Sister Gloria Kiefer
1925-2009

This is part of a poem that Jim Kiefer, Sister Gloria’s nephew, read at her wake. He believed that his aunt was this kind of person.

In her autobiography, Sister Gloria wrote, “As I look back on my experiences in religious life, they were happy experiences for the most part. I had good superiors and lived with many fine people.”

Sister Gloria was born on February 19, 1925, to August and Rose (Bartley) Kiefer, baptized Constance Gloria, but always called Gloria. She was the third child in the family, and the only girl. Her parents were in what was known at that time as a “mixed marriage.” Her mother was Catholic; her father was not.

Both parents came from large families. August Kiefer was one of sixteen children, and was of German ancestry. He grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, but later immigrated to the Detroit area. Rose Bartley’s parents were from Alsace-Lorraine, and had settled in Toledo, Ohio. Rose was one of fourteen children. In her autobiography, Sister Gloria did not say how her parents met, but they lived at first in Highland Park and later in Detroit.

Rose Kiefer had contracted typhoid fever in her young years, which left her totally deaf. Sister Gloria wrote in her autobiography, “As I reflect on how difficult it must have been for her to care for two boys and a girl as babies who could not be heard if they cried, I admire her courage.” Because of her mother’s deafness, Gloria learned to read lips. In later years she told the sisters, “When I was teaching I could read lips, and really surprised the children.”

The Great Depression did not spare the Kiefers. August Kiefer operated a men’s clothing store in Detroit. During the Depression years, he lost this business. Sister wrote:

I remember, as a young child, my father coming home with a bag of groceries he had received after standing in line most of the day. My mother was a wonderful cook who prepared good meals with the little amount of food she had. In addition to being a good cook,

Mother was an excellent seamstress who made all my dresses and coats (from coats that others would give her).

Gloria’s two older brothers attended Visitation School in Detroit with the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Visitation School was a mile and a half away, and to get there a street car had to be taken which necessitated a six-block walk to the street car stop. When it was time for Gloria to begin school her parents sent her to a nearby public school, Frances E. Willard School in Highland Park. After three years, however, they considered her old enough at the age of eight to make the long trip to Visitation School, with one of her brothers accompanying her.

Gloria loved Visitation School, where she finished her education through high school. She wrote that her father helped her to memorize the Catechism questions each day, and she later realized that he was learning the Catholic Faith with her. He, however, did not actually become a Catholic until twenty-five years later.

About her high school years she wrote:

Visitation High School offered me many wonderful opportunities for an excellent education. I especially enjoyed participating in the annual operetta with other members of the Glee Club. We had fun during rehearsals and drew great crowds to the performances. Sister Marie Paul Rist made singing an enjoyable experience and, because of her apparently happy spirit, I thought I might like to be an Adrian Dominican.

During her senior year, Gloria became serious about becoming a Dominican. She had taken typewriting during high school, and so was well prepared for office work. After she graduated, she spent the summer working in the records department at Mount Carmel Hospital, thus earning the money that she considered necessary for her entrance.

On September 8, 1942, she entered the postulate in Adrian. Much to her surprise, her father did not object. He visited her a month after her entrance, and after returning home he wrote her a letter telling her how relieved he had been to see no bars on the windows. He added, “You have wonderful companions, and I’m glad you chose this life.” She had taken piano lessons for over a year while she was in elementary school, and took piano lessons during her postulancy.

On August 11, 1943, she received the habit and her religious name, Sister Rose Augustine.

During my novitiate, I took my turn playing the “Salve,” the “O Lumen,” and the “Ave Maris Stella” at night prayer. Having had no organ lessons, I must have sounded pretty awful at times.

Profession of first vows took place on August 17, 1944. Almost immediately she was on her way to Joliet, Illinois, where she taught at Sacred Heart School in the primary and middle grades until January 1950. At that time, she was brought back to Adrian and spent the rest of the year as a full-time student at Siena Heights College (now University). In June 1950 she received her bachelor’s degree with a major in Latin and minors in English and history.

For the next five years she ministered in Michigan. Fall 1950 saw her at St. Alphonsus School in Deerfield, where she taught for two years on the primary level. In 1952 she was transferred to Queen of the Miraculous Medal in Jackson, where she taught primary and middle grade students until sickness assailed her. In December 1955 she again was brought back to Adrian, this time as a patient at St. Clement Infirmary for almost two years.

In 1957 she was assigned to Blessed Sacrament in Toledo, Ohio, where once more she taught on the primary level until 1961. At that time, she was again in Michigan, where she spent the rest of her life. For six years she taught in the middle grades at St. Basil in East Detroit, spent three years at St. Peter in Harper Woods, then returned to St. Basil for a year. In 1971 she took a teaching position at St. Paul in Grosse Pointe Farms, where she taught for three years, then served as religious education coordinator for three years.

