A few years before she was 17 God seemed to be saying, “Come, Marion, follow Me.” Marion describes the event in the following way: “I was a country girl and had never been far from home, but on February 2,1928 my father took me to the Philadelphia Station on my journey to Newburgh. I was sad leaving him and cried. He said, ‘Don’t cry; I’ll send you some chewing gum when you get there.’ He never thought I’d stay. It really hurt to go, but I felt God was with me. My journey began and still continues72 years later.”

On August 28, 1928 Marion was clothed in the habit of Dominic and in August of the next year Sister Mary Claretta of St. Dominic pronounced her first vows as a Sister of St. Dominic of the Congregation of the Most Holy Rosary of New burgh, NY.

Sister saw her life as a journey and each new mission as another step along that journey. She found it very hard at times, but each time she heard God saying, “Claretta, you can do it. Continue the journey. There is much to do here.”

After teaching for one year at the Mount, Sister went to Fairview, New Jersey where she remained for 18 years. With the earning of her degree from Villanova University came her new assignment. Sister’s words were, “With my first big black pocketbook (as I was the superior) and two other sisters, I boarded the ship and headed off to open a new mission in Puerto Rico.” She describes her years in Puerto Rico as “the greatest stop of all my journeys. We planted the seed which was nurtured by those who came after us. The seed grew and is still growing. It formed a flourishing school which has now blossomed into one of the best schools on the island.”

The Pastor in Villa Caparra was from Spain and spoke no English. Sister Claretta spoke no Spanish, but via whoever could interpret for them they got on famously, and in time Sister acquired quite a facility for what she termed her “kitchen Spanish.”

It was in Villa Caparra that I came to know Sister Claretta. She was one of the kindest persons I have ever known. When I informed her that I didn’t know how to cook, she simply said, “If you can read, you can cook,” and then proceeded to teach me as we worked together over the meals that first week and in the weeks to come. Every time my turn at cooking for the community came around Sister Claretta was there to guide me.

She loved a good time and had a wonderful facility for knowing just when you needed a rest or a change from the routine. With Sister Claretta an afternoon siesta of at least 30 minutes was required and all lights were out at 10:00 pm.

She knew how to boost the spirit while refreshing the energy in the body. With the passage of time and a gift of a station wagon from the pastor, Thursday afternoons were special. Anyone who wanted to go swimming boarded the station wagon immediately after school and we spent the afternoon and evening at one of the many summer homes owned by our parishioners.

Sometimes, when we were all engaged in a common task, such as readying the house for holidays or vacations, etc., and our bodies were tired and our spirits flagging in the midst of work in the tropical heat, Sister Claretta would send out the word to come to the kitchen. Upon our arrival there we found Sister pouring wine as a treat for all. Such a treat was a real rarity in the 1950s.

During my brief visits to the States in the 60s, I always found the welcome mat out wherever she was. I recall some really fun times in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. and later in Deal, N. J. where she was superior.

But it has been in her retirement years that I have enjoyed Sister Claretta most. Sister Lucy and I looked forward to our occasional Saturday morning breakfasts “on the town”. She had a hearty appetite and loved pancakes. After breakfast we often went on a shopping spree. She liked going up and down the aisles at WalMart with her own cart.

She never lost her keen sense of humor. When we visited her last Sunday, she was as sharp as a tack. When I inquired if she was “behaving herself’ she quickly retorted, “No”. And when Sister Lucy promised to bring pictures to share with her when she returned from Alaska, Sister Claretta brightened up and said, “Oh, good.”

Sister Claretta had the ability to see each turn in the road on her journey of life as a gift from God. She describes her retirement years beautifully in the following fashion: “Now, after 70 years on the missions and in service to the congregation, I am enjoying retirement overlooking the majestic Hudson, the mountains and the bridge. Where could one get a better view than from our own fourth floor porch?”

She always seemed to think of others first. A couple of recent events were classic examples.. In April of this year, when she heard that Sister Lucy had had major surgery she telephoned every day to check on her. Sister Lucy came home from the hospital on Friday, and that weekend Claretta came to visit her. On Tuesday of this week she had attended Sister Mary David’s funeral, had gone to lunch, and was getting back to rest in her room when God simply swooped down and took her home.

Had she lived in Colossea at the time, Sister Claretta would have pleased St. Paul because she certainly set her heart on heaven, and when life seemed too hard to bear, she kept her mind fixed on things there, not on things on earth, in the hopes that she would share Christ’s glory in heaven. And the words she most often heard the Lord saying to her were the same words He Himself spoke to Peter, “Come on Claretta. You can do it. Follow me.”

Maura Longshore, OP