(1945-2025)

  

When Maria Farney, principal of St. Mary School in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, nominated Sister Peggy Fornicola for the Catholic Holy Family Society’s Teacher Legacy Award in 2010, Maria wrote:

For forty-seven years Sister Peggy has taught hundreds of children not only to read and write, but also taught them to love their faith and prepared them to receive the sacraments and become active members of the church. … Sister Peggy Fornicola, through her untiring dedication to all God’s children, has left a lasting impact in the lives of the children and the community where she serves.

Sister Peggy went on to win the honor, given by the Catholic Holy Family Society to just one elementary-school teacher every year. It came a few years before her retirement from a teaching ministry that, remarkably, included only three schools in her entire fifty years in education.

Mary Margaret Fornicola, better known as Peggy, was born on November 30, 1945, in Sault Ste. Marie, the city to which she later returned to teach and then to live during her retirement. She was the second oldest of four children born to Joseph and Bernadette (Juers) Fornicola, following Charles and before Phyllis and Karen.

Joseph started out in business for himself as a tanner and later became a barber. The Fornicola family was quite well known in the Sault Ste. Marie community; as Sister Peggy’s nephew Charles explained it in his remembrance at Sister’s wake:

For those not so familiar with the Sault, the Fornicola name is hard not to stumble upon. My great-uncle Tom and Aunt Carolyn started the legacy with his business and their “Fornicola” trailer park, complete with a Fornicola Ave. My cousin Tom carried that legacy forward, owning local businesses around town such as the Dairy Queen, several Subway sandwich shops (and) a self-storage and involving himself in plenty of community activity. We would joke that he could have run for mayor anytime he’d have liked.

Read more about Sister Mary Margaret (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 Peggy'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 Peggy'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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