(1940-2018)

Patricia Craft was born on August 15, 1940, in Elgin, Illinois. She was the daughter of Ruth Eleanor Nelson Miller and Francis Joseph Miller. She had one sister, Sister Joella Miller, OP.

The Miller family moved often when Pat was young, to Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois. Both parents were very devout Catholics. Very close siblings, Pat and Joella used to play church together, using Necco Wafers as “hosts.” When Sister Joella entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation, Pat missed her very much. 

Pat met her husband, Richard (Dick), in college and described him as her “knight in shining armor.” They were married in St. Laurence Church in Elgin on September 17, 1960, and had six children: Mary Sue, Ricky, Joe, Billy, Christopher, and David. They also had 14 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Dedicated to her family, Pat was fulfilled through her marriage and her children. She made sure that they attended Mass and prayed at every meal.

Pat wrote that she chose to become an Associate because of her desire to “grow in my spiritual life and to become closer to God. I wish to be part of the Dominican family in a new and special way.” Pat was friendly and always eager to serve.

“I feel like I have been associated with the Adrian Dominican Sisters for over 50 years,” Pat said during her Ritual of Commitment. “I want to be an Associate as I have so many caring and loving friends that are Dominicans. I want to feel the joy of God’s love that they all share. I want to share my love of God with everyone I come into contact with.”

Pat had to endure the death of her youngest child, David, on August 24, 2014. This was a very difficult time for her.

Pat was a breast cancer survivor, but a recurrence of cancer led to her death on January 10, 2018.

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. 

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(1929-2018)

Doris Marie Beach was born on February 2, 1920, to Samuel and Freda Beach. She and her three brothers grew up on a farm in southwestern Michigan. She attended a one-room schoolhouse and then a small high school in Edwardsburg, Michigan, graduating with a class of 17.

Doris graduated from the Henry Ford Hospital School of Nursing in 1951. She then had a long career as a staff nurse, head nurse, Assistant Director of Nursing, and Medical-Surgical Psychiatric Supervisor.  

For many years, Doris shared a home with a nurse friend, who died in 1981. Sister Susan Parker, OP, came to live with Doris as they were both working at the same hospital and had become friends. 

Doris cared for both of her parents as they aged and faced illness and death. One of her brothers died in a motorcycle accident at age 17, and Doris’ two other brothers married and had children. She was a most beloved aunt.

Doris had several interests, including reading, gardening, crossword puzzles, and crafts.

Mentored by Sister Marilyn Foster, OP, Doris joined Associate Life on October 20, 2001. Her introduction to the Congregation came through Sister Susan and through a seminar on death and dying, during which she observed the warmth and love that the Sisters showed toward one another and the people they served.  

Doris enjoyed the prayer and the gatherings of her Mission Group and Chapter. As an Associate, she hoped to enrich her life “and ultimately become closer to God.” She was also interested in peace and justice issues and was eager to learn about various forms of service. In renewing her commitment to Associate Life, Doris wrote, “I want to be a part of who the Sisters are and what they stand for.”

After retirement, Doris lived six months of the year in Redford, Michigan, and six months in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

She died of respiratory failure after surgery on January 3, 2018, with her niece and Sister Susan by her side.

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. 

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(1938-2017)

Sylvia Norfleet was born on November 3, 1938, in St. Louis, Missouri. Her great aunt was Catholic, which led Sylvia to join the Catholic Church when she was 11 years old. She attended St. Matthew Lutheran School in St. Louis and graduated in 1957 from St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, which was run by the Oblate Sisters of Providence. In time, Sylvia married David English and moved to Detroit.

Sylvia met Sisters Rosemarie Kieffer, OP, and Nancy Jurecki, OP, at her parish, Our Lady Gate of Heaven. She also attended the Ecumenical Theological Seminary in Detroit, where she met Sister Anneliese Sinnott, OP, one of the faculty members.

Sylvia was always interested in outreach to the elderly and became volunteer coordinator of “Joyfield Caregivers.” This group was an elder service program that used the resources of church and community to help people maintain independent living, all at no cost to the participants.

From working with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, Sylvia began to take an interest in Associate Life. Sylvia was mentored by Sister Bridget Maier, OP, and joined Associate Life on October 7, 2000. She was a member of the Kaleidoscope Mission Group in the Great Lakes Chapter.

“I have an overwhelming desire to get closer to Jesus, to do His will,” Sylvia wrote in explanation for her desire to become an Associate. “I continually observe, listen to, and discuss all aspects of daily life. I find there is a truth and uplifting quality about these Sisters.” She also believed that she had the same vision as the Adrian Dominican Sisters. “We are a Gospel centered community, committed to learning and giving, through service,” she wrote.

“I am constantly in touch with my Mission Group,” Sylvia wrote a few years ago. “We dialogue. I believe we never stop learning. My challenge is physical. I have slowed down a lot in the past few years. Despite my health and poverty, God has blessed me more than ever.”

Sylvia suffered with declining health – mostly small strokes through the remaining years of her life. Her Mission Group was her lifeline.

Sylvia had surgery in mid-December and was unable to recover. She died on December 27, 2017. She was preceded in death by her son Craig English and one grandson, Davonne William Shaw. Surviving are her children Debra English Butler; David English, Jr.; and Leslie English.

The wake for Sylvia will be held from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, January 11, 2018, at O.H. Pye III Funeral Home, 17600 Plymouth Road, Detroit. The Funeral will be at 11:00 a.m. Friday, January 12, 2018 at Sacred Heart Church, 1000 Elliott Street, Detroit. The burial will follow at Detroit Memorial Park West in Redford Township, Michigan.

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(1918-2017)

Even as a child, she loved playing school and being the teacher.
She wanted to be like the Dominicans who taught her in school.

This line from Sister Mary Adelaide’s life story, written down in 2004 by Sister Jodie Screes, illustrates exactly why Sister Adelaide’s entry into the Congregation came when she was just sixteen years old. Her sister Rita, two years older than she, entered along with her.

Sister Adelaide was born October 11, 1918, in Detroit to Henry and Mary Agnes (Hickey) Eiden. Henry worked in the “dead letter” office at the Post Office, while Mary Agnes, who was affectionately referred to as Mae, took care of the home and the couple’s four children. Besides Rita and Adelaide, there were James, the eldest, and Ann Dolores, the youngest. In her biography, Sister Adelaide remembered her father as an “exceptionally peaceful man” and her mother as “a good, kind and very organized woman who handled the business affairs of the household.”

The family attended St. Theresa’s, where the children were taught by the Adrian Dominicans in the parish school. When Adelaide was a junior, she asked her mother if she would care if Adelaide entered the convent — at which point Rita added that she wished to do the same thing. Mae took the question to Henry, whose response was that the two were quite young but if this was what they wanted, it was all right with him.

Read more about Sister Adelaide (pdf)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221.