Sister Mary Dale

Sister Mary Dale                ND 5028          ⇒PDF Download
Kathleen Mary BURGARD

Mary Immaculate Province, Toledo, Ohio, USA

Date and Place of Birth:    August 29, 1939     Monroe, Michigan
Date and Place of Profession:   August 11, 1959  Toledo, Ohio
Date and Place of Death:    August 21, 2015     Sylvania, Ohio
Date and Place of Funeral:  August 25, 2015     Toledo, Ohio

“I turn toward You and follow You, my God”

Born Kathleen “Kay” Mary to Ross and Hedwig Stock Burgard, as the seventh of eleven children, she grew up on the family farm in Erie, Michigan. There Kay learned to love God, have good wholesome fun, share the household tasks, work in the fields, and care for children. A deep prayer life was nurtured in the hearts of the Burgard children by the daily practice of evening family rosary and night prayer. Kay attended St. Joseph School in Erie, Michigan and then enrolled as a student at Notre Dame Academy as an aspirant in preparation to later becoming a Sister of Notre Dame in Toledo, Ohio.

Upon graduation from Notre Dame Academy she entered the novitiate, receiving the name Sister Mary Dale. Eventually her sisters Annette (Sister Mary Marc) and Christine (Sister Mary Kent) would join Sister Mary Ross and Sister Mary Dale in Notre Dame.

Sister Mary Dale belongs to a family of creative and gifted educators. At family gatherings they discussed new trends in education and shared ideas that were successful in their classrooms. Sister became an exceptional primary teacher for 36 years ministering in Florida, Indiana, and Michigan as well as schools in the Toledo Diocese. Beginning teachers eager to succeed in this chosen profession likewise benefitted from this master teacher, learning from Sister Mary Dale not only teaching methods but also the importance of reverence for the child given to their care.

All who knew Sister Mary Dale were touched by her gentle ways, her sensitivity, her generosity and her attentive care for all that concerned them. This beautiful spirit and her fidelity to prayer impacted the lives of many in her fifty-five years of service as teacher and principal, as a mentor of beginning teachers, as coordinator in our local religious communities, as friend and co-sister, or as a passing acquaintance. Sister had a tender devotion to Mary and had an intuitive sense that for many, the way to Jesus was through his Mother. She enjoyed crocheting and making knot rosaries in order to gift students and family with small gifts on special days.

Even though she was of frail health over the past years, during Holy Week of 2015 she became seriously ill and needed surgery. Her health continued to deteriorate during the spring and summer months. With her family gathered at her side, she gently surrendered herself to the Merciful God. May she enjoy the eternal dwelling with her loving God and Blessed Mother.