Jubilee 2011 Tacoma

Jubilees in June
Tacoma Dominicans: 2011 Jubilarians

SISTER NANCY O’REILLY, OP
(Sister Mary Clement)
60 years

A native of County Galway, Ireland, Sister Nancy entered the Tacoma Dominican Community in 1949 and made First Profession of Vows in 1951.

Sister Nancy attended Tacoma Catholic College, received a BA from Central Washington University, did graduate work in counseling and theology at Dominican College, San Rafael, CA and earned a RN diploma from College of the Desert, Palm Desert, CA.

Over the past sixty years, Sister has served as a teacher, Pastoral Associate and health care worker in several dioceses including Seattle; San Diego and San Bernardino, CA; and St. Augustine, Florida.

Sister Nancy has worked with and advocated for homeless and abused women and children for many years. She is currently living in Seattle.

Sister Peg Murphy, a native of Rockchapel, County Cork, Ireland, entered the Postulate in Crosshaven, Ireland on October 7, 1958. She traveled from Ireland to Tacoma in December 1958 and continued her preparation for religious life at Mt. St. Dominic Novitiate. She received the Dominican habit on June 18, 1959 and the name Sister Mary Patricia. She made her profession on August 12, 1961. Sister Peg has 5 sisters and 1 brother. Her sisters, Sister Nora Murphy and her twin Sister Mary Pat Murphy, are also Tacoma Dominicans. Her parents, Martin and Nora and a brother Gerald died several years ago. Her early home life fostered her commitment to social justice.

She graduated from high school in 1953 and worked at various positions in Ireland and then worked in England for two years before entering religious life. According to Peg, “for years I was pondering choices of lifestyle and, finally, religious life called out over married life which was also an attractive option. I see now that the example of how my parents lived their lives in tune with others and all of creation imprinted the desire in me to live life with intention, to be aware of what was happening in the world around me, to practice justice and compassion for others.”

Sister Peg received her BA from St. Martin’s in Olympia and her MA in religious studies from Seattle University. During her time in Springfield, OR, she continued to take post graduate courses in counseling.

She taught at St. Francis School, Bakersfield, 1962-1964; St. Paul School, Yakima, 1964-1965 and again from 1969-1978; Our Lady of the Lake School, Seattle, 1965-1968; and Hilda Lahti School, Astoria, 1978-1981. From 1981-1991 she served as a pastoral associate at St. Alice Parish in Springfield, OR. She was elected to the Tacoma Dominican Leadership Team in 1991 and served in that capacity for eight years.

Sister Peg was part of the founding “dreamers of Catherine Place” in 2000. She has served as the Executive Director of Catherine Place since 2000 (see article on page 6).

About the work of the Tacoma Dominican Community, Sister Peg says, “I feel richly blessed because of our collaborative mode of operation with other religious
communities and groups locally, nationally and globally which facilitate our living out the vision and mission of our community which calls us to work for justice for all peoples in society and in the church especially for women, for people who are materially poor or in bondage and those who are excluded for any reason.”

Sister Maureen O’Brien, a Burlington, WA native, attended St. Edward School, grades 4-8 and Holy Rosary High School in Seattle. Following high school, she entered the Tacoma Dominican Community at Mt. St. Dominic in Tacoma in July 1958.

She received the habit and name Sister Mary Clarice on June 18, 1959 and professed her vows on August 12, 1961. Her education included the University of Washington where she received a degree in Speech and Language Therapy.

Before embarking on a ministry of speech and language therapy full time, she taught in the following schools: Holy Cross, Tacoma, 1960-1961; St. Paul School, Yakima, 1961-1963; Assumption School, Seattle, 1963-1964; Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, Bakersfield, 1964-1965; St. Mary’s, Centralia, 1965-1966; and Our Lady of the Lake School, Seattle, 1966-1970.

Sister Maureen worked as a Speech and Language Therapist at St. George School, Seattle, 1974-1977; St. Anthony, Renton, 1974-1996; St. Catherine School, Seattle, 1977-1981 and St. Louise, Bellevue, 1981-1996. She is presently at St. Anthony School in Renton where she has served as a Speech and Language Therapist for the past 34 years.

For Sister Maureen, “The dreams, hopes and vision I have for our community is that we continue into the future meeting the challenges that enable us to create a just society. Belonging to our community has given me the joy, love, encouragement, support and trust I have needed to do my ministry in the footsteps of St. Dominic, our founder. As I reflect on this jubilee year I am filled with gratitude, love and joy for all that has brought me this far on my journey to our heavenly reward.”

In addition to her work at St. Anthony, Sister Maureen works with the refugees and the homeless. She is active in the community - working against Human Trafficking, working for Immigration Reform, and serving on the Associate Committee.