In Memoriam


Sister Mary Katherine Drouin, OP

(1941 - 2023)

Sister Mary Katherine Drouin, formerly known as Sister John Gabriel, died on Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian. She was 81 years of age and in the 62nd year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.

Sister Mary Katherine was born in Laurium, Michigan, to Alden and Rita (Gorski) Drouin. She graduated from Resurrection High School in Lansing, Michigan, and received a bachelor’s degree in speech and drama from Barry College (University) in Miami, Florida.

Sister spent 13 years ministering in education in Miami Shores and Pompano Beach, Florida; Charlottesville, Virginia; Oxon Hill, Maryland; and Ann Arbor, Michigan. She spent 14 years in pastoral care in impoverished areas in Kentucky and served 17 years as Director of Resurrection Home in Beattyville, Kentucky. She practiced reiki, reflexology, and alternative healing for many years.

Sister Mary Katherine came to reside at the Dominican Life Center in 2021. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Skip. She is survived by loving family members and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Prayers of Committal were held at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, March 13, 2023, in the Gathering Space of St. Catherine Chapel, followed by burial in the Congregation Cemetery. A Memorial Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 in St. Catherine Chapel.

All those not attending Sister's services in person are welcome to participate via livestream at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.

make a memorial giftMemorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, Michigan, 49221. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Anderson-Marry Funeral Home, Adrian.

 

 

 

Memorial Mass for Sister Mary Kay


Download video. Videos will be posted for 4-6 weeks, then removed.

Rite of Remembrance for Sister Mary Kay


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collage of photos of Sister Mary Kay Drouin

Far right: 1959 graduate of Resurrection High School, Lansing, Michigan.

collage of photos of Sister Mary Kay Drouin

Left: Alden and Rita Drouin with their children, Skip and Mary Katherine.

collage of photos of Sister Mary Kay Drouin

Left: Sister Mary Katherine Drouin participates in a local parade. Right: From left, Sisters Maria Goretti Browne, Gretchen Greening, Mary Katherine Drouin, and Helen Diane McGuirt.

collage of photos of Sister Mary Kay Drouin

Left: Members of the 2010 Golden Jubilee “Holy Angels” Crowd are, back row, from left, Sisters Kathleen Walli, Kathleen Voss, Mary Katherine Drouin, Molly Giller, Helene Kloss, and Monica Charles Stankus, and front row, from left, Sisters Marie Carleen Maly, Annice Mordenski, Jamie Phelps, Mary Ann Dixon, Maurine Barzantni, Mary Carr, and Donna Markham (Prioress).

 

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Avatar  Sharon Phillips Garrison 6 days agoReply

So many wonderful memories growing up around Sister Mary Kay. I remember going to the Teen Center every Wednesday night...Sister Mary Kay would come pick us up in the big Catholic church van...We would play music, dance, hangout with our friends that were there...We had so much fun going to the Catholic Bible School every summer, for two weeks and then put on the Christmas play for everyone during the Catholic Christmas Party...No, many of us kids weren't Catholic, but Sister Mary Kay still made us feel at home. I will always think of the good times I shared with her and I thank her for being apart of my life and my community for so many, many years. "Go fly high with the angels, Sister Mary Kay...your work on earth is done!"

Avatar  Jean Schlicklin Tyler last weekReply

Thoughts on Mary K or as they say in Kentucky "Muuurry K" from the hollers of Kentucky.
Two Adrian Dominicans, Ellen and Mary K were serving in the parish in Beattyville when I did a term of ministry for my degree in January of 1978. She supported my discernment to enter the congregation later that same year in August. MaryKay had a dream of the shelter for the women and children in the area that started the next year in 1979. Her contagious courage, as she faced the trials and challenges of violence in the families was inspiring. With the help of many, including her parents, Rita and Al Drouin, they established the Resurrection home as a safe place for mothers and children. The "closet" and the annex were added for twice blessed clothes and household items coming from some of the parishes of Michigan. Rita and Al lived out their days after moving from Michigan to serve there with Mary K.
Mary K invited me to join her Ministry in 1983 as the youth worker in the area of Beattyville. It was not a good fit at the time, but we kept in touch over the years. Words that describe Mary K would be someone who listens with her heart, then responds to the people of Appalachia. The situations of care for the people shifted from the care of women abused, to children and now the grand mothers, giving support to anyone in need. Supporting the ongoing work even from a distance, with Charlene in the lead, Mary K always shared God's love. She would try to give more than she received. When Godfrey and I visited her at Resurrection home in the winter before covid, we brought her a gift from our land of maple syrup. She felt a need to give us something of her blessed hills of Kentucky, a bouquet of wooden flowers. Only God could out give her.
Mary K's words of wisdom when she was asked just a short time before she died were "live your life with God's love". She was a powerful example of God's love in action. May she and all those that have died in Christ, rest in peace.

Avatar  H.B. Elkins last weekReply

There's no doubt that Sister Mary Kay was one of the finest people ever to call Lee County, Ky., home. She was a friend to all and I can't think of anyone who didn't dearly love her. I know my mother thought the world of her and the feeling was mutual. I saw where someone locally had called her "the hugging nun." That's pretty much the truth. I never saw her that she didn't give me a huge hug, tell me how much she thought of my mom, and would ask about my brother and, when he was still alive, my dad. Lee County is a better place for her having chosen to make her home and conduct her ministry here. Hopefully her legacy will live on through Resurrection Home, and may she never be forgotten in Beattyville.



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