Sister Mary Therese Ann 

Sister Mary Therese Ann    ND 4342    PDF Download

(formerly Sister Mary Tereseanne)

Ruth LYNCH

Christ the King Province, Chardon, Ohio, USA

Date and Place of Birth:              April 13, 1926        Cleveland, Ohio
Date and Place of Profession:   August 16, 1948     Cleveland, Ohio
Date and Place of Death:            May 4, 2019           Health Care Center, Chardon, Ohio
Date and Place of Funeral:          May 8, 2019          Provincial Center, Chardon, Ohio
Date and Place of Burial:            May 9, 2019           Resurrection Cemetery, Chardon

“…we, like Mary, bring Christ to others.”  (Constitutions, Article 2)

 Ruth was the third of four children born to Leo and Mary (Beattie) Lynch. After graduating from St. Aloysius Elementary School, she attended public high school but remained connected to the parish teen club. It was there that a friend introduced her to the Sisters of Notre Dame. In the middle of her sophomore year, the family moved to Los Angeles, California, where Ruth worked part-time as an information operator for the Southern California Bell Company. After just six months, Mrs. Lynch became ill and the family moved back to Cleveland. Ruth’s job was transferred to Ohio Bell where she worked for three more years before entering the convent on February 2, 1946. At investment, she received the name Sister Mary Therese Ann. Our Lady and the Little Flower continued to be models and companions on her life’s journey.

As a second year novice, Sister Mary Therese Ann was sent to teach kindergarten and first grade. Her love for God’s little ones was especially evident as she prepared them to receive their First Holy Communion. Sister taught for ten years in Ohio before being missioned to California in 1957. There, in the Rosa Mystica Province, she devoted the next thirty-eight years to educational ministries in fifteen different schools. Sister Mary Therese Ann was always very diligent in her preparation for class. One second grade student (who is now a teacher) wrote: “The most important thing a teacher can do is bring out the goodness that is already there. You never settled for less than the best a person could offer. Your influence helped me establish the high personal standards that I try to live out.”

Sister’s teaching and tutoring experience included working with children who had learning difficulties and those who came from diverse economic backgrounds. Her own personal struggles with learning gave her an understanding and accepting heart.

In 1995, although Sister loved California – the sisters, the land, the people and the families she served – she knew it was time to return home to Chardon. The transition back to Ohio was not easy, but there was happiness as she reconnected with her family and renewed friendships with the sisters. In many ways, Sister’s life was marked by suffering, especially as her eyesight steadily worsened. But her sense of humor, her warm and welcoming smile and her dedication to constant prayer continued to be gifts to all. With rosary in hand, fidelity to her prayer in vigil before the Blessed Sacrament was her most treasured ministry. The intentions of the world and of her sisters in California were never forgotten. May Sister Mary Therese Ann rest peacefully in the loving embrace of our gentle Jesus as she sees him face to face!