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July 13, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Children, parents, teachers, and school administrators from Detroit to Arizona and California have cause for gratitude as Sister Teresa Estrada, OP, turned 100 on July 2, 2026. Sister Teresa ministered as teacher, principal, colleague, and friend.  

In addition to celebrating her birthday this year, Sister Teresa was one of the Adrian Dominican Congregation’s Jubilarians; she marked 70 years as an Adrian Dominican Sister. 

Sister Teresa’s birthday was celebrated at the Adrian Dominican Motherhouse on July 2, 2026, with a special Mass, lunch, and a party, attended by Sisters, Associates, Co-workers, and friends. During the party, she received proclamations from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, State Senator Joseph Bellino, and State Representative Nancy Jenkins-Arno. 

“I’ve had a happy life,” Sister Terry said. “I still get letters from one of the teachers going back 40 or 50 years. I loved teaching children, and I thought it was a gift that God gave me. I tried to find the best way that I could help these children.” She also appreciated the parents and the opportunities to help the parents raise their children to be the best that they could be.

“I love what we did today,” Sister Teresa told her group of well-wishers. “I am filled with such joy for this celebration of my jubilee ... and my 100th birthday .... Thank you for the written and spoken messages of love, unity, and support, which I will hold in my heart forever.”

Born on July 2, 1926, in Pirtleville, Arizona, Sister Teresa was the daughter of Manuel and Maria (Rodriguez) Estrada. She entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation on June 26, 1956, and received her high school diploma from St. Joseph Academy in Adrian in 1958. She was received as a novice on December 27, 1956, taking on the religious name of Sister Marie Manuel. She professed her first vows on December 28, 1957, and her final (perpetual) vows on December 28, 1962.

Sister Teresa holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Siena Heights College (University), Adrian, and a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Arizona in Tucson.

After teaching at St. Philomena in Detroit from 1958 to 1962, Sister Teresa began her final years of ministry in the Southwest. She ministered in education for 30 years in Arizona: as a teacher at St. Anthony, Casa Grande, 1962-1968; as both teacher and principal at St. Joseph, Winslow, 1968-1974; and as a teacher at Santa Cruz Elementary, 1974-1987.

Sister Teresa spent the rest of her formal ministerial life serving at St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School in Tustin, California, as teacher from 1987 to 2007 and then as plant supervisor from 2007 to 2017. In 2018, she took on the role of altar server coordinator until 2021, continuing to serve the school in any way she could until 2022, when she retired and moved to the Dominican Life Center in Adrian.     

Sister Teresa also appreciated the Sisters she worked with and the leaders of the Adrian Dominican Congregation. “I have been blessed with religious women in leadership in the Adrian Dominicans and in the Little Company of Mary [founders of St. Jeanne de Lestonnac School], who have been remarkably supportive in all my ministries. I am grateful and humbled by the trust with which the parents have placed their children under my care,” she said.

Sister Teresa also influenced the Adrian Dominican Sisters who came to know her through the years. “I was influenced by her presence and her joy, always participating in whatever was going on and always coming prepared,” said Sister Lorraine Brennan, OP. “Her quiet prayerfulness was another influence. She would listen intently and if she had something to say, she would say it.” 

Sister Victoria Dalesandro, OP, has known Sister Teresa since Sister Victoria first entered the Congregation, when Sister Teresa was a Novice. “No matter where she went, she had good relationships with people. Even the nurses who take care of her right now, she calls them her students or her kids. I think her legacy is love – love of people. That’s what you pick up from Terry.”

Watch the video of Sister Teresa’s birthday celebration. 
 

Caption for above feature photo: Sister Sara Fairbanks, OP, standing right, Mission Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, offers a tribute to Sister Teresa Estrada, OP, seated left. Seated with her, from left, are her sister Salud “Sally” Estrada, ODN, and Sister Marie Luisa Vasquez, OP. Sister Patricia Leonard, OP, standing, right, is Chapter Prioress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter.