Sister Maretta

Sister Maretta                  ND  4395                       PDF Download
(formerly Sister Mary Maretta)
Ann Barbara WEY

Christ the King Province, Chardon, Ohio, USA

Date and Place of Birth:        May 31, 1929     Cleveland, Ohio
Date and Place of Profession:  August 16, 1950   Cleveland, Ohio
Date and Place of Death:     November 28, 2016   Health Care Center, Chardon
Date and Place of Funeral:  December 2, 2016     Provincial Center, Chardon, Ohio
Date and Place of Burial:   December 2, 2016     Resurrection Cemetery, Chardon, OH

With her parents, Alexander and Matilda (Wirtz) Wey, Ann Barbara welcomed her brother Matt when she was six years old. The family belonged to St. James Parish in Lakewood, Ohio, where she attended elementary school. Hers was a happy childhood filled with fond memories of many enjoyable vacations with her extended family. When it was time for high school, Ann wanted to attend a school with a beautiful campus but her mother enrolled her in St. Stephen High School, Cleveland, because of its strong business curriculum so she would be assured of a job after graduation. Although there wasn’t much of a campus, Ann was impressed by the family spirit of the Sisters and after much prayer made the decision to enter the Sisters of Notre Dame at the end of her senior year. She later remarked, “And I’ve always had a job!”

At investment Ann received the name Sister Mary Maretta. She received a bachelor’s degree from St. John College in Cleveland and earned a master’s degree from St. Louis University in Missouri. A capable teacher, Sister often taught double grades on the intermediate level, ministering for seventeen years in schools in Ohio, Virginia and Washington, DC. She served as principal for more than twenty years and was Assistant Superintendent of Education and Curriculum for the Diocese of Cleveland. Sister was an outstanding teacher of teachers and a model for her students, always generous in her service toward others. She was gifted with the ability to diffuse tense situations and move toward a different perspective.

Retirement from the classroom and administrative duties brought new opportunities for Sister to use her talents in various positions: school secretary, business manager, assistant bookkeeper and service in the community office and development office. She accomplished a great deal with her people skills which were every bit as excellent as her professional skills. Sister Maretta helped create a vibrant community life among the sisters with whom she lived. All her life she was known for her wit, dry sense of humor and amazing ability to see the humor in the most ordinary events. No one could tell a better story. She was an avid reader and an intelligent and interesting conversationalist.

As her health declined and she was confined to a wheelchair, Sister Maretta continued to assist in community whenever she was able, always faithful to her call to serve and to love. She was observant and remained concerned about how others were doing. She was appreciative for all who ministered to her. May Sister Maretta, who dedicated her whole life to enriching the lives of others, now experience peace and joy in the embrace of our good and loving God.