Sister Eleanor Dougherty
1925-2009

In one of the ending paragraphs of her autobiography, Sister Eleanor Dougherty wrote, “As I re-read this autobiography and remember once again many happy moments—it has been a good life!”

She was born in Chicago on March 21, 1925, to John Edward and Mary Dineen Dougherty, a day that she described in her autobiography as “an exciting day for my mother and father.” She was the middle child of five children. Mary Cecile and John Edward, Jr., had preceded her into the family, and Rita Ann and Jean Grace followed her.

Eleanor was quiet and shy, and that quietness and shyness followed her through most of her life. All of the Dougherty youngsters attended St. Philip Neri School with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, which was within walking distance of their “two-flat” on Jeffrey Avenue. Eleanor remembered, and listed in her autobiography, all of her grade school teachers. She wrote:

It was a daily occurrence after supper that the five of us gathered around the dining room table to do our homework. Mom checked English, spelling, and religion, and Pop checked our math. A few friends who lived on the block often joined us at the table. The neighborhood was a great place to grow up, for we were close to Lake Michigan and Jackson Park, and took advantage of both, particularly during the summer.

Eleanor graduated from eighth grade in June 1939, and registered at Aquinas High School next door to St. Philip Neri. She wrote, “Aquinas gave me a feeling of freedom—the classes were demanding, but the atmosphere was pleasant.” There, also, she was introduced to sports, a new experience for her. Basketball and volleyball were her favorites. Several of the same friends were her companions in both grade and high school, and in high school she began taking part in many activities. She especially mentioned Mary Scheibel (the future Sister Therese Johanna). Shyness was still with her, however, and she wrote, “I admired my siblings for it seemed to me that they could talk in a relaxed way with anyone.” She wrote about an assignment given to her class to write their autobiographies. “After Sister Winifred [Marx] read mine, she said that if she had known that I wrote so well, she would have put me on the staff of the school newspaper. That was high praise.”

Eleanor’s older sister Mary had entered the Adrian Dominican Community in 1941, and thoughts of following her were in Eleanor’s mind. She graduated from Aquinas High School in June 1943, and within a few days was on her way to Adrian with five other Aquinas graduates, where they entered the postulate on June 20. On January 4, 1944, she received the habit and her religious name, Sister John Edward, a name taken for both her father and brother. With her group, she professed her first vows on January 5, 1945. The balance of that school year she spent as a student at Siena Heights College (now University). She rejoiced when in 1944 her younger sister Rita also entered the Congregation. Rita, however, left the Congregation several years later.

For twenty-six years Sister Eleanor taught in Michigan schools. In August 1945 she was assigned to St. Mary School in Chelsea, where she spent a year in the middle grades. Holy Name in Detroit was her next mission for five years, and there she taught in the middle and junior high grades. It was during these years, in May 1948, that sorrow entered the lives of the Dougherty sisters and their siblings when they lost their mother. June 1950 was a happier time for Sister Eleanor. Siena Heights College awarded her a bachelor’s degree with a major in Latin and minors in English and mathematics.

In 1951 she became superior and principal at St. Alphonsus in Deerfield, but left this position after two years. She was then assigned to teaching on the high school level at Resurrection in Lansing for eight years as a teacher of religion, Latin, geometry, and algebra. The Dougherty sisters again knew sorrow when their father died in January 1954.

Sister Eleanor had been studying during the summers, and earned a master’s degree in Latin from De Paul University that she received in 1956. She was given teaching assignments for several summers after that, including a summer in the Bahamas. On two occasions, she served as driver on two Jubilee trips to Canada. She wrote, “I have fond memories of three trips to Ireland with my sister, Sister Mary, and Sister Mary Reilly. We visited some of our Dineen relatives and traveled all over.” She remembered that her sister Jean accompanied them once, and that they had a great time.

In 1961 she was assigned to St. Agatha High School in Detroit where she taught religion, Latin, English, and mathematics for four years, after which she taught Latin and drafting at Benedictine High School for a year. Assigned to St. Paul in Owosso, she served as teaching principal on the high school level for four years and as full-time principal for 1970-71. St. Paul School closed in 1971.

The year 1971 was also the beginning of her twenty-seven years in West Palm Beach, Florida. She began work on a Certificate in Occupational Therapy (COTA) at Palm Beach Junior College in Lake Worth, and supported herself by working at Maurawood Residence in West Palm Beach, a Home for Unwed Mothers. “I met and worked with Sister Therese Haggerty [a Good Shepherd Sister], who later transferred to our community.” Sister Eleanor spent six years at Maurawood. During that time she received an Associate Degree in Science from Palm Beach Junior College in 1974, and was certified as an occupational therapy assistant. At the wake Sister Therese said:

I jumped at the chance to have another sister working in the maternity home, so I hired her immediately. Sister Eleanor was a wonderful community member, and worked extremely well with the pregnant girls. Many times in the middle of the night she took them to the hospital to deliver their babies. She was kind, generous, and very caring of all the people that she met. On one occasion both of us assisted a young girl to deliver her baby in the residence. . . We also assisted one of the dogs to have her puppies, and that also was a special time as we know how much she loved her dogs.

She always let me read all the communications that came from Adrian, and I became very much interested in the Adrian Dominicans. . . . I credit Sister Eleanor for leading me to the Congregation, so I asked her to be my witness at profession. We have been good friends over the years and visited each other often. I will miss her very much.

