Celeste O’Connell, Secretary of the Congregation and in charge of the Office of Information, spoke words of praise: 

She was in charge of the Archives (the old Vault) when I came in 1990. She generously taught me all I needed to know about the office—when reports were due, what forms to send out and when, and tons of great pointers along the way. . . . She knew where every item was in the vault and could find it in a flash. Speaking of flashes, Sister Felicia never walked anywhere. She flew from place to place. As she went about her business, she spread kind words and prayerful support to those she met. And she always made sure that the files were in order. 

It was hard for her to give up active ministry. She would come over and check up on us from time to time. . . . Sister Felicia was a kind and gentle soul, and she will be missed by all of us.  

Sister Durstyne Farnan, former director of the Office of Global Mission Justice and Peace, remembered: 

During the time of the renovation of Regina when the pilgrims moved to Weber Center for almost two years, Sister Felicia helped us come up with ways to continue our outreach to the poor.  

With Sister Felicia’s help, we came up with the Movie of the Month Club. It became a community gathering for at least a year. . . . We continued this until sometime in 2006. It was a great way to bring movies and entertainment, and still take care of our obligation for alms to the poor. Sister Felicia was an incredible woman of justice. She gave great support to our office, and frequently stopped in to see what else we could do to further our mission for justice on behalf of the poor. 

Sister Margaret Mehigan read a letter from Rod Davis, president of St. Rose Dominican Hospitals. He wrote in part: 

Sister Felicia was admired by all those who met her and came to know her in Southern Nevada. When the sisters took over Basic Hospital, a small government-run hospital, and renamed it Rose de Lima Hospital, she oversaw the hospital’s Medical Records and assisted in the nursery.

We, like you, remember Sister Felicia for her kindness, her business acumen, her great faith, and her ability to invoke great good through the power of prayer and hard work.

During her days as Rose de Lima’s administrator, she often found herself having to referee the wrangling between physicians who engaged in a sort of territorial tug-of-war over patients. In a letter to Mother Gerald she wrote about a banquet the sisters held for the doctors. In it she mused, “About twenty-eight physicians were present, and no lives were lost.” Her wit and occasional practical jokes were greatly appreciated by staff members.

We celebrate Sister Felicia. We reflect on how she influenced the healthcare ministry and how she made Henderson and all of Southern Nevada a better place to call home.

Sister Durstyne considered Sister Felicia “a gift to me, to us, and to the mission of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.” She was, indeed, a gift, one that will be greatly missed.