Wayne McDonnell, St. Benedict's, Baltimore, MD
I graduated from St. Benedict’s School in Baltimore, MD, in 1963. I credit the School Sisters with keeping me on the straight and narrow and encouraging me to work hard and be self-confident. I remember Sr. Earl Mary, who taught 5th grade and was head of the altar boys. She also taught us the Latin prayers that the altar boys said at mass. She was well liked by everyone. I see a lot of St. Benedict’s graduates, and one of the first things they ask is, "What became of Sr. Earl Mary"?
(Sister Earl Mary Moores died in 2017. Here's her obituary.) My wife and I have stayed connected with the SSND schools most of our lives. Colleen, my wife of 49 years, was taught by SSNDs at St. Joseph Monastery School in Baltimore, graduating in 1965 and went to a new high school, Archbishop Keough in Baltimore, staffed by the same School Sisters, graduating in the first class in 1969. My wife became and still is a teacher in the Catholic schools. She taught at a Dominican high school in Baltimore for 19 years, where she was head of the English department. She helped lead many students into the teaching profession including our youngest daughter, who now teaches with her mother at St. Augustine School in Elkridge, MD, another SSND school with a history well over 100 years.
We have also been involved with Sisters Academy in Lansdowne, MD - a school run by Sr. Delia Dowling SSND. Since the schools’ opening, we have sponsored a female student and we visit often.
We have supported the SSNDs over the years, and I still on occasion go to Villa Assumpta on Charles St. where the Sisters live in retirement.
Thanks to the Sisters for all they did for me, my sisters and my wife’s family and so many of our friends. May God continue to bless those both living and deceased.
Do you have an alum story to share? Contact Laurie Molner at lmolner@amssnd.org. You can also visit the alumnae page here on our website which has slide shows and stories from many SSND schools.
