Sister Ellen M. Murphy
1923-2008
Sister Ellen Murphy ended her autobiography with this statement:
I thank God for my long life, originating in my loving family and spent among good people and dear, dear friends all through the years. God has given me so much and I hope I’ve used it all to His liking.
She was one of three daughters born to William and Mary (Gradel) Murphy: Helen, Mary Ellen, and Rita Anne. Rita, the future Sister Ellen, entered the family on October 5, 1923. Both parents were from the Toledo, Ohio, area, and were older when married. William Murphy was a salesman, selling paper for the Ohio Paper Company, and he made a good living for his family, even during the Great Depression years. Among his customers were the Dominican Sisters in Adrian, whom he respected and admired.
Sister Ellen wrote of the happy home life that she and her sisters enjoyed, the good times they had when the Irish Murphys all got together, and their closeness to their parents and relatives. She wrote that Grandmother Murphy was a wonderful baker, and that on Saturdays they would all gather at her house to feast on her tasty baked goods. The Murphy daughters loved their Grandmother Gradel, who lived with them. She spoke only German, and her granddaughters learned to speak and understand that language a bit, but did not continue after their grandmother’s death. Sister Ellen wrote, “I always regret not continuing that.”
Rita and her sisters attended Sacred Heart Grade School in Toledo, taught by the Notre Dame Sisters. Sister Ellen wrote, “I had two cousins in that community and we visited them often and got to know them quite well.” Her father was not happy with the education provided by the Toledo high schools, however, so he sent all of his daughters, as they came of age, to St. Joseph Academy in Adrian. “We were boarders. My father would come and pick us up for the weekend and bring us back on Monday morning in time for classes. That worked out just fine.” They spent the breaks and summer vacations at home, and their father would get them temporary jobs at the paper company. “How he managed to pay boarding school tuition for three girls—during the Depression—I’ll never know, but he did it with love and pride.” When her older sisters graduated and found work, they contributed their entire paychecks to help with family finances.
Rita graduated from the Academy in June 1941, and soon decided to enter the Congregation. Her mother was proud and happy, and helped her get ready. Her father, however, was a bit unhappy. She was the youngest, and he wanted to keep her at home for a few more years. He, however, drove her to Adrian on June 29, 1941, when she entered the postulate.
With her group, she received the habit and her religious name on December 30, 1941, and began her novitiate year that ended in profession of first vows on December 31, 1942. Almost immediately she was on the train for Chicago, where she taught at St. Nicholas of Tolentine School, at first primary grades, then middle grades, and finally junior high. During her last year there, she lost her father. In 1947 she was assigned to St. Patrick in Miami Beach, Florida, with middle grade students. During the summers she studied at Barry College (now University) in Miami, and in July 1949 the College awarded her a Bachelor’s Degree with a major in Latin and minors in English, secretarial science, and philosophy.
She returned to Chicago in 1952, again at St. Nicholas of Tolentine, this time as superior and principal. Sister Anthonita Porta was one of the teachers on her staff. At the wake, Sister Anthonita shared some remembrances:
She noticed that I wore a bathrobe issued from the wardrobe in Adrian that was extremely worn and about three sizes too large. One Friday after school, she went shopping and upon her return to the convent she invited me to her office. She handed me a beautiful, brand new robe that was my correct size… I have never forgotten her act of kindness.
Sister Anthonita also told a humorous story. She was in charge of the community room and worried about how to polish the big table. Given the idea of using the floor burnisher, she got assistance to lift it up on the table, took off her shoes, climbed up on the table, and managed to polish it beautifully. Sister Ellen came into the community room and saw her on the table. Shocked and a bit frightened, Sister Ellen ordered her off the table immediately. This story was also included in Sister Ellen’s autobiography.
In 1956, as a result of summer study, Sister Ellen earned a Master’s Degree in Latin from Loyola University. After six years of successful administration, she was again assigned to Florida—this time on the high school level. For three years she taught religion, Latin, and typewriting at Central Catholic High School in Fort Lauderdale. There one of her students was Brian Piccolo, who became the Chicago Bears football star and who died of cancer at an early age. His life was the subject of the movie “Brian’s Song.” She then spent two years at Cardinal Newman High School in West Palm Beach, teaching religion and Latin. She returned to the Midwest in 1963, and taught for three years at Dominican High School in Detroit.
In 1966 she was elected Provincial in the Detroit area, during which time she was known as Mother Ellen Marie, and served as superior to several hundred sisters in New York, Ohio, and Michigan. In 1969 her mother’s death again brought a period of sadness into her life.
The 1970s began a time when sisters were no longer assigned, but were able to find their own ministries. When Sister Ellen’s term as Provincial ended in 1970, she registered at the University of Dayton in Dayton, Ohio, a college run by the Marianist Fathers, and received a second Master’s Degree, this time in education, with a major in guidance and counseling. She was surprised and delighted when she was invited to serve as an intern in the office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “I quickly accepted the invitation!” This began a twenty-six-year association with the University of Dayton as an administrator. In her autobiography, she wrote of the friendships she made there, and of the outstanding faculty, staff, and students with whom she was associated. She wrote that at first her intention was to earn a doctoral degree. All arrangements had been made, but she decided against it when she realized that it would take time away from the work she was doing at the University.
She also wrote of three memorable trips that she was privileged to take.
The first was when I was invited by a wealthy layman to accompany his wife and daughter on a fabulous trip—all expenses paid. We traveled for sixty days and visited seventeen countries, including South Africa … Sister Julie Burns went along as my Dominican companion. [The trip was publicized on an entire page of the Palm Beach Times of November 17, 1967.] Then a few years later I went to Rome a second time to see the installation of some new Cardinals, including a Detroit bishop. This was during the time I was Provincial in Detroit. Finally, I went on a trip with the Friendship Force of Dayton. We were gone ten days and went to Russia, Auschwitz, and several more fascinating places. On this trip, our mission was to be global ambassadors.
