The first of nine children, Mary Noreen, was born to Robert and Agnes Forestell Brown at St. Joseph Hospital, Baltimore, on September 28, 1918. Baby Noreen was baptized two weeks later at Blessed Sacrament Church. Though Agnes was small in stature and quiet by disposition, as her daughter, Noreen, would be, she raised her large family by "loving" them and was considered a "darling" mother. Bob Brown, a superintendent at the McCormack Spice Co. was a "great" father. A family image that Noreen remembered was that of the supper table around which the children sat up tall with a parent at either end.
At six years of age, Noreen was eager to start classes at Blessed Sacrament School. She formed a life-long friendship with her first grade teacher, Sister Octaviana. First Holy Communion was a "significant happening" in the second grade and Noreen was confirmed in the eighth grade. After eighth grade graduation, Noreen attended the Institute of Notre Dame. At the end of the school day, Noreen would visit Sister Octaviana then at the nearby St. Anthony Orphanage where Noreen enjoyed helping with the children.
Though Noreen was hoping to enter the School Sisters of Notre Dame after graduation in 1936, the youngest Brown child, Patricia, was newly born. Noreen felt needed at home and took full care of the baby. In February of the following year, St. Mark’s School, Catonsville, Md. was searching for a second grade teacher. On the recommendation of Sister Pierre, Noreen’s teacher at IND, Noreen was asked to take the position. Just 18 years old, Noreen successfully undertook this responsibility. When the year ended, Noreen expressed her desire to enter the community and her family assured her that she was free to make that decision.
Noreen entered the congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame on the feast of St. Augustine in 1937. After two years as a student in the candidature, Noreen was received into the novitiate on July 8, 1939, her mother’s birthday, and was given the name, Sister M. John Berchman. She was pleased to learn this saint was the patron of altar boys. The novitiate was a happy time for Sister as she enjoyed being with Venerable Sister Eustace and her companion sisters. Sister John Berchman professed her first vows on July 29, 1940.
Soon Sister John Berchman was on the train headed to Rochester, N.Y. where she was appointed the teacher of grade two. Her friendship with Sister Hilary Doyle, also a community member, made a difficult first year easier. At the end of that year, Sister was transferred to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Roxbury, Mass. (1941-42). She then taught second grade at St. Mary’s, Hagerstown, Md. (1942-44) and fourth grade at Holy Family, Rochester, N.Y.(1944-46). An assignment that Sister loved was at St. Mary in East Islip, N.Y.(1946-50) which included a move to junior high classes where she felt a closer relationship with the students. From 1950 to 1967, Sister taught junior high level students at St. Michael, Hollidaysburg, Pa., St. Benedict, Baltimore, St. Boniface, Philadelphia, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Camden, N.J., Most Holy Name, Pittsburgh and a return to her first teaching experience, St. Mark, Catonsville, Md.
Sister’s next two missions were teaching on a secondary level at Cathedral Academy in Camden, N.J. and The Academy of Our Lady, Washington, D.C. (1967-1970). A change to St. Matthew School, Baltimore, pleased Noreen as her elderly mother was living across the street so she could easily visit (1970-71). Sister Noreen sought and obtained permission to accept a position at Mt. Washington Country School for Boys in the seventh grade (1971-73). She spent the year 1973-74 at Santa Isabel School in Los Angeles, Calif. Sister Noreen returned to Maryland where she became the director of religious education at St. Joseph, Sykesville (1974-79). She was familiar with St. Joseph’s from Sundays of volunteering when she lived at Catonsville. Sister Noreen called this experience "wonderful."
California again beckoned Sister Noreen. She lived in the Los Angeles area holding a variety of positions, one of which was in the bookstore at Loyola-Marymount University where she remained for 18 years and called it "a great blessing in my life." A fall brought Sister Noreen to Villa Assumpta in 2006 where she made her home in Assumption Community. She soon found part time work at the Loyola University bookstore. After a time of adjustment, she began to enjoy both her work and the ability to see family members who lived nearby.
Sister Noreen sought the freedom to be her own person. She was a determined and independent spirit. She considered her work beyond the days in formal education as, "a time for which I am very grateful." She believed that her vocation was God’s plan for her and she gave "praise and gratitude for this special providence."
Sister Noreen’s higher education included a Bachelor of Science in Education from the College of Notre Dame of Maryland (now University) in 1955 and a Master of Science in Education from Loyola College (now University) in 1968.
Sister Noreen died quietly on Monday, May 15, 2017, a few months shy of her 99th birthday. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in the chapel of Villa Assumpta on May 23, 2017 with Rev. Francis Ouma of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Towson, Md. as celebrant. Interment followed at Villa Maria Cemetery, Glen Arm Rd., Glen Arm, Md. Sister Noreen is survived by her brother, George Brown; sisters-in-law, Mildred Brown and Delores Brown; brothers-in-law, Walter Ross and Ed Warns and nieces and nephews.
- Sister Jeanne Hildenbrand, SSND
