Patricia Ann Wright was born in Chicago on February 10, 1937, the first child of Wallace L. Wright and Evenlyn Blendow Wright, both native Chicagoans. In her autobiography, she wrote, “The doctor said that my parents should name me “Flash”, for he was certain that I was destined to be a star football player. Dad…and Mom…thought I was worse than three boys…Being the only child, I was a grandma’s girl—and spoiled.”
Patricia was baptized at St. Michael Church in Chicago, and later had one brother, James. She attended St. Bonaventure Grade School and then St. Michael High School, where she first met the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
In 1955, Patricia entered the School Sisters of Notre Dame in the Milwaukee Motherhouse, where, as she also wrote, “I came, I saw and I WAS conquered!” She was received into the novitiate there in 1956, receiving the name Sister Mary Bruce. Her profession was in Milwaukee in 1957, and her final vows at the new motherhouse in Mequon, Wisconsin in 1963.
Sister Mary Bruce taught intermediate grades at St. Charles Borromeo in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; at Ss. Peter and Paul, Milwaukee; at St. Rosalie in Harwood Heights, Illinois; and at St. Paul in Chicago. In 1964, she received a B.S. degree in Education from Mt. Mary College, Milwaukee, and in 1977 an M.A. in Religious Studies from Mundelein College, Chicago.
She became an administrator at St. Paul, and later at St. Margaret of Scotland, also in Chicago, after teaching junior high at St. Margaret for several years.
In 1997, Sister Mary Bruce became Medical Payments Coordinator for the Chicago Province, and eventually, for the Chicago area of the Atlantic-Midwest Province, a position in which she excelled, as she had in education. The Sisters in the Chicago area have been especially grateful for the meticulous way in which she handled their Medicare records, knowing all the ins and outs of the Medicare laws and how to deal with them for the Sisters.
Sister Bruce was an outdoor person who loved nature and dogs. She loved Chicago’s sports teams: Cubs, Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls. She followed their schedules religiously and watched their games. Bowling, however, was her favorite pastime.
Hospitality was one of the many qualities that Sister Bruce possessed. At the Academy of Our Lady, she welcomed each overnight guest with a “welcome” posted on their door. These signs were always carefully and thoughtfully designed to match either the seasons or something of interest to that particular guest.
Sister Mary Bruce retired in 2017, the year of her 60th Jubilee as an SSND. On that occasion, she wrote, “When I entered SSND in 1955 my intent was to be a teacher. I was trained in the fine aspects of education—what to do in the classroom, the how-tos, and all the ins and outs of educating for the future. Over the years I ministered to an agricultural community in Wisconsin; a middle-class university; a blue-collar community; a migrant Hispanic group; and an African American community in Illinois. Connecting with these people and cultures have truly been blessings. The past 60 years have indeed been years of many blessings.”
After two years of valiant struggle with cancer, Sister Mary Bruce died at Resurrection Life Center (RLC) in Chicago on March 1. She had been a member of the Chicago Foster Avenue community since 2007, and had only recently moved to RLC after a hospitalization.
Visitation was held at RLC and at Mater Christi Church in North Riverside, Illinois on March 11. The wake service and Mass of Christian Burial were held that same day at Mater Christi. Interment was on March 12 at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.
