Sister Mary Roman 

Sister  Mary  Roman               ND  4047                PDF Download

Agnes Rita RESS

Immaculate Conception Province, USA

Date and Place of Birth:            September 16, 1924 Massillon, Ohio
Date and Place of Profession: August 16, 1946         Cleveland, Ohio
Date and Place of Death:          January 13, 2021       Health Care Center, Chardon, Ohio
Date and Place of Burial:          January 22, 2021      Resurrection Cemetery, Chardon 

“I have come to serve, not to be served.”

Born to Roman and Christine (Boylan) Ress, Agnes and her three brothers grew up in a closely-knit family, centered in home, faith and their beloved St. Mary Church in Massillon. Agnes describes her father as “a gentle man, the friendly neighborhood grocer,” and her mother, “a loving, dedicated homemaker.” The children attended the parish elementary school staffed by the Sisters of Notre Dame. Agnes credits her vocation to the lived example of these sisters. After graduation from Washington High School, she was employed for two years as an assistant in the chemistry laboratory of Eaton Manufacturing Company. On January 31, 1944, Agnes responded to God’s call to religious life, present in her heart from youth, when she entered the Sisters of Notre Dame as a postulant. At investment she received the name Sister Mary Roman.

Sister began her professional career by ministering as an elementary and secondary school teacher before beginning nursing studies. She graduated from St. Alexis School of Nursing in Cleveland (1954) and earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in nursing (1964, 1966) from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1986 Sister Mary Roman completed requirements for a doctoral degree in nursing education from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Wherever ministry took her, Sister was known and appreciated for her efforts to advance the art of nursing, whether it be in direct patient care or in an administrative role. She was an instructor at St. Alexis School of Nursing, St. Michael School of Nursing in Toronto, Canada and at Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. Critical care and medical surgical were specialized areas of instruction. Sister Mary Roman was an excellent scholar, finding unique ways to further her professional growth. She loved her sisters and her Notre Dame community. For more than thirty years, she served as coordinator and consultant for the health needs of the sisters. Her expertise and commitment to excellence were respected by the sisters and the wider medical and civic communities. With great awareness of the poor among us, Sister joined with two colleagues at Geauga Hospital to establish the Good Tidings Choir in 1989. Annual concerts continue to provide financial support for the Geauga County Hunger Task Force. 

Sister Mary Roman was a woman of deep faith and a lover of life. She stated, “I have been given many graces, blessings, opportunities and challenges. I have been happiest in my one-on-one interaction with my sisters, family and friends, sharing love, joys and sorrows in true friendship.” 

Thorough and competent in her professional life, Sister’s generous heart wanted to reach out to everyone with care and compassion. Her love for family and her sisters was powerful and boundless. Sister Mary Roman was gifted with an inherent sense of the dignity and the lovableness of each person. Her prayer was one of gratitude—for all was gift! 

May Sister now rejoice in the fullness of Life.