(1933-2026)

Your life and career reflect a commitment to using your education to respond thoughtfully and creatively to the needs of others. We are proud to call you “one of ours”!

This quotation comes from the citation accompanying the Siena Heights University Alumni Association’s honoring of Sister Mary Alan Stuart with the 2007 Sister Ann Joachim Award. The award came her way for her many years of service to the people of rural Kentucky, helping them learn about healthy nutrition.

Rita Jean Stuart, as she was baptized, was born in Chicago on November 27, 1933, to Arthur and Cecilia (Studer) Stuart. She was the couple’s third child, following Alan and David and preceding Ruth, Christine, Paul, and Louise.

Arthur was born in Chesaning, Michigan, while Cecilia came from Fowler, Indiana. Arthur was just two years old when his father disappeared on a trip out West, and when he was three years old, his mother, Anna, brought Arthur and his sister to Ypsilanti, Michigan, where Anna found work as a domestic and later opened a boarding house.

Arthur went on to college at the University of Michigan, graduated with a degree in chemical engineering, and went to work for the Ford Motor Co. Later, wanting a career where he could get ahead and better raise a family, he went back to the University of Michigan for a law degree and got a job with a firm in Chicago. As for Cecilia, she attended secretarial school in Kankakee, Illinois, becoming the only one of her siblings to have a post-secondary education, and then worked for the Chicago Evening American Newspaper.

Despite the fact that both Arthur and Cecilia were living and working in Chicago, the couple actually met at a family reunion in Fowler, Indiana. They married in 1929. In 1936, Arthur became the corporate attorney for the Hiram Walker Corporation in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and the family moved to Windsor.

With the outbreak of World War II and the likelihood of American involvement, Arthur decided he wanted the family to live back in the States, and so in the summer of 1940 they moved to Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, and Arthur commuted to work in Canada each day. The Stuarts became part of St. Ambrose Parish, which is how young Rita, a second-grader at the time, met the Adrian Dominican Sisters who taught at the grade and high school.

Read more about Sister Mary Alan (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Adrian.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

Vigil and Funeral Recordings

Note: To view recordings with closed captioning, they must be viewed on our public video library rather than through the links below.

Recording of Sister Mary Alan's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

Recording of Sister Mary Alan's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)

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