She studied at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake for a year, and earned a certificate in pastoral ministry in 1978. She wrote of her year there as “the best learning experience of my life.” She lived what she called “a simple life,” and studied Moral Theology, Scripture, Liturgy, and Pastoral Studies. At the wake Sister Anneliese Sinnott said:

I never knew Sister Rose Augustine, but I knew Sister Gloria Kiefer. I got to know her back in 1978. Sisters Jo Gaugier, Mary Ann Brennan, and I had been hired to be on the faculty at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan. Sister Gloria contacted us and asked if she could live with us while she participated in a Certificate Program in Pastoral Ministry.

What a gift she was to us! . . . I know it must have been a challenge to live on the Orchard Lake campus with mostly men, mostly Polish, and mostly conservative. She was a solid community person, contributing to the life we all lived together. We had a unique living situation. We had a three-legged frying pan, we washed our dishes in a plastic dishpan, and there was only one large bathroom, built for men.

She was my student but in many ways I learned from her. The seminarians loved her. She was quiet but supportive of everyone around. And she was a wonderful listener.

For the next twelve years Sister Gloria served as a pastoral minister: three years at St. Patrick in Wyandotte and nine years at St. John in Jackson. While serving as pastoral projects coordinator at Maria Health Care Center in Adrian, she was attacked by cancer in late 1990, had surgery, and “realized that the hundreds of people who prayed for me strengthened my faith at this time of crisis.”

Upon recuperation, she continued her ministry as pastoral projects coordinator at Maria Health Care Center, which was renamed the Dominican Life Center/Maria in 1995. She had a strong desire to serve the sisters in whatever way she was needed. Sister Cyrilla Zarek was also ministering at Maria at the time, and she described Sister Gloria’s service.

As special projects coordinator, Sister Gloria was an active member of the pastoral care team. She oversaw the sacristy and what was needed in and for the chapel, including ministers and supplies. She was also actively involved in the initiation of the chapel closed circuit TV, so the Mass could be televised to the sisters’ rooms. For special pastoral care events, Sister Gloria was always there, willing to help, gracious and cheerful. Ministering with her was a pleasure.

Her participation in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and Rome was a highlight of Sister Gloria’s life. She wrote, “Truly, I found the Holy Land to be a land flowing with milk and honey. Beauty was everywhere, from lush and fertile fields to the desert. Scripture has come alive for me.” She also had the privilege of visiting the Lands of Dominic.

In1998 Sister Gloria ceased serving as a pastoral minister and became a library volunteer. The state of her health made it necessary to leave the library work in 2007, and become a full-time resident in the Maria Building. God took her to eternity on October 17, 2009, at the age of eighty-four.

A wake-remembrance service was held for Sister Gloria on October 21 in St. Catherine Chapel. Sister Jo Gaugier, Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, extended sympathy and welcomed those present: Sister Gloria’s sister-in-law Madeline Kiefer and her daughter Lisa, Sister’s nephew Jim, nieces Mary Beth and Julie, other relatives, and her many Dominican friends. Sister Jo summarized Sister Gloria’s life and ministry, and added:

In recent years memories of her pilgrimage to the Holy Land and to the Lands of Dominic dimmed. She was no longer able to read and do crossword puzzles, but a moment of recognition would bring a smile to her face.

Jim Kiefer, Sister Gloria’s nephew, spoke of his favorite movie, “A Man for All Seasons.”

Reflecting on Sister Gloria and her life, I thought of a quote from that movie, “Death comes to us all, even kings.” Sister Gloria wasn’t a king, or even a queen or princess, but like St. Thomas she was faithful to death. St. Thomas More was faithful to conscience and family. She was also faithful to conscience and family. . . . She had a great regard for your charism and for herself as a Dominican. The Dominicans that I met through my aunt are truly prophetic and proclaimers of the Good News.

Like More, she was committed. Sister was committed to the Word, in and through her ministry. I remember going to those parishes on the East side of Detroit where she helped out. . . . She was committed to teaching, but also to designing and launching new programs that would be supportive of the faith life of those entrusted to her. . . . She was faithful to Jesus. I saw a new Jesus emerging after she studied at Orchard Lake. She was on fire, but quietly. . . . She was open and hopeful about change. She embraced Vatican II. . . .

I remember her days at the Seminary. Perhaps it was her influence that led me to enter college there. . . . I remember her talking to me when I was just out of college about participating in a women’s conference—advocating for women’s ordination. She was able to give it a voice and passion that supported it. We talked often about such things on the phone.

This—Adrian—was her home community, a family for her. Yet she never forgot that we were family as well. She was faithful, committed, open, and hopeful about the future for herself and for those she taught.

Sister Gloria’s funeral took place on October 22. Father Robert Kelly, OP, was the presider and homilist. Father spoke of God as the Potter. He used the analogy of Sister Gloria as the “emptiness” in the pot.

Her emptiness made room for each child she taught, reserved a healing space for each adult who came to her . . ., allowed for a greater clarity about what was important and what was not, opened her to a source of creativity for the liturgies and worship that she planned and celebrated, provided a seat of wisdom where library books were found and information was shared, provided a heart-room where God was at home.

Following the funeral, Sister Gloria was laid to rest in the Congregational cemetery.