Sister Mary Andrew ND 4050 PDF Download
Mary Ann MILLER
(natural sister of Sister Mary Joanne)
Christ the King Province, Chardon, Ohio, USA
Date and Place of Birth: July 16, 1926 Cleveland, Ohio
Date and Place of Profession: August 16, 1946 Cleveland, Ohio
Date and Place of Death: August 22, 2018 Health Care Center, Chardon, Ohio
Date and Place of Funeral: August 28, 2018 Provincial Center, Chardon, Ohio
Date and Place of Burial: August 28, 2018 Resurrection Cemetery, Chardon, Ohio
The light of Christ’s presence gives hope, strength and guidance.
Mary Ann was the eldest of the three children born to Andrew and Lillian (Vondra) Miller and spent her childhood in a home where strong faith and lasting family bonds were nurtured. She was always proud of and appreciated her Czech heritage, its traditions, music and culture—it was an integral part of her life. Born on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and baptized at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Mary Ann had a life-long devotion to Our Lady. Through the friendship and encouragement of a favorite teacher, Sister Mary Roseleen Diederich, Mary Ann accepted and followed God’s call, one she recognized at the early age of four! She entered Notre Dame Academy as an aspirant in 1940 and began to pray in earnest “for someone to take my place in the family.” Her prayer was answered when her little sister, Mary Joanne was born. Mary Ann entered the novitiate and at investment received the name Sister Mary St. Andrew. Seventeen years later, with great joy, she welcomed her little sister into the Notre Dame family.
Sister ministered in the field of education for more than forty years as teacher and/or administrator. Sister Mary Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree from St. John College in Cleveland and a master’s degree from St. Mary College in Xavier, Kansas. Although primarily a junior high teacher, she taught every grade, one to eight. One year, Sister coordinated a concert with students from schools in the Diocese of Youngstown staffed by Sisters of Notre Dame and then was encouraged to produce a recording of the concert, America Defined, for which she wrote a special song. This endeavor earned a Valley Forge Freedom Foundation Award given in Washington, DC. Her enthusiasm, love for students and commitment to education were remarkable.
A second career dear to Sister’s heart was that of writer and editor. This talent for writing was realized when she won an essay contest on social justice in the seventh grade. Her gift for writing and her educational experience led to assignments as curriculum consultant; writer for Christ Our Life religion textbook series; and member of the Curiculum Team for the Diocese of Cleveland, working on curricula for religion, social studies, language arts, children’s readers, English workbooks and a junior high textbook, Ohio, The Heart of it All.
Sister Mary Andrew loved to write prose and poetry, to sing and celebrate, to teach and serve as principal. She authored an autobiographical sketch for her beloved ND Connection, the province newsletter for which she served as writer and editor for the past thrity-four years. In it she wrote, “I have always found happiness in my varied ministries, perhaps because God was there first.” Even when challenged by limitations of health and age, being present for community prayer and events was always important. She freely shared her wit and wisdom, her spirit of generosity and thoughtfulness. May she delight in the eternal presence of our good and loving God.
by Dreamhost