Norine (Francis Edward) Wholihan, IHM

Sister Norine Wholihan, IHM, 91, died Monday, July 9, in the IHM Senior Living Community, Monroe.

Sister Norine was one of four children, two boys and two girls, of Daniel and Doris (Mulligan) Wholihan. She was born in Detroit on Nov. 12, 1926, and given the name Norine Theresa. She attended elementary school at St. Cecilia and St. Francis de Sales, Detroit and St. Mary, Adrian. Her high school education was through St. Francis de Sales and St. Mary of Redford in Detroit. After graduation, she entered the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary July 2, 1945 and received the religious name Francis Edward.

Sister Norine began her higher education that same summer at Marygrove College in Detroit, eventually earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees there.

Spanning more than 50 years, her teaching ministry brought her to many Michigan elementary schools including St. Mary, Wayne; Our Lady of Good Counsel, St. Patrick and Gesu in Detroit; St. Stephen, Port Huron; St. Regis, Bloomfield Hills; Holy Name, Birmingham; and St. Mary, Mt. Morris. She also taught at Immaculate Heart of Mary High School, Westchester, Ill.; and Convento de la Merced, Cayey, and Santa Teresita, Santurce, Puerto Rico. During the last 10 years of her ministry, Sister Norine taught adult education at Franklin Adult Education Center in Detroit, and was a math tutor and continuing education instructor at Marygrove. In 2002, she retired to Gesu Convent, Detroit and then returned to the IHM Motherhouse in 2003, where she resided until her death. Several years after she retired, Sister Norine reflected on her educational ministry saying, “I have loved my vocation in our IHM community. I thank God each day for all the joys my life has been given. I have loved the children I’ve taught and pray for them each day.”

Sister Norine is survived by nieces, nephews and her sisters in community. She was preceded in death by her brothers, David and Robert, her sister, Paula (Justella), IHM, and her cousin, Jane Mary Howard, IHM.

Read her Remembering.