Sister Margaret Andrezik
1934-2008

Sister Margaret Andrezik, better known as Meg, was engaged in a ministry that few in the Congregation embraced. She was a practicing lawyer, respected by other lawyers and judges. Very much involved in justice issues, she was on fire to see them fairly resolved. It has been said that she never lost a case—high praise.

In his homily at Sister Margaret’s funeral, Father Roland Calvert, OSFS, said in part:

How ironic it is that we get to know people better after death than in life… At the time of death, we learn many things from the testimony of others that we had not heard before. The many people who spoke gratefully of Sister Meg’s life in the last few days have provided her real biography.

One of the nicest tributes to Sister was the comment that what you saw on the outside perfectly matched what was on the inside. A colloquial expression for that is “What you see is what you get!” The words that would express it are that she was a woman of integrity. She knew who she was and didn’t try to be something else. “She was a gentle and caring woman” was said of her, and that she was “a person of hope who cared deeply about others.” She was organized and determined in pursuing goals.

Margaret was the oldest of the five children, three daughters (Margaret, Barbara, and Madeline) and two sons (James and Joseph), born to Joseph and Marie (Huddas) Andrezik of Detroit. Joseph Andrezik was of Polish ancestry, and Marie Huddas came from a German heritage. Margaret was welcomed into the family on February 19, 1934.

She began her education at Holy Name Elementary School with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, and finished it at Assumption Grotto with the Sinsinawa Dominicans when the family moved into that parish. Her high school years were spent at St. Anthony High School with the Notre Dame Sisters, and she graduated in June 1951. Three years passed before she entered the Adrian Congregation, and during that time she worked as a secretary for the Veterans Administration.

On June 17, 1954, at the age of twenty, she appeared in Adrian and accepted the postulant’s veil. Her decision was prompted by her love and admiration for her Adrian Dominican aunt, Sister Clare Genevieve Huddas, OP, her mother’s sister, who influenced and inspired her.

Within a short time, Margaret was sent to St. Celestine School in Elmwood Park, Illinois, where she taught sixth grade for the first semester, supervised by an experienced teacher. She returned to Adrian for the Christmas break, and on December 30, 1954, she received the habit and her religious name (Sister Dennis Joseph). The required novitiate year followed. That year ended with profession of first vows on December 31, 1955. She finished the 1955-56 school year as a full-time student at Siena Heights College (now University).

Michigan was the site of Sister Margaret’s entire ministerial service. In 1956 she was assigned to St. Peter School in Harper Woods, where she taught first in the primary grades, then in the middle grades. Her summers had been spent studying at Siena Heights College, and in July 1961 the College awarded her a Bachelor’s Degree with a major in history and minors in English and secretarial science. She returned to Detroit in 1962 as a junior high teacher at St. Augustine School in Detroit, happy to be near her family. This assignment lasted for only a year, however.

In 1963 she began her high school ministry at St. Mary School in New Baltimore as a teacher of history and business subjects. She spent her summers studying at Siena Heights College, and in July 1967 she received a Master’s Degree in education. She returned to Detroit in 1968 as a teacher of history and government at Dominican High School for six years. The year 1974-75 was spent as a full-time graduate student at Wayne State University.

At the wake, Sister Margaret (Peg) O’Flynn said:

Mindful of the thrust toward justice in all facets of life, the General Chapter of 1974 proposed that the investments of the Congregation be evaluated in relation to Gospel social principles. Sister Meg was one of the six charter members appointed in 1975… Her commitment to social justice issues was always with her.

From 1975 to 1978, Sister Margaret served the Congregation in Central Services as Director of Placement. The Congregation had acquired some shares in Gulf & Western, and she was sent to the Dominican Republic where Gulf & Western was employing Haitian cane cutters. Upon visiting the cane cutters, she found that their conditions were very bad—they were living in shacks, had many children, and hunger was prevalent. She talked to the workers, listened to them, and became immersed in their problems.

In 1978 Sister Margaret was assigned as executive director of the PAB (Portfolio Advisory Board) with her office in Detroit. She became the contact person between the Congregation in Adrian and the sisters in the Dominican Republic. The information that she gave concerning the cane cutters’ situation enabled the Congregation to file a shareholder’s resolution at Gulf & Western, citing the poor working, living, and health conditions of their workers. In addition, she also found time in the evenings to teach adult outreach courses in the Detroit Cass Outreach Program.

Sister Mary Pat Dewey was working at GROUNDWORK at the time, and she and Sister Margaret became involved with attending General Motors shareholder meetings and filing shareholder’s resolutions. Sister Mary Pat wrote, “Many people were losing jobs as GM tore down factories. Sister Margaret also met with labor union people. She always worked with the grass roots people involved in the issues.” Also, Sister Margaret worked with other Michigan and Indiana Congregations in CCRIM (Committee for Corporate Responsibility of Indiana and Michigan). Her experience during these years may have been the catalyst that led her into the next phase of her life.

In 1981 she enrolled at the Detroit College of Law, and earned a doctorate with a major in law that she received in May 1985. Almost immediately she began a ministry at Lakeshore Legal Services, Inc., in Mount Clemens, that lasted until January 1994. For three months she served as a law clerk, then as a staff attorney, and finally as a supervising attorney. Sometime during these years she became ill, and was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer.

