Age 80
A woman of deep faith, Sister Mary Catherine was a dedicated professional known for her precision and strong work ethic.
Born in Alpena, Michigan, Catherine Rose Sobeck was the only daughter of five children. After graduating high school she entered the Sisters of Mercy at the age of 18 in Detroit, Michigan. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Mercy College of Detroit in Michigan and a master’s degree in mathematics from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
After teaching elementary school in Michigan for seven years, Catherine became principal for seven years and administrator for two years at St. Casimir School in Posen, Michigan. Next, she served as the provincial treasurer for four years and worked in the business office of the former Detroit Regional Community. At Mercy Life Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, she drove disabled and elderly sisters. Having been an excellent math teacher, she later volunteered for years at Mercy Education Project in Detroit using her love of math to tutor both girls and women.
Catherine loved sports and animals. She often cared for the cats or dogs of sisters or friends of the community. An avid sports fan, she warned friends not to call her during “her games.” She suffered several cancers and other physical challenges in the last decades of her life, but she would say to friends, “I talked to the Lord today and said I don’t want to die yet.” During the last days of January, God and Catherine must have had a different conversation.