Sister Margaret Marie Crowe
1916-2009
Sister Margaret Marie Crowe wrote:
I think religious life is what you really make it—your prayer life is a must. One must find some fulfillment in her ministry and be able to make decisions for herself and be accountable for the same. I thank God for my community and the good friends I have.
Both of Sister Margaret Marie’s parents, Joan Marie Stack and Michael Edward Crowe, were born in Ireland. Both eventually left Ireland for the United States, where they met and married in Portland, Oregon.
Michael Crowe was an engineer. He worked for the Union Pacific Railroad, supervising a large crew. Although it was necessary at times, travel was not required often of him since the company knew that he had a family. His wife remained at home and cared for the children. In her autobiography Sister Margaret wrote, “Ours was a very happy home life, grounded in faith.”
Their daughter Margaret was born on March 22, 1916. She was the fourth of five children, preceded by James, Michael, and Joseph, and followed by Catherine. In time James was ordained a priest, Michael became a businessman, Joseph was a soldier who died in the service of his country, and Catherine married.
All of the children attended the parish school, Blessed Sacrament. In her autobiography, Sister Margaret Marie wrote:
When I graduated from eighth grade I liked the idea of being a sister, but I did not want to be a Franciscan like we had in school. They were German sisters and I did not want to enter a German congregation. I went to a Dominican high school [Immaculata Academy in Portland].
On August 30, 1931, at the age of fifteen, she became a postulant in the Everett, Washington, Congregation and finished her high school work in 1934 through summer study at Holy Angels Academy in Seattle. She received the habit and her religious name, Sister Mary Dolores, on August 16, 1932, and professed her first vows on August 17, 1933.
Sister Margaret Marie wanted to become a medical doctor, but at that time Canon Law did not allow this ministry for religious women. She, therefore, turned her interest to nursing and the health care profession. For four years she studied and served at St. Joseph Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington, where she became a Registered Nurse. She then ministered there for five-and-a-half years as a nurse in obstetrics. It was during this time, in 1941, that her beloved father died.
In January 1943 she was allowed to enroll in a post-graduate program in Maternity and Infant Nursing at Mercy Hospital in Chicago which prepared her for a supervisory position. She wrote:
These were World War II years, and so many people had problems. Many hours outside of duty hours were spent in visiting patients who asked to see me. I contacted the hospital chaplains or their pastors for them, as so many of their problems related to their marriages. In many cases, I was a sounding board. The fact that I was available helped a great deal, and my concern for their peace of mind apparently was evident.
She lived with the Mercy Sisters during this time, and upon graduation they encouraged her to work at Mercy Hospital. Her community, however, felt that she had been away long enough.
For the next seven years she served as nursing supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital in Aberdeen, Washington. At Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, she studied anesthesiology for a year. She wrote of her experiences there:
This experience brought me in everyday contact with patients who had been away from the sacraments for years. The thought of death, or of the seriousness of their condition, gave food for thought which urged them to take care of their spiritual life. After I encouraged them to talk to the chaplains, these same patients left the hospital enjoying a new outlook on life and a true peace of soul.
When she left Sacred Heart Hospital, she ministered for a year as anesthetist at St. Helen Hospital in Chehalis, Washington.
Again, in 1952, she became a student, this time at St. Teresa College in Winona, Minnesota, where she studied for three-and-a-half years and earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing administration. She was then appointed surgery supervisor at St. Joseph Hospital in Aberdeen.
In 1959 she became ill, and spent a year at Cabrini Hospital in recuperation. When she recovered, she was assigned to St. Helen Hospital in Chehalis, Washington, as assistant medical records librarian, a position that she held for over seven years.
She took exclaustration from the Congregation in December 1967. She wrote of her activities during this time.
When changes and options for ministry were available in 1967 after Vatican II, I started working for the Regional Medical Program in Oregon, a government-sponsored grant to hospitals. Emphasis was on career research and studies. It prepared me well for the position that followed with the Commission of Professional Hospital Activities in Ann Arbor, Michigan. There I had the opportunity to attend classes at the University of Michigan in Computer Science.
