(1928-2025)

Sister Shirley Ann Cushing died on Friday, July 18, 2025, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian, Michigan. She was 97 years of age and in the 78th year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.

Sister Shirley was born in Detroit to Frank and Blanche (Réaume) Cushing. She graduated from St. Theresa High School in Detroit and received a bachelor’s degree in English from Siena Heights College (University), Adrian; a master’s degree in English from DePaul University, Chicago; and a master’s degree in religious education and a Doctor of Law degree, both from the University of Detroit (now University of Detroit Mercy).

Sister Shirley ministered in education for 20 years in Chicago and Oak Park, Illinois; Detroit, Michigan; Shaker Heights, Ohio; and Tokyo, Japan. She served three years as Postulant Mistress and three years as Juniorate Director for the Congregation. She served for one year as pastoral minister at St. Lawrence in Utica, Michigan, and seven years as the Adult Education Resource Director at St. Edmund in Warren, Michigan. 

Sister Shirley then served for seven years as a staff attorney in the senior unit for Lakeshore Legal Service, Inc. in Mount Clemens, Michigan, and seven years as the attorney manager for the legal program at Macomb County Department of Senior Services in Mount Clemens. She moved to the Dominican Life Center in 2021.

Sister Shirley was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers, William Cushing and Father Frank Cushing; and her sisters, Dorothy Cushing, Mary Blanche Trudeau, and Sister Virginia Cushing, also an Adrian Dominican Sister. She is survived by other loving family members and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Visitation will be held from 6:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in the gathering space of St. Catherine Chapel. The Vigil Prayer will be held at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in St. Catherine Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 24, 2025. Prayers of Committal will be held in the Congregation Cemetery. 

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Adrian.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

 

LEFT: 1945 graduate of St. Theresa High School, Detroit.  MIDDLE RIGHT: From left, siblings Sister Blanche Marie (Shirley) Cushing, Father Frank Cushing, and Sister William Francis (Virginia) Cushing. RIGHT: Sister Shirley prepares for her graduation from the University of Detroit Law School, May 13, 1984.

LEFT: From left, Sisters Anne Liam Lees, Shirley Cushing, Margaret Lane, and Arlene Kosmatka. RIGHT: Members of the 2016 Double-Diamond Jubilee Crowd are: back row, standing and sitting, from left, Sisters Sheila N. Flynn, Anne Bernadette Stein, Ann Romayne Fallon, Beverly McEachin, Patricia M. Martin, Shirley Ann Cushing, Joanne Patricia Gwizdala, Edith Kathleen Zemke, and Jean Fitzgerald, and front row, from left, Sisters Ann Patrice Remkus, Jean Irene McAllister, Winifred C. M. Lynch, Georgina Luznicky, and Marie Therese Emery.

LEFT: Sister Shirley visits a shop in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. MIDDLE LEFT: Sister Shirley stands in front of the Holy Cross Abbey, built in 1252 in Sligo, Ireland. MIDDLE RIGHT: Blood sisters Shirley (left) and Virginia Cushing. RIGHT: Sisters Shirley Cushing, left, and Virginia Cushing celebrate Christmas.

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