SISTER MARION MICHALAK
1932-2007

Sister Roseen Maier described Sister Marion Michalak as “unique, different,” one whom the song, “I Did It My Way,” portrayed.

Sister Marion was imaginative and creative. She played the harmonica, learned calligraphy, and made cards for her friends. She liked to write, and composed much poetry. A few selected lines from one of her poems illustrate her talent.

How important are the rains!
Drought without the rain,
Earth shrivels, plants disappear, animals vanish,
My tears of anguish are the rains,
My tears of joy bring the rains...

Teach me to dance in the rain
As I did as a child.
But for sure these older bones
Need the sun to chase gloom,
To unburden, set free creativity.

Marion was the daughter of Thomas and Stella (Wagner) Michalak. She was born in Detroit on October 14, 1932, and was followed by a brother (Thomas) three years later. Both parents were Michigan natives, Thomas Michalak from Wyandotte and Stella Wagner from Romulus. His work in a Detroit factory enabled him to support his small family well.

Marion’s birth was difficult for her mother. Thomas Michalak paced the hospital waiting room and promised God that if things went well he would encourage this coming child to enter the service of the Church. Stella had two aunts who were Adrian Dominicans, Sisters Dionysius and Doloretta Wagner; and on a visit Marion, three years old, informed them that she would be one of them someday. Her father obviously kept his promise to God. The Michalaks were a devoted couple. Sister Marion wrote that her father and mother embraced every morning as her father left for work.

When Marion was six years old and Thomas three, their mother died. The father knew that he could not raise two small children by himself, so he sent them to live with his parents, Peter and Frances Michalak, in Wyandotte. Marion looked upon her grandmother as her foster mother. The father visited them every Sunday, and it became a day of enjoyment for him and his children. Sister Marion wrote that her grandparents’ house was “a sacred place,” home not only to her and her brother, but to nine aunts and uncles. As time went on, the aunts and uncles, one by one, took their leave. Later, Marion and Thomas enjoyed frequent visits from their cousins.

The two Michalak youngsters attended St. Patrick School in Wyandotte. Marion had become quite a tomboy, and when it was time for high school her father took her to Adrian and registered her at St. Joseph Academy, hoping that the sisters would help her to be more ladylike. He was, no doubt, also remembering his promise to God. Marion cherished her years at the Academy, loved and esteemed the sisters who taught her, and graduated in June 1950.

Shortly after graduation, on June 25, she entered the postulate. On December 27 she received the habit and her religious name, Sister Thomasella, a combination of the names of her parents and her brother. With her group, she professed her first vows on December 28, 1951.

Within a short time she was in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, teaching primary children at St. Agnes School in Iron River. Sister Lila Watt, a member of her crowd remembered:

After we made profession, she and I were among the four who went to the Upper Peninsula. She went to Iron River. A little later I, also, went to Iron River. I enjoyed her so much. Sometimes there were difficulties. She was athletic, but there was no basketball court or place for athletics. That wasn’t a problem for her. She could still run around with a ball.

We lived in an old house that was beginning to feel its age. One time she went up into the attic to get something. The floor of the attic had never been finished, and there were just a few boards that you had to be careful to step on. You had to be careful to keep your balance because if you lost your balance your leg went between the boards, and the sisters below might see your leg coming through the ceiling. But Marion kept her balance.

During the summers Sister Marion studied at Siena Heights College (now University) in Adrian, and in 1958 the college awarded her a bachelor’s degree with a major in English and minors in German and history. She continued teaching in Iron River until 1960, when she was assigned to the middle grades at St. Ambrose in Detroit. A year later she was sent to California, where she taught in the middle and junior high grades at St. Louis Bertrand in Oakland for three years.

She returned to Michigan in 1964, and for the next two years taught in the middle grades at St. Thomas Aquinas in East Lansing, then became superior and principal at St. Mary in Pinckney. In 1970 she took a teaching position at Daniel O’Sullivan School in Flint, and beginning with 1971 returned as a teacher to her alma mater, St. Joseph Academy in Adrian. Also in 1971, as a result of summer study, she received a master’s degree in education from Siena Heights College

In 1974 she left the classroom and served as a pastoral minister at Immaculate Conception Parish in Milan for five years. At the wake Sister Marcine Klemm said:

The more I got to know Sister Marion, the more I often thought of that song, “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?”

Sister Marion had a freedom of spirit. She could communicate with people who were poor, lonely, and suffering. She could help them in tough situations in life and be comfortable with that. . . . When she was missioned in Milan and worked in the parish there, she became involved with the people, and even some at the prison there. She offered hospitality to people visiting the prisoners. . . . I thought to myself, “Could I do that?” I don’t know if I could. But she had ease in doing it.

Sister Marion had been taking courses in religion, and in 1975 the Diocese of Lansing awarded her a certificate in catechist formation.

It was during these years that she and Sister Gail Singel became friends and ministered together at various times. In 1979 they traveled to Alaska, and became pastoral ministers at St. Joseph Parish in Nome. The weather did not agree with them, however, and their ministry lasted only a year. They returned to Michigan, and Sister Marion became Religious Education Coordinator at St. Irene in Dundee for three years. Then she and Sister Gail served in that capacity at St. Ann in Lansing for six years. They spent August to November of one year on a trip to the Holy Land.

