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(1927-2024)
Sister Margaret Mary Heinz, formerly known as Sister Richard Mary, died on Saturday, December 14, 2024, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian. She was 97 years of age and in the 78th year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
Sister Margaret was born in Chicago to Anthony and Margaret (McBride) Heinz. She graduated from Aquinas High School in Chicago and received a bachelor’s degree in English from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian and a master’s degree in English from the University of Detroit (Detroit-Mercy). She was also licensed in Clinical Pastoral Education at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago.
Sister spent 22 years ministering in education in Grosse Pointe Farms and Iron Mountain, Michigan, and Wilmette and Chicago, Illinois, including six years as principal at SS. Mary and Joseph in Iron Mountain. She taught at two Congregation schools: Regina Dominican High School in Wilmette for five years, and Aquinas High School in Chicago for three years. She then served on the formation team in Adrian as pre-admissions director from 1969 to 1974. Sister was Director of Pastoral Care for 21 years at Ravenswood Hospital in Chicago.
Sister Margaret became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in 1999. She was preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Richard Heinz. She is survived by a sister, Rita Heinz; other loving family members; and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Visitation will be from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 30, 2024, in the gathering space of St. Catherine Chapel. The Vigil Prayer will be at 7:00 p.m. Monday, December 30, 2024, in St. Catherine Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, December 31, 2024. Prayers of Committal will be held in the Congregation Cemetery.
Those not attending the upcoming services in person are welcome to participate via live stream at https://adriandominicans.org/Live-Stream.
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)
Recording of Sister Margaret's Vigil Service - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as."
Recording of Sister Margaret's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
LEFT: Baby Margaret Mary, 1927. MIDDLE LEFT: Margaret Mary with her brother Richard. MIDDLE RIGHT: School photo, Aquinas High School, Chicago, 1945.
LEFT: Sisters enjoy fishing in 1957 at the summer home of a parishioner of St. Mary/Joseph Parish in Iron Mountain, Michigan. They are, from left, Sisters Joseph Bride McElligott, Paul Dolores, Richard Mary (Margaret Mary) Heinz, Marie Leon (Joan) Weitz, and Mary Alexander (Louise) Borgacz. MIDDLE: Margaret Mary plays a lead in an operetta performed at Aquinas High School, Chicago, 1942. RIGHT: Sister Margaret Mary Heinz, Director of Pastoral Care at Ravenswood Hospital, Chicago, from 1976 to 1997, visits with a patient in 1978.
LEFT: Sisters Mary Carey, left, and Margaret Mary Heinz, 1992. MIDDLE: The Heinz family, from left: Rita, sister; parents Anthony and Margaret, and Margaret Mary, 1982. RIGHT: Members of the 1969-1974 Formation Team are, from left, Sisters Margaret Mary Heinz, Kathleen McGrail, Peg Albert, Mary Ellen Leciejewski, Rosemary Ferguson, Melba Beine, and Sarah Sharkey.
Members of the 2015 Double-Diamond, June to December Crowd are: standing, from left, Sisters Anne L. Lindquist, Margaret Mary Heinz, Attracta Kelly (Prioress), Jeanne Marie O’Laughlin, and Therese Margaret Roberts; and seated, from left, Sisters Jane Quirk, Donna Wencel, Marcelline Fouchey, Madonna Marie Black, and Marie Sheila Beatty.
Leave your comments and remembrances – if you don't see the comment box below, click on the "Read More" link.
(1933-2024)
Sister Joan Weitz, formerly known as Sister Marie Leon, died on Friday, December 13, 2024, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian. She was 91 years of age and in the 72nd year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
Sister Joan was born in Lancaster, New York, to Leon and Marie (Mathien) Weitz. She graduated from Pine Hill High School in Buffalo, New York. She received a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education, both from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian.
Sister ministered for 48 years in education in Detroit, Iron Mountain, New Salem, New Baltimore, and Birmingham, Michigan, including 18 years as assistant principal and six years as principal at Dominican High School, Detroit, an institution of the Congregation.
Sister Joan became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in 2021. She was preceded in death by her parents; her brother, Leon Weitz; and her stepbrother, Donald Tigue. She is survived by her brother, Robert Weitz, and sister, Carol Saglain; other loving family members; and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Visitation will be from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 19, 2024, in the gathering space of St. Catherine Chapel. The Vigil Prayer will be held at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, December 19, 2024, in St. Catherine Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. Friday, December 20, 2024. Prayers of Committal will be held in the Congregation Cemetery.
Recording of Sister Joan'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 Joan's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
LEFT: Marie Weitz holds her daughter, Joan, 1934. MIDDLE LEFT: Eighth-grade photo, Cleveland Hill Middle School, Cheektowaga, New York, 1946. MIDDLE RIGHT: At St. Mary School, Iron Mountain, Michigan, 1957. RIGHT: Sister Joan (then Sister Marie Leon) shows off Silver during a home visit.
LEFT: Sister Marie Leon with her father Leon and stepmother Clinetta. RIGHT: From left, Sisters Joan Weitz and Anneliese Sinnott.
LEFT: The Weitz siblings, oldest to youngest, left to right: Robert, Carol, Sister Joan, Don, and Leon at the wedding of Carol’s daughter. RIGHT: Gathering during the 1967 Year of Renewal are, from left, Sisters David Mary (Angela) Susalla, Marie Leon (Joan) Weitz, James Claret (Nancy) Fischer, and Mary Alan Stuart.
