(1934-2021)

I heard the word TRUTH. Truth has always touched my soul and it was then that I realized I would be an Adrian Dominican Sister.

This passage from Sister Esther Ortega’s autobiography describes the moment, while on a summer retreat, that she knew she had been called to religious life.

Born in Douglas, Arizona, on March 24, 1934, to Jose and Maria (Medrano) Ortega, Sister Esther was part of a large family of seven children: Peter, Irene, Connie, George, Edward, herself, and Raul. Jose was a carpenter who owned his own business, while Maria raised chickens (studying farm journals so she could raise the best birds) for sale and took in laundry as well.

Sister Esther’s multicultural heritage included great-grandparents who were Belgian and Aztec and a grandmother from Spain. Both her parents were born in Mexico; her paternal grandparents fled to the U.S. during the Mexican Revolution, while her grandparents on her mother’s side came to the U.S. when Maria was eight years old. The families both settled in El Paso, Texas, and eventually Jose and Maria met and married.

Read more about Sister Esther (pdf)

Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. 

 

 

Homily from Monsignor Arturo Bañuelas,
recorded for Sister Esther's Funeral

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