1989
Name: Sister Rose Ange Leddy, IHM
School: Christ the King (Detroit)
Memory: I have been looking for Sister Rose Ange since my senior year at St. Agatha. She was my math teacher at CK, and also homeroom and math at St. Agatha. She was the hardest, pushiest math teacher ever. But she was the best and she never let me give up. She left very suddenly before our graduation. I was very sad. Sister Rose Ange, I love you and I thank you for pushing me. My time at CK was the best because you loved us.
Submitted by: Karen Burns
1987
Name: Sister Marian (Ann Charles) Rollison (deceased)
Parish: St. William (Naples, Fla.)
Memory: We met dearest Sister Marian at St. William Parish. She was a guiding light to us! A gentle spirit. We loved her so. She renewed our spirit many times, even after she moved away. May God bless you all as you love and serve his people in his quiet joy.
Submitted by: Gene and Maggie Nara, Naples, Fla.
1985
Name: Sister Maura Morrissey, IHM (deceased)
School: Holy Redeemer (Detroit)
Memory: What a wonderful life! What faithful service! I taught at Holy Redeemer in the 1980s and benefitted greatly from Sister Maura’s leadership and that of all of the IHM Sisters. One of the things that impressed me most was how such an effective principal could run a school out of the pockets of her sweater! Her office was nearly empty but she seemed to know each student’s record, their family needs, the school budget, etc. Rest in peace, Sister Maura.
Submitted by: Dennis Deslippe
1984
Name: Sister Kate (Mary Eugene) Seidenwand, IHM (deceased), Sister Loretta (Vincent de Paul) Schroeder, IHM and Sister Joan (Gerardine) McGrath, IHM (deceased)
School: St. Mary of Redford (Detroit)
Memory: Dear Sisters, as a Christian, I have been asked many times, when I accepted Jesus into my heart and how I knew Jesus. I can never answer the question without talking about SMR, without talking about these blessed Sisters. I’m so blessed that as a little third-grader, God sent me to SMR. I tell others that I was taught to be kind, to forgive others and that Jesus loves me! I remembered all those Hail Mary prayers and The Lords Prayer. Thank you for that, years later when tragedy struck my family, I learned what it means to live out Thy Will Be Done. I’m confident each of you will receive your “well done thy good and faithful servant” from our Lord. I thank God for each of you!
Submitted by: Sandy Williams
1984
Name: Sister Kate (deceased), Sister Loretta and Sister Joan (deceased)
School: St. Mary of Redford (Detroit)
Memory: Dear Sisters, as a Christian, I have been asked many times, when I accepted Jesus
into my heart and how I knew Jesus. I can never answer the question without talking about SMR, without talking about these blessed Sisters. I’m so blessed that as a little 3rd grader, God sent me to SMR. I tell others that I was taught to be kind, to forgive others and that Jesus loves me! I remembered all those Hail Mary prayers & The Lords Prayer. Thank you for that, years later
when tragedy struck my family, I learned what it means to live out Thy Will Be Done. I’m confident each of you will receive your “well done thy good and faithful servant” from our Lord. I thank God for each of you!
Submitted by: Sandy Williams
1981
Name: Donna Marie Schroeder, IHM
School: St. Mary (Monroe, Mich.)
Memory: Sister Donna Marie was the directress on the third floor during my senior year at SMA. She always had a way of remaining centered even in the midst of the chaos produced by teenagers in angst. It wasn’t until my grandfather died that I understood her gift for touching a person’s heart. I remember like it was yesterday how she softly spoke the most beautiful words with great clarity of faith. Ever ince that day I looked at her with the eyes she helped to transform. It is sisters like her who have inspired the great affection I have always felt towards the IHM community. I hold them dear in my heart and it will never diminish.
Submitted by: Colleen Bellini
Name: Sister Eileen (Agnesine) Shaw, IHM, Sister Mary Anne (David Michael) Bilgen, IHM and Sister Carola (Frances Jane) Keffler, IHM
School: Holy Name (Birminghan, Mich.)
Memory: I remember when Sister Eileen got sick. We prayed for her every day and then we found out that she got worse and died. It was a very sad day. I was in the sixth grade when this happened. I remember Sister Mary Anne, also. She was a fair principal and went to Marian High School after she left Holy Name. Sister Carola Keffler was still the secretary when I visited the school in 1990, which was her last year. I had just returned from the seminary in Pennsylvania. These sisters were great assets to the school.
Submitted by: Michael Petroni
Note: Sister Eileen Shaw died May 21, 1979. Sister Mary Anne died May 26, 1993. Sister Carola Keffler is retired.
1980
Name: Sister Joan (Gerardine) McGrath, IHM
School: St. Mary of Redford (Detroit)
Memory: I had the honor of attending St. Mary’s from the first through eighth grade. Sister Joan was our principal. She was tough and formidable, yet an amazing role model for us all. Nearly 20 years later when my father passed away, imagine my family’s surprise when Sister Kate Siedenwand and Sister Joan McGrath came to the funeral home. It meant more than I can ever explain. Sister Joan was an amazing woman and leader of our school. She will be missed but now is at home. Rest in peace, dear sister.
Submitted by: The Vesnaugh Family
Note: Sister Joan died March 11, 2012