LEFT: Sister Marie Leon with her class at Mother of Divine Grade School, Buffalo, New York, 1964. RIGHT: Members of the 2001 Golden Jubilee Crowd are: back row, from left, Anne Beauvais, Joan Weitz, Nancy Fischer, Mary Alice Naour, Helen Belsito, Mary Louise Head, Patricia Eileen Consier, Patricia Walsh, and Celeste Mary Bourke; middle row, from left, Sisters Alan Stuart, Jane Robert Stuckel, Thomas Leo Monahan, Helen Laier, Patricia Dolan, Diana Pellegrino, Angela Susalla, Barbara Ann Hehr, and Mary Catherine Nolan; and front row, from left, Sisters Betty Lou Myers, Robert Irene Buchanan, Marilyn Foster, Marion Coppe, June Racicot, Veronica Gonthier, and Patricia Spangler.
(1930-2024)
Sister Shirley Boettcher, formerly known as Sister Elaine Therese Boettcher, died on Thursday, December 12, 2024, at the Dominican Life Center in Adrian. She was 94 years of age and in the 77th year of her religious profession in the Adrian Dominican Congregation.
Sister was born in Detroit to Edward and Edna (Wagner) Boettcher. She graduated from St. Joseph Academy in Adrian and received a bachelor’s degree in home economics from Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian. Sister was also certified as a licensed practical nurse by the Michigan Board of Nursing and by the Florida Board of Nursing.
Sister Shirley ministered in elementary education for 16 years in Port Huron, Romeo, and Detroit, Michigan; Van Wert, Ohio; Chicago and Oak Park, Illinois; and Cheektowaga, New York. She served four years in domestic services in Plymouth and Adrian, Michigan; and Des Moines, Iowa. Sister also ministered to the sick for 22 years as a licensed practical nurse in Adrian, Michigan, and in Miami Beach, Sebring, and Lake Placid, Florida.
Sister Shirley became a resident of the Dominican Life Center in Adrian in 2017. She is predeceased by her parents and two sisters, Phyllis Wesley and Donna Moll. Sister is survived by a sister, Elaine Marcotte; other loving family members; and her Adrian Dominican Sisters.
Visitation will be from 6:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Monday, December 16, 2024, in the gathering space of St. Catherine Chapel. The Vigil Prayer will be at 7:00 p.m. Monday, December 16, 2024, in St. Catherine Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be offered in St. Catherine Chapel at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, December 17, 2024. Prayers of Committal will be held in the Congregation Cemetery.
Recording of Sister Shirley'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 Shirley's Funeral Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
LEFT: The Boettcher family in 1941: back row from left, Donna and Shirley, and front row, Elaine, Edna (mother), Phyllis, and Edward (father). MIDDLE: Sister Shirley at her 1969 graduation as a licensed practical nurse.
LEFT: Postulant Shirley Boettcher with her parents, Edward and Edna Boettcher, 1946.
LEFT: Sisters Vincent Joseph Sibal, left, and Shirley Boettcher, 1983. RIGHT: Standing, from left, Sisters Francis Elizabeth McDonnell, Grace Flowers, Helene Dompierre, Margaret Exworthy, Mary Jean Clemenger, and Paul Emilia Brown, and front row, from left, Evangelina Davis and Shirley Boettcher.
Members of the 2007 Diamond Jubilee Crowd are: back row, from left, Sisters Charlotte Hoefer, Marie Damian Schoenlein, JoAnn Fleischaker, Shirley A. Boettcher, Patrice Eilers, Jeanne Burns, Sarah Cavanaugh, and Mary Cecile Quirke; third row, from left, Sisters Anne Worcester, Elizabeth Condon, Margaret Lane, Jean Kathleen Comiskey, Imelda Marie Eckhoff, Paul Emelia Brown, Eileen Meyers, and Elizabeth Williams; second row, from left, Sisters Marcine Klemm, Catherine Podvin, Shirley Mary Hymes, Shirley Thielk, Margaret Ann Swallow, Alice Anne Van Acker, Noreen O’Connell, and Helene Dompierre; and front row, from left, Jacquelyn Murray, Theresa Nightingale, Janet Persyk, Mary Saynay, Kathleen Therese McCann, M. Joan Loeffler, and Donna Markham (Prioress).
(1940-2024)
When asked in her November 2018 “A Sister’s Story” interview how she would like to be remembered, Sister Jean Marie Lehtinen’s answer was simple: she wanted people to think of her as “content and friendly and that I had made a difference in their lives.”
Those who ministered with her and knew her during her years as an Edmonds Dominican Sister and then Adrian Dominican Sister would agree that she achieved that goal.
“She looked for ways to touch lives and to learn what was needed. She was open to new ideas and happy to support others,” said Sister Karen Rossman in her homily at Sister Jean Marie’s memorial Mass. “… Jean Marie was a faithful friend, a dedicated minister, a joyful companion, and a strong Dominican woman. … She was a gift to us and we are grateful.”
Sister Jean Marie was born on September 16, 1940, in Seattle, Washington, and baptized Mary Jane. She was the fourth child of William and Anne (Heider) Lehtinen, coming into the family after Jean Anne, Bill, and Phil and before Sam, Paul, Don, Chris, and Ronnie. Chris and Ronnie were both adopted.
Read more about Sister Jean Marie (PDF)
Memorial gifts may be made to Adrian Dominican Sisters, 1257 East Siena Heights Drive, Adrian, MI, 49221.
Recording of Sister Jean Marie's Memorial Mass - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as." Worship Aid (PDF)
Recording of Sister Jean Marie's Ritual of Remembrance - After clicking the link, download the recording by right-clicking on the video choosing "Save video as."
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