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(1928-2017)
Sister Donna Wencel, known as Sister Frederick Mary, was born on a farm near Wayne, Michigan, on December 30, 1928. She was the seventh of nine children born to Frederick and Martha (Klebba) Wencel. Their first-born child, a girl, died at the age of two. In her autobiography, Sister Donna wrote the following about her family:
Our family was poor but rich in love. My parents were always ready to help those who were less fortunate than we were. Many times the walls of our home were stretched to the utmost. I remember when I was in 4th grade, we came home from school and my Mother told my sister and me not to go to our bedroom because we would be sleeping upstairs in the large room with my older sisters. It seems that a family in the area had lost their home due to the husband’s illness and they had nowhere to go so my Mother and Father took the family in. That family consisted of a mother, father and two daughters. They stayed with us for a year and a half.
Read more about Sister Donna (pdf)
Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221.
Leave your comments and remembrances (if you don't see the comment box below, click on the "Read More" link).
(1930-2017)
Sister Diane Erbacher, known also as Sister Mary Carlanne, was born in San Jose, California, on January 29, 1930. She was the oldest of three children born to Charles and Anne (Foltz) Erbacher. Her two younger brothers were Bill and Jimmy, who was born with a genetic chromosome disorder known as Down Syndrome. Her father was born in Covington, Kentucky, and her mother in Spencer, Nebraska.
The family moved several times and, as a result, Sister Diane was educated in several schools: St. Francis School in Baker, Oregon, and St. Mary School in Bedford, Oregon.
When Sister Diane was in the seventh grade at St. Mary, her family moved to Santa Cruz, California, and she finished her elementary and secondary education in Santa Cruz at Holy Cross School. This was her first contact with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, who staffed the grade school and the high school.
During her high school years, Sister Diane also worked at Sisters’ Hospital, located on West Cliff Drive. According Sister Christine Ostrowski, Sister Diane spoke fondly of her days working at the hospital and getting to know the Sisters.
Read more about Sister Diane (pdf)
Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson Funeral Home, Adrian.
(1920-2017)
Sister Marie Sheila, baptized Mary Arlene Beatty, was born on August 21, 1920, in Lansing, Michigan. She was the third of seven children born to Howard and Agnes (Torpey) Beatty. Two of her brothers, Billy and Robert, died in infancy: Billy in 1919 and Robert in 1922. Sister Sheila thought both deaths could have been related to the flu epidemic that swept the country after World War I.
In her autobiography, Sister Sheila gave a detailed account of her parents. The following are a few highlights.
My mother was born in Duro, Ontario, Canada, and received most of her education at Loretto Abbey School in Toronto. By the time she was eighteen she was living alone in Lansing. She studied nursing for a year but ended up working as a private secretary. My father was from a Methodist family in Petoskey, Michigan. He worked on a farm to pay for his education in electrical engineering at Michigan State University. After he was baptized Catholic, my parents married and lived in Lansing, where my father found a job doing research on car motors and styling at REO Motor Car Company. [REO were the initials of the founder, Ransom Eli Olds.] When the company was sold to General Motors my father lost his job and we moved to Petoskey and lived with my grandparents until 1921 when my father found a job in Saginaw. It was here that my father began his high school teaching and coaching career that lasted for the next forty years.
Read more about Sister Marie Sheila (pdf)
(1921-2017)
Sister Elizabeth (Liz) Kreiner, known also as Sister Catherine William, was born in Burnside, Michigan, on February 13, 1921. She was the ninth of fifteen children born to William and Cecelia (Nellenbach) Kreiner. The two youngest children died in infancy. Burnside, Michigan, in the early 1920s was primarily a rural agriculture and lumber area.
In her autobiography, Sister Liz shared the following stories about her school days.
[Our] rural grade school was a mile and a half away. If it had snowed, I might catch a ride on my uncle’s horse drawn sleigh. That hope helped me get to the road as speedily as possible. In the warm weather I might catch a ride with my teacher who drove to school.
I loved school and when I was a junior at the Brown City High School, my fascination with boys surfaced. However, something else happened besides my father’s death [in 1937]. Mary, my elder sister, who was a postulant, came home for my father’s funeral. Earlier Mother Gerald had said to the novices and postulants [in Adrian], “Where are the other young women who should be here?” Mary apparently chirped up, “My sis, Elizabeth, said she always wanted to be a sister.” Mother Gerald said, “Tell her to come.” It didn’t matter that I was only 15 at the time whereas Mary was 22. Mary’s telling me what Mother Gerald said was, sadly, God’s call to me.
Read more about Sister Elizabeth (pdf)
Our Adrian Dominican cemetery with its circular headstones is a beautiful place of rest for women who gave their lives in service to God — and a peaceful place for contemplation and remembrance.
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