Sister Marion traveled to New Mexico in 1989, and took charge of the religious education program at San Juan Baptista on San Juan Pueblo. A year later, she moved to Villa St. John Vianney in Downington, Pennsylvania, where she remained in residence until March 1991.

She returned to Adrian and served as a driver and teacher aide at St. Joseph Academy for the balance of 1991. In October 1991 she took a position at Lyon Home in Northville, serving in the home health care ministry. Three years later she and Sister Gail became ministers at Our Lady of Victory in Northville. When they left, they were highly praised in the church bulletin by Chet Adams.

Sister Gail, although valiantly carrying a heavy cross, showed us what courage, patience, and resignation to the will of God is all about. . . . Sister Marion, the friendliest nun alive, was always there, helping Sister Gail carry her cross. . . . [Sister Marion] organized and coordinated the youth group. They are most grateful for her leadership and motivation. . . . The children of our parish admired and adored Sisters Marion and Gail and looked up to them as models to emulate.

I am personally indebted to them for the help and inspiration they gave me in my ministry and efforts to have Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks, canonized a saint. It was truly providential how we met and established a beautiful, holy relationship. The Archdiocesan Blessed Kateri Circle and Native American Ministry offer Masses at All Saints Church in Southwest Detroit. I was walking to the church carrying a banner when I heard someone calling my name from a car. It was Sister Gail. She and Sister Marion saw an announcement in the Michigan Catholic about the Mass. They were surprised with my involvement in Kateri’s cause. Since then, they have been a tremendous help and inspiration in my writings and activities.

In 1996 Sisters Marion and Sister Gail took up residence at Dominican Oaks in Santa Cruz, California. Sister Marion served as a caregiver and chaplain for the Santa Cruz Catholic Daughters of America. Sister Gail’s health was failing rapidly, and Sister Marion also took care of her. At the wake Joseph Vervelte spoke. His father had been in Sister Marion’s third grade class in Iron River, and kept in touch with her.

I was in the Navy and transferred to California, where she was ministering in Santa Cruz. My dad came down to see me, and we went to see her. That’s how I met her. After that, I visited her often, and we became close. It almost seemed to me that she was my “adopted mother.” She was incredible! She lived her life in Christ’s image—the most loving, unjudgmental person I’ve ever met.

A story: I had offered to take her up in a small plane, and she was thrilled. We talked about it for a while, and she was looking forward to it. On the day when I flew in to give her the ride, to my surprise there were two young boys and their parents. She said, “I would like you to take these boys instead of me. It would mean the world to them.” She had so looked forward to going up in the plane, and yet she was willing to give it up. I took the boys up, but when I got back I took her up.

In 2000, Sister Gail returned to Adrian. Her death in 2001 was a source of grief to Sister Marion. Diagnosed with cancer and with only about a year left to live, in March 2006 Sister Marion also returned to Adrian. At the wake, Sister Magdalena Ezoe shared a story.

I teach music at Siena Heights University. Last semester she audited one of my classes. It was a class in music appreciation—how to listen to music. . . . She enjoyed the section on Chopin because she was Polish. So she wrote a Haiku for him.

      Fingers speak Chopin
      Nocturrnes, mazurkas, polonaise,
      Heart language embraced.

Sister Marion joined Sister Gail in eternity on April 4, 2007, during Holy Week.

Her wake-remembrance service was held on April 10 in Holy Rosary Chapel. Sister Mary Sue Kennedy, Prioress of Adrian Crossroads Mission Chapter, opened the service and extended the Congregation’s sympathy to Sister Marion’s brother and his wife, who were not able to be present;  to her great-nieces and cousins; to Justin Vervelte, whom she considered her “adopted son”; and to her many Dominican friends. Among Sister Mary Sue’s remarks were:

Sister Marion told me that she was going to live out her days to the fullest. And, indeed, she did! Cancer was taking its toll on her, but she was still living as she had wanted. She would often tell us that she was getting better, denying what the disease was doing to her body. . . . Prayer was integral to these days, and her relationship with the Divine grew.

On Wednesday [April 4] it seemed as if a sense of relief washed over her. She no longer had to fight for her life—she knew her new life was about to begin. Many whom she had loved dearly were waiting for her. . . . When I mentioned that she would soon be joining Sister Gail a big smile came over her face, even though she had been fairly unresponsive for a few hours.

Sister Roseen Maier, who lived with Sisters Marion and Gail at Dominican Oaks, sent a fax. She wrote in part:

Here at Dominican Oaks she was especially loved because she reached out to everyone with gentleness, concern, and with her happy attitude. Her attention and care of Sister Gail Singel for several years was an act of devotion.

Sister Marion was creative in so many ways. . . . I think every resident received a birthday card. A member of her Mission Group mentioned how she presented varied ways of praising God in prayer. She loved having a good time. . . . She had great devotion to Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.

The funeral liturgy for Sister Marion took place on April 11, also in Holy Rosary Chapel. Father Roland Calvert, OSFS, was the presider and homilist. As part of his homily, he said:

One of the consistent words used in describing Sister Marion was “love.” She loved her family, her teachers, her friends, her ministry. She loved music, . . . table tennis, Las Vegas, basketball, and a host of other things. Perhaps it would be simplest to say that she loved life. She was one of those lucky people who had what is called “joy in living,” joie de vivre. She had a remarkable capacity for friendship, and was noted for her deep spirituality.

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