Maryknoll Sisters

Sister Marilyn Ingraham, M.M. celebrated her 70^th Jubilee on February 12th, 2017. Sister Marilyn Ingraham has been a Maryknoll Sister for nearly 70 years.  The seeds for her life of service were planted many years before that, however, while she was yet a teenager.

When Sister Marilyn was only 13, her mother died in childbirth, leaving her husband to care for their brood of 10 children by himself.  Sister Marilyn’s only sister, Jean, helped with the cooking.  A while later, while reading stories about the lives of the saints, Sister Marilyn began thinking about a religious vocation. She found their lives of doing good and helping others an inspiration and thought she might become a nun, but she wanted to be a nun who had fun.

Her vocation began to solidify when, as part of her high school religious studies, she read Maryknoll Magazine. Even though she had never met a Maryknoll sister, she decided to join.

Sister Marilyn’s novitiate began at the Venard, a farmhouse in Pennsylvania where the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers operated a junior seminary.  There she and other Maryknoll Sisters helped out by cooking and cleaning for the seminarians.

As the taking of her final vows at Maryknoll approached in 1953, Sister Marilyn began dreaming of being sent overseas to the Philippines, China or Japan.  God, apparently, had other plans, because for the next two years, she taught first and second grade children in St. Louis, MO.

Then, in 1954, her call to foreign mission came. She was headed not to Asia but to South America, where she taught elementary school children in Peru from 1959-1969, then taught developmentally disabled children in Bolvia from 1969-1971.

Sister Marilyn then returned to the United States, teaching in Hatch, NM from 1972-1973, in San Diego, CA, from 1973-1974, and in Brockton, MA, from 1974-1984.

Then it was back, albeit briefly, to Bolivia, where she served as coordinator of Casa Rosario, the Maryknoll Sisters House for a summer, before embarking on four years of teaching in the Providence, RI, public schools.  Later, she taught and tutored Hispanic children at Holy Trinity Parish, Brooklyn, NY, from 1992-1997, also helping some students with their immigration problems from time to time.

Sister Marilyn now resides with several other Maryknoll Sisters in Yonkers, NY, and participates in the Maryknoll Affiliates NYC Subway group. She also dabbles in watercolor painting, volunteers at Maryknoll Home Care and, driven by a long-held commitment to peace and justice, write to Congress and other regarding social justice issues.

Sister Nancy Thomas, M.M. celebrated her 70^th Jubilee on February 12th, 2017.

Sister Nancy is a member of Women in Black, a protest movement that circles the globe, including many cities in the U.S., to be united with women who suffer the effects of war and violence. They hold protest demonstrations every week for one hour on one of the busiest streets of Gilroy, California where Sister Nancy joins them dressed in black a symbol of their mourning and protest. She is also a volunteer with Emergency Housing Consortium of Santa Clara Valley, serving in the Emergency Shelter in Gilroy. The homeless are housed in the National Guard Armory from November until March from 6:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., receive supper and breakfast, take showers, relax. She is a member of the task force for building a permanent Shelter, put on hold because of the economic crisis. Until recently Sister Nancy also worked with Community Solutions, advocating for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, accompanying the survivor to the hospital and courts. From June, 2005 to 2009, she served on the Maryknoll Sisters Western U.S. Regional Leadership Team. Assigned to the Maryknoll Sisters Western U.S. Region, she began as a CCD Coordinator and Director of Religious Education in 1981.

Born in Washington D.C., Sister Nancy entered Maryknoll in 1947 and was assigned to Hawaii in 1952 where she taught in elementary school and served as principal for two decades. She was named the Director of the Promotion Office for mission education and fund raising at Maryknoll, NY. Assigned to Bolivia in 1975, she worked in the Rural Pastoral Institute in Riberalta, Pando Vicariate. In Cristo Rey parish, Cochabamba, she continued pastoral work in a poor barrio.

Sister Pat Noble, M.M. celebrated her 70^th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. She was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, entered Maryknoll in 1947 with a B.A. in English from Villa Maria.  In 1950, Sister Pat received her first mission assignment to Hawaii, where she would spend the next eleven years dedicated to teaching Middle and High School English.

Sister Pat next shifted her educational ministry to the College level and to the Philippines, where she spent the next four years as a Professor of English Literature.  On her temporary return to the U.S., Sister Pat earned her Masters in English Literature at St. Louis University before embarking again on educational ministry in the Philippines.

In 1972, Sister Pat offered nine years of Congregational Service in Supportive Services, Data Processing, and Central Service Education at the Maryknoll Center.  Sister Pat was assigned as the Rogers Library Administrator and later the official Librarian, after she received her Master of Library Science Degree from the Pratt Institute in 1982.

Five years later, Sister Pat joined Maryknoll’s retirement community in Monrovia, California, where she volunteered at the County Arboretum.  Sister Pat was also cited for the extensive service she gave to the Peace and Justice Center of Southern California in the organization of their library collection.

Since 2006, she has been an active and prayerful member of the Rogers Community at the Maryknoll Center.

