"On a cold winter morning, January 21, 1929, in the little mining town of Blossburg, PA., God gave life to a little girl of Catholic parents.” That little girl, youngest of the nine children of Stanley Peter and Helen Marchinack Jerzak, was named Marion Agnes. After 25 years in the coal mines, Stanley Jerzak took a maintenance job in the public parks of Rochester, NY. From the age of six months, Marion Agnes lived with her family in Rochester.
Beginning with her first school days at Most Holy Redeemer School, Rochester, Marion was taught by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She made her first Holy Communion at Most Holy Redeemer Church and was confirmed by Bishop James Kearny, Bishop of Rochester, in 1939.
“From the sixth grade,” Marion said in her autobiography, “the thought of becoming a sister entered my mind many times but I never said anything.” As an eighth grader, she met Sister M. Dosithea, who spoke to the students about attending the Juniorate at Holy Angels Academy in Fort Lee, NJ. After much prayer and study, Marion graduated from Most Holy Redeemer School on June 25, 1944, and then happily spent the next four years at the Juniorate. On her graduation day, June 6, 1948, Marion “prepared to further the development of God’s gift” in the School Sisters of Notre Dame Candidature. She received the bonnet on August 27, 1948 in Most Holy Redeemer Church.
Marion was sent out on mission as a candidate to St. Patrick School, Cumberland, MD, and Most Holy Redeemer School, New York, NY, where she taught third grade. Marion entered the novitiate on July 17, 1950 and received the name, Sister Mary Clarence. She professed her first vows on Aug. 4, 1951.
Sister Mary Clarence’s first mission as a professed sister was St. John’s School, St. Petersburg, FL, where she taught first grade (1951-53). She continued to teach primary grades at St. Augustine School, Elkridge, MD (1953-56); St. Joseph Monastery (1956-62); Christ the King, Tampa, FL (1962-65); St. Patrick, Mt. Savage, MD (1965-67); St. Vincent Orphanage, Tacony, PA (1967-70); St. Margaret Mary, Harrisburg, PA (1971-77); St. Michael and Hollidaysburg Catholic, Hollidaysburg, PA(1977-80); and St. John, Westminster, MD (1982-83). She also worked at Villa Maria, Notch Cliff, in the refectory, and at Villa Assumpta in community service and as a chauffeur.
Sister Marion Agnes graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland (now University) in 1965. In 1973, she received a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ.
Sister Marion Agnes has been described as one of the best-kept secrets of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. She was a special person of gentleness and unassuming gratefulness. It is not difficult to imagine her firm but gentle manner with the young children with whom she spent so many years.
Sister Marion had a sense of humor and fun that attracted others. The story is told of a group of sisters traveling by Greyhound bus to missions in western Maryland. The dark, stormy trip was brightened by Sister Marion’s music, as she entertained the passengers with her ukulele. She forged a lasting friendship with Leslie Tayback, receptionist at Villa Assumpta, over a broken jar of pickles. As a chauffeur at the Villa, she loved to drive. She enjoyed taking the sisters to their appointments and the long drives she took by herself to “get away from things.”
Sister Marion Agnes was a simple, beautiful woman who shared her smiles with everyone. She liked to be hugged and told her visitors, “I need a hug today.” She was especially loved by her caregivers. A doctor she met in the hospital emergency room came to Villa Assumpta just to check on her. A prayerful person, she worried that she couldn’t find Christ in her heart. Through Father Roman’s assurance that Christ found her worthy to dwell in her heart, she prayed to “Jesus in my heart” and found him through faith.
Sister Marion Agnes Jerzak died peacefully at Villa Assumpta on November 15, 2017. A Christian Wake Service was held on November 27. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated by Fr. Roman Kovacheson OFM Cap. on November 28. Both services were held in the chapel at Villa Assumpta. Interment followed at Villa Maria Cemetery, Glen Arm Road, Glen Arm, MD. Sister Marion Agnes is survived by nieces and nephews.
