Sister Spotlight: Sharon Steglich, OP

Since her retirement in 2019, Sister Sharon Steglich, OP has dedicated her time to serving her community in countless ways. Sr. Sharon grew up and attended Catholic schools in Port Arthur, Texas, where she was taught by Dominican Sisters of Houston. Inspired by the sisters, she entered the convent in 1959 and earned her BA in education from Dominican College in Houston. Sr. Sharon lovingly and patiently taught first grade for an inspiring fifty-one years, twenty-seven of those years were in the small town of Orange, Texas. She loved teaching in Orange where she knew everyone in the community and felt as if she were teaching family. 

On her love of teaching first grade, Sr. Sharon has said, “I had a difficult time learning as a child, especially with reading. As a teacher I taught phonics and was really successful at it. You learn so much in the first grade, and I wanted to help the children learn to read. I had patience with the children because I had the same struggles growing up.” 

This same sense of compassion and community that drove her teaching ministry has made Sr. Sharon beloved and invaluable in our retirement community. When sisters in our congregation learned Sharon would be featured in DomLife, they were thrilled. 

Sr. Sharon is involved in so many aspects of day-to-day life on the Motherhouse campus and at the sisters’ retirement home, such as assisting with funeral arrangements, gardening, helping with special events, running errands for sisters, anticipating and fulfilling needs, creating and arranging lovely decorations, and personally thanking donors and organizing mailings to them. Sharon is constantly attentive to chapel needs and to our visiting sisters from Vietnam who perform sacristan duties and arrange the weekly environment. She also provides what they need for maintaining the beauty of our Meditation Garden outside of the chapel. Many sisters request her to accompany them on doctor visits because they trust her so much. And Sr. Sharon does it all so graciously with a smile on her face. 

Sr. Sharon enjoys religious life and is grateful for the opportunity to have learned, studied, succeeded, and served. Her community remains grateful for her many gifts and caring spirit.