She returned to the Congregation in December 1969, and spent six months at the University of Washington in Seattle as assistant director of the cancer program. She wrote that this was a preparation for the position that she held for three years with the American College of Surgeons in Chicago. In that position she prepared research studies and evaluated cancer programs in teaching hospitals throughout twenty states. She wrote:
I have had deep concern about assisting cancer patients in a more spiritual way. Working with Deans of Medical Schools in various research projects and evaluating patterns of care, I felt that I should identify more directly in the apostolate of spiritual care. I had many thoughts, during those three years, about pastoral care in hospitals which required a course of study and accreditation. I felt I could use all of my medical background in pastoral care. The following year, then, was in preparation for my change in ministry.
It was during this time, in 1971, that she and her siblings lost their mother.
She became a student in the CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) Program at Providence Hospital in Portland, Oregon; and in 1974 she was appointed chaplain at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Yakima, Washington, a position that she held for over ten years. She felt strongly that her apostolate in the Church was “identifying with the people of God, especially the sick and the ill in hospitals, as well as their families and community.”
In January 1986 she took a sabbatical year and studied theology and scripture at Portland University. When she finished that study, she ministered to the Congregation’s retired sisters for a time, then served as a volunteer chaplain in the oncology department at the Swedish Medical Center in Seattle for more than three years.
She retired in August 1990 and lived as a volunteer in Seattle for two years. Her priest brother, who was also retired, became ill, and she moved to Lincoln City, Oregon, where she lived with him and cared for him for almost four years. Upon his death, she returned to Seattle and served for a short time as a volunteer chaplain at Northwest Hospital.
In May 1996 she moved into Assumption Convent, where she was able to indulge in her favorite pastimes of music, opera, reading, knitting, and gardening.
In June 2003 approval was received from Rome for a merger of the Edmonds Dominicans with the Adrian Dominican Sisters. In August 2003 Sister Margaret Marie was one of the Washington Dominicans who traveled to Adrian for the merger ceremony. Since she suffered from several health problems, especially macular degeneration which was growing worse, it was considered best that she not attempt the travel back to Washington State.
Her family was in Oregon so she was unable to see them often, but her niece, Joanne Frantress, called her regularly, and her nephew, Ed Clark, kept in contact with her. They made a trip to Adrian to see her, and were grateful for the care that she was receiving.
For a time, her inability to return to Washington State was a big trial to Sister Margaret Marie. But she finally adjusted to living in Adrian. Although she was suffering from some memory loss, she never forgot that she was a nurse and frequently told sisters what they should do for various ailments. She ended her interview with Sister Jean Tobin by saying, “In this community at Adrian, I feel quite at home.”
At the wake, Sister Joan Sustersic, Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, said:
Sister Margaret had some physical difficulty from time to time when she would be unresponsive. It had been episodes that lasted for minutes, and then she would be back to normal. However, on Saturday, June 13, she experienced an extended period of non-responsiveness. Thereafter, her condition improved a bit but never really came back to normal.
God took her to eternity on the evening of June 20, 2009. She was ninety-three years of age.
A wake-remembrance ceremony was held for Sister Margaret Marie in St. Catherine Chapel on June 24. Her niece Joanne Frantress and her husband Ken, and her nephew Edward Clark and his wife Mary were present, as well as her many Dominican friends, including three former Edmonds sisters, Sisters Anna Kosenski, Barbara Matteson, and Mary White. Sister Joan Sustersic welcomed those present, extended sympathy, and summarized Sister Margaret Marie’s life and ministry.
Sister Barbara Matteson, a former Prioress of the Edmonds Dominicans, spoke of the pictures of Sister Margaret Marie posted outside the chapel and shared some memories.
One thing that struck me in looking at the picture posters—in one of the pictures you’ll see Sister Margaret sitting in a wingback chair, like a princess or a queen. She always wanted to be in charge. That was important to her. Another thing that was important to her was deportment, how she carried herself.
I talked to different hospital sisters—we operated two hospitals and several schools. The nurses got used to going back and forth in these hospitals. . . . You’ve heard [Sister Margaret’s] biography. You’ve heard all the different areas she was in. She was also dealing with sadness at times.
Worth great praise was that coming here and being in Adrian has given us an opportunity to start a new life. . . . After she had been here in Adrian for a while, great peace and joy came to her. Her experience in Adrian was a positive one. During these last years, the sisters said at a recent visit with her that she was more at peace than in years. Sometimes, though, she didn’t recognize us. . . . Thank you for opening your hearts and arms and buildings to us.
Sister Margaret Marie’s funeral liturgy took place on June 25. After the beautiful ceremony, she was laid to rest in the cemetery on the Motherhouse grounds.