(1925 - 2015)
I will be confident and unafraid, for my strength and my song is the Lord.

Sister Patricia McGrath, known to her friends as Pat, was born on November 16, 1924, in Royal Oak, Michigan, to John and Genevieve (Kuntz) McGrath. She was the fifth of their nine children. Both parents were born and raised in Pennsylvania, and lived one hundred miles apart. In her biography, Sister Pat wrote, “We have not figured out how mom and dad met being that they lived one hundred miles apart. Someone suggested they met at a roller skating party.”   

Her parents lived in St. Marys, Pennsylvania, her mother’s birthplace, until after their fourth son was born and then they moved to Royal Oak, Michigan. In her biography, Sister Pat described this transition and the impact of the Depression on her family.

Read more about Sister Pat (pdf)

Click the Read More link below to add comments and remembrances.

(1933 - 2015)
Sister Judith Ann Lieder was born on May 26, 1933, in Detroit. She was the second of four children born to Leonard and Clara (Polakowski) Lieder: Rosemary, the first born who lived only a few hours, then Gerald and Marlene.  

Her father was a native of Detroit and her mother was from Everson, Pennsylvania. They met when her mother came to Detroit to find a job.   They married, made their home in Detroit and were members of Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish. Sister Judy and her siblings attended the parish elementary school with the Sylvania Franciscans. 

Read more about Sister Judith Ann Lieder (pdf)

Click on the "Read More" link below to leave comments and remembrances.

(1927 - 2015)
Sister Bernadette Mary Syron, born on April 1, 1927, in Detroit, was the third of six children born to Hugh and Elizabeth (Phillips) Syron. Her mother was born in Cashel, Ireland, and her father was born in Chicago. In her autobiography, Sister Bernadette Mary described where her parents first met.

My mother worked for the Army as a switchboard operator. Her name was Elizabeth and she did not want to be called Lizzie. When she was introduced to my father at a church affair he said, “It is a privilege to meet you, Miss Elizabeth.”   

They were married at St. Benedict Church in Highland Park, Michigan. My father, who was a professional golfer, took a job at a golf course in Detroit that was very close to Gesu [Parish]. In the off-season he sold real estate. My mother was a stay-at-home mom.

Read more about Sister Bernadette Mary Syron (pdf).

Click on the "Read More" link below to leave comments and remembrances.

(1934 - 2015)
Sister Joann Weigang was born in Detroit on June 25, 1934, the first of three children born to Joseph and Catherine (Csernai) Weigang. Both of her parents were born in Detroit; her mother was Austrian-Hungarian and her father was German. In her autobiography, Sister Joann wrote:

We were quite a family! I thank God each day for the family life I grew up in, which was different from what some children have today. Love, kindness, concern, patience, respect were nurturing qualities that were instilled in us along with our faith, moral values and principles.

When my father was a child he had rheumatic fever and a rare kidney disease which [eventually] led to the congestive heart failure that caused his death on August 25, 1944. His early death left my mother with three small children: Patricia, 8, Joseph, 3, and I was 10. Thanks to [her] we were able to continue as a family through our loss without emotional problems or scars.

Read more about Sister Joann Weigang (pdf).

Click on the "Read More" link below to leave comments and remembrances.