Sister Patricia Maher, M.M. celebrated her 70^th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. She was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Sister Patricia Maher entered Maryknoll in 1947. After earning her Bachelor of Education at Maryknoll Teachers College, she set out for the Philippines, where she taught for eight years at the high school high level, followed by five years as principal and head of teacher training.

Then, in the late 1960’s, Sister Pat returned to the U.S. to serve first as the Director of Community Roles at the Presbyterian University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and later as the Director of the Maryknoll Center Development Department.

In 1974, Sister Pat began her new mission to El Salvador, where, in addition to youth work with the Urban Leadership Training Center, she dedicated herself to extensive pastoral service among the poor. As she worked, however, Sister Pat quickly recognized the significant and dangerous nature of her mission. El Salvador’s current regime considered any gatherings highly suspicious, and this rendered human development work, even reading and writing instruction, difficult at best. Sister Pat found herself serving a people constantly terrorized by the American-backed government. In response to the desperate urgency for change, which was everywhere apparent, Sister Patricia worked fearlessly to bring the people’s terrible situation – and America’s responsibility – to light, on her return from El Salvador. Her words were punctuated by the shocking martyrdom of her Maryknoll replacement there in 1980.

Sister Pat spent the next twelve years working in the Harrisburg Diocese, serving its families and Spanish-speaking members. She then continued her missionary work for another twelve years in Bangledesh, Bolivia, and the Arlington Diocese, where she ministered to the Spanish-speaking population until her retirement in 2008 in Monorovia, California.  She is currently residing at the Maryknoll Sister Center.

Sister Rose Guercio, M.M. celebrated her 70^th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. She was born in Astoria, NY and joined Maryknoll Sisters in 1947. She earned her R.N. from St. Mary’s School of Nursing, Rochester, Minnesota. Sister Rose was assigned to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1955, and supervised medical wards in a government hospitals until government regulations caused the Sisters departure.

Sister Rose was assigned to Korea in 1959 and her ministry was at the Maryknoll Hospital at Pusan. She was clinic supervisor and assistant administrator. Sister Rose then studied at Yonsei University in Seoul and from 1969-71, she worked at the Maryknoll Fathers Okchon Clinic in Chung Puk Do supervising and administering the clinic and initiating maternal/child health care programs. As an “exemplary health worker,”  Sister Rose was awarded a Civil Merit Medal.

For Sister Rose, “As a nurse the caring aspect of my work rather than the curing aspect became much more important.”

From 1972 until 1979, Sister Rose went to Jeung Pyeong where her main concern was to develop preventive health services. Sister Rose was Director-Founder of a pioneering Medical Insurance Cooperative, enrolling families with an affordable fee. The governor of Jeung Pyeong made her an honorary citizen of the province. “Not only has she given an example to all in the local community of her love and concern for our people but in the medical profession, Sister Rose has given freely of her time and energy.”

From 1979 – 1984, Sister Rose served as Assistant Treasurer at Maryknoll, N.Y. She returned to Korea in 1984 and became involved with work for the Korean Bishops’ Conference at the National Catholic Justice and Peace Commission. In 1994, Sister Rose worked at the Maryknoll Sisters Center and returned to korea in 1999 where she served as the International Coordinator of the Citizen’s Coalition for Economic Justice. Sister Rose retired in 2006 and is now residing at the Maryknoll Sisters Center.

Sister Theresa Mangieri, M.M. celebrated her 70^th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. She is from the Bronx, New York. After high school she attended Grace Institute and did clerical work for the Boy Scouts of America before joining Maryknoll in 1947. With a degree from Maryknoll Teachers College she taught at St. Anthony of Padua School in the South Bronx.

Assigned to the Philippines in 1958, Sister Theresa spent twenty years in education in elementary, high school and college levels and as novice mistress in the Maryknoll Sisters Philippines Novitiate. She earned a Master’s degree in Education, majoring in guidance and counseling from St. Louis University, Baguio.

After serving in New York as a consultant for the Maryknoll Sisters returning from mission areas for renewal, her mission journey led her to Zimbabwe, a new commitment for Maryknoll Sisters in 1982. One memory is teaching 96 students typing in two classes with only four typewriters.

A home for unwed mothers called Shelter Trust was begun in 1987 as the response of a group of lay and religious to the increasingly evident problem of abandoned babies and infanticide, caused by urban migration and the breakdown of traditional communities. In Zimbabwe girls who become pregnant lose educational and employment opportunities and often are rejected by their families. Sister Theresa became administrator of Shelter Trust, working with a staff who worked to provide a home for women awaiting the birth of their child, while giving them training to provide for themselves and their child. Sister Theresa received a Merit Award from the Rotary Club of Harare, which cited her “devoted and unselfish’service above self to the community.”

In 1997, Sister Theresa moved her ministry to Hendersonville, North Carolina, where she served at a shelter for battered women and children and at the Interfaith Assistance Ministry and Mainstay for the poor.

