(1938-2026)

Sister Ann Marie Wood was one of the relatively few women in religious life who was married and raised a family before entering the convent.

Ann Marie was born in New Orleans to Paul and Lucille (Zitzmann) Davidson on January 23, 1938. She was the couple’s only child. When she was two years old, her mother was admitted to a mental hospital. Shortly thereafter, Paul, who had been unable to find work in the private sector, accepted a job with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was sent to Europe for the duration of World War II.

Their neighbor in the other half of the duplex where they lived, Florence Dannahy, was a recent widow with two teenage daughters, the oldest of whom was Ann Marie’s godmother. Florence agreed to care for Ann Marie until her father made other arrangements. Those “other arrangements” never exactly happened; Paul provided for his daughter’s education and other expenses and even paid for new housing for the family, but saw very little of his daughter. Florence raised Ann Marie as her own child for seventeen years.

“She loved me unconditionally and instilled her Irish Catholic faith, wit and values into my hungry heart,” Sister Ann Marie wrote in her autobiography.

Ann Marie attended grades K-5 at St. Rita School, grades 6-8 at St. Agnes School, and high school at St. Mary Dominican High School, all in New Orleans. She then attended Loyola University (New Orleans) for a year and Mercy Hospital Nursing School for about two years.

Read more about Sister Ann Marie (PDF)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Beck’s Tribute Center, Edmonds, Washington.

Sister's Memorial Card (PDF)

 

Memorial Mass Recording

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

Recording of Sister Ann Marie's Memorial Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as."

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