Jane Smith, a nurse at Maurawood, wrote:

Sister Eleanor was especially good at talking to the unwed fathers as they came to visit their girlfriends. Some had horrible attitudes and were arrogant and rude. But Sister Eleanor had her own brand of magic for these unknowing rascals. They never knew what hit them, but they left the premises with a great many things to ponder in the days ahead.

Over the years I have been in touch with several of the Maurawood “Alumnae” and every one of them has wonderful memories about the many ways that Sister Eleanor offered them unconditional love and comfort during this very difficult time in their lives.

She was a gentle giant. When I reflect about her qualities, her humility and respect for others and her unselfishness immediately come to mind. Of course, I cannot forget to mention her great love for animals. I can still picture Sister Eleanor entering the residence with both of her precious dogs, one under each arm, as she lovingly and gently brought them in from their walk.

Sister Eleanor left Maurawood in 1977 and became Activities Director at Darcy Hall Nursing Home, where she served for two years. In 1979 she became occupational therapist assistant at Palm Beach County Home, a position that she held for thirteen years. She retired in 1992, and volunteered her time at the VA (Veterans Administration) Hospital in Riviera Beach, Florida. She wrote:

Because we lived so many years in Florida, it gave my family and relatives a chance to take short winter vacations with us, mostly during Christmas time. They could leave the cold and ice for a while. It was always nice to have them come.

In her autobiography, she wrote that she lived with Sister Mary and Sister Mary Reilly for over twenty years, and that they all moved north in 1998 when Sister Mary Reilly became ill. She moved into Maria, and since the Dougherty sisters had a dog, they rented an apartment in Tecumseh. They moved into Regina Residence, Adrian, in 2000.

Shortly after Sister Eleanor was diagnosed with cancer, she and Sister Mary moved into the Dominican Life Center/Maria in February 2009. There death came to Sister Eleanor on April 1, 2009.

A wake-remembrance service was held for Sister Eleanor on April 2 in St. Catherine Chapel. Several members of her family were present: her sisters, Sister Mary, Rita, Jean and her husband Bernard; her brother Jack and his wife Barbara; several cousins, and her many Dominican friends. Sister Mary Ellen Youngblood, Prioress of the Adrian Crossroads Mission Chapter, welcomed them, extended sympathy, and summarized Sister Eleanor’s life and ministry.

She was very reflective and quiet about her illness, and yet she stopped in my office often to sit and talk about what was happening in and to her life. She . . . regretted the obvious outcome of the illness because she had planned to do more to help and assist. . . . By this time she was the noontime and break substitute at the main switchboard in Madden Hall and she was the camera operator at so many events in St. Catherine Chapel and the Rose Room. Wherever there was a need, Sister Eleanor entered in.

Sister Eleanor began with Hospice, and she became acquainted with yet another segment of people with whom she quietly related.

Sister Audrey Hull went to the podium to praise her friend.

I was privileged to enjoy Sister Eleanor’s friendship. We shared laughter and tears for years. Fortunately, there were more of the former than of the latter. Her life was devoted to service. She quickly recognized a need and moved to assist.

We shared some work places. There I learned how deeply she was appreciated as a religious—one dedicated to prayer and good works. The people she served loved her. She will be greatly missed.

Rita Dougherty, Sister Eleanor’s younger sister, said:

Although Eleanor was very quiet, she had a very strong sense of humor. When I was a postulant, she was a black veil, and she studied for a semester. One time they were showing a movie, “The Five Sullivans.” In the movie they were out walking and someone got behind and yelled, “Hey, wait for me!”

One day Eleanor was walking down De Pro Hall [the lower level of Madden Hall]. She was by herself, and she saw three sisters in front of her. She yelled, “Hey, wait for me!” She was really chagrined when she saw that one of the sisters in front of her was Sister Mary Philip Ryan, the Novice Mistress. Sister Mary Philip turned around and said, “Yes, Sister, we’ll wait for you.” I think it was a nice surprise for Sister Mary Philip to hear this quiet person yelling down the hall.

Sister Eleanor’s sister, Sister Mary Dougherty, remembered:

In 1971 Sister Eleanor and I went on a trip out West with Sister Mary Reilly. We left Adrian, drove to Albuquerque, and then to San Francisco. We stayed with the nuns at O’Dowd in Oakland. One day Sister Katharine Emery took us to Monterey, the wine-tasting country. Both Eleanor and I are teetotalers. We were looking in all the shops, and suddenly Eleanor was gone. We went looking for her, and when we found her she was leaning over a counter tasting the wine. She was a great person to live with. She’s going to be a great loss to me!

Wafa Mualla, a nurse at Hickman Cancer Center in Adrian, where Sister Eleanor was a patient for a time, said:

I’ve known Sister Eleanor for quite a long time. She always brought a smile and lightened my day. She would always ask how I was and how my mom was. She always wanted to help someone, even though she herself needed help. She touched my heart.

She gave me a pin that I treasure, and I am wearing it here now. She was a very special person, and I loved her.

Father Peter Dougherty, Sister Eleanor’s cousin, was the presider and homilist at Sister Eleanor’s funeral liturgy on April 3. The Gospel reading was of Christ the Good Shepherd, and Father spoke of Sister Eleanor as shepherding the people among whom she worked.

He emphasized that “nothing could separate her from the love of Christ.” She is now safe and happy within Our Lord’s loving embrace.