She intended to retire in 1991, and was honored at a recognition dinner. It so happened, however, that an academic counselor/advisor was needed in the Communication Department, and she agreed to help in this capacity half-time. She held this position until her actual retirement.
In January 1996 the University conferred on her and Herbert W. Martin, DA, the Lackner Award, an award named in honor of Brother Elmer Lackner, who died in 1984, who had served at the University of Dayton for forty-five years, and who had been affectionately known as “Mr. UD.” This award is given every year to a member of the UD faculty or staff who has made “a noteworthy contribution to the Catholic or Marianist character of the University.” Shortly before she received the award, a page in the Campus Report for January publicized and described her ministry at the University as the advisor of 100 students, “no small feat.”
She finally retired and left the University in 1997, but remained in her “comfortable apartment” in Dayton. “I had time to savor a more relaxing lifestyle, free to sleep late or sit on my tiny patio watching the river flow by at the bottom of my little backyard. Life was very good.”
In 1998 she moved back to Adrian, and found a small apartment not far from the Adrian campus. She lived there for three years, until the “flight of entrance stairs and heavy entrance doors” became hard for her to manage. She then, in June 2001, moved into the Regina Residence of the Dominican Life Center. In 2004 and 2006, she accompanied one of her former students on two trips to Dayton, where she was delighted to see and spend time with some of her Dayton friends. In October 2007 her health was such that she felt that she needed the care provided in the Maria Building. She remained there until her death on March 1, 2008, at the age of eighty-four.
Sister Ellen’s wake-remembrance service was held on March 4 in St. Catherine Chapel. Many grand-nieces and –nephews were present. Sister Mary Sue Kennedy, Prioress of Adrian Crossroads Mission Chapter, opened the service and extended the Congregation’s sympathy. She summarized Sister Ellen’s life and ministry, and added:
Just one week before Sister Ellen died, her friend and former student from St. Nicholas in Chicago, Audrey Rudofski, brought her completed autobiography to her. Audrey had gotten Sister Ellen’s life story from her, pulled it all together, and compiled it into a beautifully completed manuscript. When I arrived to visit with Sister Ellen on Sunday, she told me about the signing party that had taken place the day before, and was excited and relieved that this was now done.
In 2001 Sister Ellen found that it was time to move to the Dominican Life Center, moving into an apartment in the Regina building where she lived until last August. Her diabetes was getting the better of her and her heart was not strong. It was time to receive the wonderful care offered at Maria Health Care Center. This was not an easy transition for her. It was hard to be dependent, but her eyesight was also failing and she could no longer drive or care for herself in the way that she had.
Over the months, her health fairly rapidly deteriorated. She had expressed the desire to have Hospice a part of her final days, and Hospice of Lenawee entered the picture just a few short days before her death.
David Young had been one of Sister Ellen’s primary students at St. Nicholas School, and he spoke of the deep impression that she made on him.
Sister Patricia Spangler was also one of Sister Ellen’s students, but in sixth and seventh grades. “Because of her creativity, I began to think that I wanted to be a teacher and form young people, like her.”
Audrey Rudofski was also Sister Ellen’s student in sixth and seventh grades. She said:
I lost track of her when I was in college, after I graduated, was teaching, and after I was married and had five children. During that time she was in Detroit and my family and I were living in one of Detroit’s suburbs. Eventually, we got in touch again, and when she went to Dayton we became close. My job took me there occasionally. I’d have breakfast with her, and sometimes we’d go out to dinner.
Over the years, she’d mention the life story that she had to write. When she moved back to Adrian, this began to really bother her. I told her I’d help her, we talked, I gave her some ideas, and began to write her story… In early February she started asking me how it was going. About the middle of February, she said, “I think we should get it together.” So I got busy making copies, binding, etc. Talk about just on-time delivery!
Sister Patricia McCarty, previous Director of Development, said:
About thirty years ago I met Sister Ellen through a mutual friend… I came to know and appreciate her as I traveled in the Cincinnati and Dayton area visiting benefactors. Sister Ellen was very hospitable, and so I frequented her bed and breakfast often. What I will remember most about her will be the gift of her hospitality, her fierce determination, and her deep love of her family.
Sister Ellen’s niece, Marilyn Ryan Errington, and her nephew, Jerry Ryan, were unable to attend the wake, but remembrances from them were read.
Marilyn wrote of how the nieces and nephews looked forward to their aunt’s home visit every three years. While the women of the family prepared the big meal, the young ones were amused by Sister Ellen and her companion. When they became adults, they got to know her better as she attended weddings, showers, baptisms, and holiday gatherings. “When family members followed Grandma into eternal life, Aunt Rita became the matriarch of our clan… Our overseer and pipeline of prayers has been Aunt Rita.”
Although he had never actually been in her classroom, Jerry described Sister Ellen as the most influential teacher he had ever encountered. He wrote of her visits, and of her influence, guidance, and wisdom. “As we accumulated kids and grandkids, she was always interested in their activities and well being… Over the past sixty-plus years, our visits and phone calls have not been frequent enough, but they’ve always been meaningful and memorable.”
Sister Ellen’s funeral liturgy was celebrated on March 5. Father Roland Calvert, OSFS, was the presider and homilist. Father reminded the assembly that Sister Ellen, the good and faithful servant of God, has now come into her inheritance. She is with her loving God forever.