In January 1994 she became a supervising attorney with St. Clair County Legal Assistance based in Port Huron, and continued in this ministry until July 1999. On her annals sheet for 1998-99 she wrote that she served on the Board of the DARES (Domestic Assault/Rape Elimination Service) of St. Clair County. Her function was “to provide support and direction to the organization in its efforts to assist those who were victims of domestic/sexual assault.” She retired in 1999. In the fax that Sister Ester Kennedy sent to the wake, she wrote in part:

I recall reading the tribute given to her by the Judge of the Court in Port Huron when she retired from her legal ministry. Sister Meg was honored for the profound presence, integrity, and respect that she brought to the court room. She was commended for her excellent preparation and commitment to her clients.

Sister Margaret and her mother had been living together in Marysville, and after Sister Margaret’s retirement they continued living there for a time. In 2001 they moved to Sterling Heights, and in 2004, to Warren. Her mother was ill, and Sister Margaret cared for her until her mother’s death in 2004. During this time she herself also experienced illness when her cancer again surfaced, but again treatment helped her to recover.

During her retirement, Sister Margaret was not idle. In addition to caring for her mother, she ministered with the Neighbors Caring for Neighbors Clinic, helping to process the forms for free medications from drug companies. She also reviewed legal documents for Habitat for Humanity.

In January 2008, she arrived at the Maria Building of the Dominican Life Center for what she said was “just a week.” That week, however, was extended, since cancer had again attacked her. Death came to her two months later, on March 1, not quite two weeks after her seventy-fourth birthday.

Sister Margaret’s wake-remembrance service took place on March 5. Present were her sisters Barbara Kaiser and Madeline and Bob Gild, her brother Jim and Diane Andrezik, her aunt Sister Clare Genevieve Huddas, numerous nieces and nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews, and many Dominican friends.

Sister Margaret (Peg) O’Flynn, Prioress of Great Lakes Dominican Mission Chapter, opened the service. Sister Peg extended welcome and sympathy to those present, and summarized Sister Margaret’s life and ministry.

Her struggle with cancer was dealt with as she dealt with everything—quietly, with class and much determination. She was in control at all times and set the parameters for herself. Her most recent health crisis was a challenge for her. Her optimism and hope sustained many of us.

She was ever so grateful for our respecting her need for privacy, for assisting her with prayerful support and love.

In her fax, Sister Esther Kennedy wrote of the friendship between her and Sister Margaret.

Meg and I have been friends since we entered. The gift of friendship opened then and has continued these fifty-four years… Our friendship was marked by deep love and, when together, laughter came so easily. Meg had such a great sense of humor, clever, keen, and dry!

Bob Kaiser, Sister Margaret’s nephew, expressed the family’s appreciation for the care given to his aunt. “I’m going to miss her. She was always there for our family. We were always able to count on her.”

On the way over here tonight, I received a call from the Legal Aid Society. They were sorry to hear about Aunt Meg’s death. She was loved. They wanted me to say that they were grateful for her years of hard work. Everything she did was done well. They will miss her. And we will mss her.

Sister Margaret’s sister Madeline (Midge) Gild spoke of her sister as a devoted daughter, sister, and aunt. She described Sister’s beautiful relationship with their mother, and the wonderful care that Sister gave when their mother was ill. She also mentioned:

She loved gardening, too. I was in her apartment getting photos for tonight, and her neighbor from upstairs came down and started to talk about Meg’s garden. She won the prizes from the whole complex for her garden. She left something of herself there. Her garden will continue to bloom, and the people in her complex will remember her.

Sister Janice Brown, who belongs to a prayer group that also counted Sister Margaret among its members, spoke of how she valued Sister Margaret’s presence and the wisdom that she shared.

She actually was involved in the Dominican Literacy Center. There was a student that one of the tutors was helping, and when she couldn’t continue helping that student, Sister Meg took over… A piece of her lives on in that student who is able to take care of her children, work well, and who is a beautiful citizen of our country. So Sister Meg lives on in those she helped.

Deb Carter, an Associate, spoke for the Kaleidoscope Mission Group. She said in part:

She was intensely private, but we delighted in getting her to open up. She loved her family, and would tell us great stories about them… She was fiercely devoted to social justice and politics. She would get so upset over injustice that at times it would seem as though we could see smoke coming out of her ears! One of her favorite expressions was, “Oh, for God’s sake!” She was very neat and meticulous.

She was also a great cook. Some of us aren’t very good cooks. We took weekends cooking, and the weekend that she cooked, some of us who weren’t all that good would try to get on for cooking with her.

We celebrated birthdays and would find really hilarious cards. When she would open her card, she’d throw her head back and say, “Oh, for God’s sake!” She was faithful to the group. There were very few times that she missed a meeting.

Sister Margaret’s funeral liturgy was celebrated on March 6 with Father Roland Calvert, OSFS, as presider and homilist.

In the second reading we hear Paul speaking… “I have fought the good fight,” he says. “I have finished the race.” The words seemed appropriate as we recall the memory of Sister Margaret/Meg. She could certainly say that she “fought the good fight.”

Father reminded the assembly that Sister Margaret, who lived her life “for God’s sake,” is now with that God in eternity. She has taken a short cut and is celebrating Easter with the One in Whose honor that feast was established.