Sister Marita-Constance Supan, IHM, 79, died Monday, April 21, 2025, surrounded by her IHM family.
Sister Marita-Constance was the daughter of Robert and Mary (Gregory) Supan, born July 31, 1945, in Norfolk, Virginia. At the time of her birth, her father served in the armed service and was enroute to the beaches of Normandy. Marita Constance graduated from Norfolk Catholic High School in 1963 and entered religious life with the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Immaculata, Pennsylvania. Following her call to religious life, she transferred her religious commitment to the IHM Sisters of Monroe in 1985.
Once established in her new community, Sister Connie, as she was known, set out to be a servant for others through her commitment to adult education, advocacy and providing sanctuary for women and children. This ministry brought her to the Monroe County Jail, the Women’s and Children’s Sanctuary (Detroit), and for many years as a psychologist with Gateway Counseling Center (Detroit), The Healing Place (Dearborn Heights), and in private practice.
She resided in Detroit, where much of her neighborhood activism and advocacy ministry took place. Sister Connie’s skills and talents were wide-ranging and fulfilling, from coordinating therapy programs and historical writing to creating and performing a one-woman play entitled “A Legacy of Liberation,” based on the life of IHM co-founder Theresa Maxis.
A serious car accident impacted her longtime residency in the Detroit community. Eventually, it led her to relocate to Monroe, first at Norman Towers, and then with her communal sisters who tended to her health concerns.
Sister Marita-Constance is survived by siblings Michael W. Supan, Rose E. Supan and sister-in-law Celia Clark and her IHM Sisters.
Read Sister Connie’s Remembering here.