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(1944-2017)
Sister Mary Ann Dardy, known also as Sister John Marguerite, was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 26, 1944. She was the second of three children born to Henry and Mary Margaret (Lindich) Dardy. The family’s ancestry is Polish/Slovenian. Her two brothers are Hank (now deceased) and Tony.
Her parents were married in June of 1940. Eventually, her father was able to obtain the large home of his parents by assuming their mortgage. It had four apartments that were in poor repair, but her father rebuilt it from the foundation to the roof. He died in 1990, and her mother continued to live in that house for many years.
Here is Sister Mary Ann’s brief description of her family.
Though we don’t agree on everything, I would describe our relationship as “closely-held.” From Catholic roots, I attended a Catholic grade school and high school. It was through the influence of the sisters who taught me, that I probably heard the call to dedicate my life to God most clearly.
After graduating from Hoban Dominican High School, Sister Mary Ann entered the postulate on June 26, 1962, at the age of eighteen. In December of that year, she received her religious name, Sister John Marguerite. She made first profession on December 29, 1963, and the following month was assigned to teach at St. Patrick School in Joliet, Illinois. Two months later she was sent to Our Lady of Good Counsel in Chicago, where she taught for two academic years. In August 1966 she was assigned to teach at St. Kilian School in Chicago for one year.
Read more about Sister Mary Ann (pdf)
Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221.
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(1921-2017)
Dorothy Mary Jehle, known also as Sister Norbert Mary, was born on April 7, 1921, in Chicago. She was the oldest of six children born to Herman and Dorothy (Elvin) Jehle. Her five younger siblings, in the order of their birth, were Philip, Francis, Barbara, Kathleen, and Eleanor.
Both of her parents were born in Kansas. Her father was a manufacturing jeweler whose work caused the family to move a few times. This is reflected in the various schools Sister Dorothy attended.
Her elementary education began at St. Joseph and Holy Cross Schools in South Bend, Indiana. When the family moved to Joliet, Illinois, she finished grade school at St. Patrick, where she met the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Her high school years were at St. Francis Academy in Joliet.
After graduating in 1939, Sister Dorothy attended the College of St. Francis in Joliet, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1943. She then worked as a reporter at the local newspaper, Joliet Spectator, until she entered the postulate on February 2, 1945.
Read more about Sister Dorothy (pdf)
(1919-2017)
“One does not get too far from one’s dream”
Sister Diana, baptized Mary Agatha Miller, was born in Royal Oak, Michigan, on February 10, 1919. She was the third of seven children born to William and Lucy (MacArthur) Miller. Her two older brothers, Jerry and Blake, were born in Detroit. Her four younger siblings – Edward, Jane, Philip, and Grace – were born in Royal Oak.
In her autobiography, Sister Diana shared the following details about her family and her attraction to foreign missions.
My father and mother met in Michigan and their courtship lasted for three years. Finally in January 1912 William and Lucy were married and my mother embraced Catholicism. During the Great Depression they lost all the worldly things they had. This forced us to move closer to [St. Mary] School which delighted us because now we could go home for lunch. We lived on the east side of Royal Oak with plenty of space: trees, wild flowers in the woods, vegetable gardens, fruit trees, berry bushes and three kinds of grapes.
I went to St. Mary for grade and high school. One time in the thirties, a missionary priest came to the school and talked about his work in Hunan, China. I believe this priest was Father William Westhovan. It was then that my thoughts about China began. Dad and Mother were always behind me, listening, suggesting and helping.
I entered Adrian in the fall of 1937 and at that time there was talk in the community of opening a place in Hunan, China. However, Japan invaded China and we were on the brink of World War II. Adrian was advised not to pursue the mission fields in the Orient. My yearning and desire to work with His little ones has never ceased.
Read more about Sister Diana (pdf)
Sister Helen Sorich, known also as Sister John Christine, was born on September 26, 1921, in Preko, Yugoslavia. She was the second of five children born to John and Christina Sorich. Preko was also the birthplace of her parents. It is one of several small settlements on a Croatian island that makes up the Zadar Archipelago along the Dalmatian Coastline.
Two years after she was born, Sister Helen and her older sister, Elizabeth, traveled with their mother to the U.S. to join their father, who had found work and a home for them in Chicago. In her autobiography, she wrote:
In 1923 my mom, my older sister Elizabeth, who was four years old, and I, age two, left this land for America. We traveled to the United States on the Martha Washington for twenty-three days. When we landed on Ellis Island, my mom must have shown extreme bewilderment because my dad wasn’t there to meet us. As luck, or fate, would have it, a gentleman, who was on the same ship, came over and asked my mom where she was headed. When she told him Chicago, he proceeded to take us to the train headed for Chicago. What a thrilling moment it must have been for Pa and Ma and us to be re-united here in the U.S.A. What brave people our parents were to venture on to a new land.
My dad had a job in a sausage factory and we lived in the flat above the factory. It was there that another sister, Therese, and my two brothers, Nick and Tony, were born. We attended Nativity School where we received our elementary education from the Sisters of St. Joseph.
As for mom, she was always there for us. She was always there usually in the kitchen. I can’t imagine what I would have ever done, if she didn’t respond. Many is the time we hurried home in order to get the crust of her homemade bread with a bit of sugar sprinkled over it.
When I was in the seventh grade, my Pa suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in July 1935 and died. As I watched and observed the grief of my mom at the loss of her husband and our father, I realized how our God supplies His lasting love, strength, and courage. My mom exemplified that valiant woman who through this great loss raised her children.
Read more about Sister Helen (pdf)
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