Age 86
Sister Mary Ann’s diversity of gifts included social outreach, convent administration and years of community leadership.
After attending Mount Saint Mary Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, for elementary and high school, she entered the Sisters of Mercy at the age of 18 in St. Louis, Missouri. She earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and certification in secondary education from Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and a master’s degree in administration from Notre Dame University in South Bend, Indiana. She was also certified in Louisiana as an elementary/secondary administrator and later earned a master’s degree in religious studies from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
She taught for 13 years in the St. Louis, Missouri, Little Rock, Arkansas, and New Orleans, Louisiana dioceses, including four years at her alma mater, Mount Saint Mary’s in Little Rock, Arkansas. She ministered as principal at St. Alphonsus School for two years and at Mercy Academy for four years, both in New Orleans.
At the collegiate level, she served as president of Mercy Junior College in St. Louis during the time it merged with Maryville College (now University). For ten years she served as an administrator at Mercy Center in St. Louis, Missouri, and for six years she was a member of the leadership team of the former St. Louis Regional Community.
In 1997, Sister Mary Ann assumed administrative responsibilities as director of the newly established Catherine’s House Ministry for women in Little Rock, Arkansas, which continues to thrive today. She retired to Catherine McAuley Convent in Barling, Arkansas, in 2019 until its closure in 2021. At that time, she transitioned to Catherine’s Residence in Frontenac, Missouri.