Sister Theresa resides at Maryknoll Sisters Center in New York.

Sister Tresa Zampedri, M.M. celebrated her 70^th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. Sister Tresa Zampedri entered Maryknoll from St. Nicholas Parish at Rupert, Idaho, on October 31, 1947.  From 1950-51, she studied at the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences.  Sister Tresa received an A.A. in Food Services Administration.

Sister Tresa worked in Congregation Services until 1952 when she was assigned to Bolivia.  After language study, Sister Tresa worked as a dietician in the Maryknoll Sisters Hospital in Riberalta, and later taught at the Maryknoll Mission in San Jose, Riberalta, Bolivia until 1961.

She returned to the Center in 1971 as a part-time student at Mary Rogers College, and did various part time services until 1973.

From 1974-1981, Sister Tresa was in residence at Monrovia helping with elderly Sisters.

In 1981, Sister Tresa was assigned to the Maryknoll Sisters Center and her prayer ministry is Bolivia.

Sister Mary Powers, M.M. celebrated her 75^th Jubilee on February 12th, 2017. She was born in Fall River, Massachusetts.  Before joining Maryknoll in 1942, she had worked for five years, as an agent for a periodical publisher’s service. When asked why she joined Maryknoll Sister Mary said, “I wanted to be a missionary and when I visited Maryknoll I just knew it was right for me.”

Sister Mary made her first vows in 1945 and obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Education from Maryknoll Teachers College, in 1948. That same year, she made her final commitment as a Maryknoll Sister.

In 1949, Sister Mary received her first mission assignment to Hawaii where she worked for 25 years in the field of education, serving as a teacher and administrator on both the elementary and high school levels.

From 1976-1981, Sister Mary worked at Maryknoll Sisters Center in New York, where she served in the treasury department and as the supervisor of the direct mail office.  Sister Mary returned to Hawaii in 1981 as an administrative assistant for the guidance department and student services at Maryknoll High School.

After decades in the field of education, Sister Mary’s ministry took on a new dimension in 1984. Sister Mary, with the help of the health department, started Project Respect, an interfaith service for the frail elderly, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.  Sister Mary served as the director of the project.

In 2010, Sister Mary retired at the Center and her prayer ministry is the Central Pacific.

Sister Pauline Sticka, M.M. celebrated her 75^th Jubilee on February 12th, 2017. She was born in North Dakota. She entered the Maryknoll Sisters Congregation in 1942. Sister Pauline holds a B.A. in community service from Mary Rogers College, Maryknoll, NY.

Having been assigned to China in 1947, and after studying the language, Sr. Pauline did catechetical work for three years in Kaying, Sialoc, and Laofukeo. In 1950, she was taken prisoner under the Communist regime.

Returning to the United States, Sister Pauline worked in the Maryknoll Sisters Development Department before undertaking catechetical ministry once again, this time in Chicago’s Chinatown, for three years.

Sister Pauline then spent 48 years ministering to the people in Taiwan, where she served in pastoral, catechetical and women’s ministries. She also gave Marriage Encounter courses and trained the local people to do the same. Sister Pauline speaks the Hakka, Taiwanese and Mandarin languages. She was engaged in a “neighborhood ministry” giving Christian witness to those of other faiths.

In 2008, Sister Pauline returned to the United States to retire in Monrovia, CA, where she continued to share in mission with her many gifts and talents. She has been a part of the Eden Community at Maryknoll Sisters Center, Ossining, NY, since 2014.

Sister Joan Peltier, M.M. celebrated her 80^th Jubilee as a Maryknoll Sister on February 12th, 2017. She was born in Milwaukee, the oldest of nine children, entered the Maryknoll Sisters in l937. Before her first mission assignment to Bolivia in 1943, she completed her Bachelor’s of Education at Maryknoll Teachers College, New York.

She spent twenty-nine years in mission in Bolivia and Peru, dedicating herself to pastoral and catechetical teaching or as a primary teacher. She began her mission life in the jungle area of Riberalta, then a primary school in Cobija and later in Guayaramerin – all in Bolivia. She served as Regional Superior for twelve years until 1966.

Sister Joan served in other cities and in other capacities. She taught primary school in San Juan Capistrano, and did fund raising for the congregation in Houston before returning to South America – this time to Arequipa, Peru, where she did catechetical work in the public schools. She also helped in a day-care nursery being initiated for women working in the fields. In St. Louis she worked with physically challenged persons.

In 1975 with a desire to be in a pastoral setting in the States, Sister Joan chose to work in Breckenridge, Texas, as an associate pastor, serving in five rural Catholic communities with Sister Catherine Sullivan. The sisters were well received in these communities whose members were mostly Spanish-speaking. She returned for two years to her first mission, Bolivia.

Wanting to remain active, she joined other semi-retired Maryknoll Sisters in a house in West Haven, CT. When that house closed, she moved to another convent in Yonkers, NY.

She celebrated her seventy-fifth anniversary in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the Maryknoll Sisters, and continues to spread her joy and talents generously with all at the Center.