Sister DelRey Richard, SSND

Our beloved Sister DelRey Richard, 81, died suddenly and unexpectedly at 3:20 pm. on Friday, February 10, 2017, as she was enjoying a snack in the dining room at Good Counsel Convent, Mankato, Minnesota. Sisters Ann Carol Kaufenberg, Anna Louise Kemen and Jana Roberts were with her at this time. Sister DelRey had recently moved into Notre Dame Health Care. The Funeral Liturgy, with Father Andrew Olsem as presider, will be held Thursday, February 16, at 10:30 a.m. in Our Lady of Good Counsel Chapel, followed by burial in the Good Counsel Cemetery. Visitation and a prayer service will be held on Wednesday evening. We extend our sympathy to her sisters Kathleen Safratowich, Betty (Loren) Counce and Leone Van Vleet. She was preceded in death by her parents William and Antonia (Sauvageau) Richard, her sister Rosalie and her brothers Billy, Leonard and Don. Sister DelRey was born November 27, 1935, on the family farm south of Belfield, North Dakota. The third of eight children, she was baptized Ida Mae on December 1 at St. Bernard’s Church. Her mother’s side of the family can trace their ancestry to 1663, when 20-year old Claude Sauvageot left France and settled in Quebec. In 1871 Ida’s great-grandfather, Zenophile Sauvageau, moved with his family south of Fargo, North Dakota, to Wild Rice, and began farming. Ida and her brothers and sisters grew up on the family farm on the prairies of western North Dakota. She wrote, “Through the sacrifices of my loving parents all eight of us children were given a Catholic education. In September of 1942, I started my boarding school years at St. Mary’s School, New England, North Dakota. For the next twelve years I was under the careful guidance and supervision of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.” In her autobiography, Sister DelRey told the story that led to her entering the School Sisters of Notre Dame. “When I was ten years old, on the occasion of my grandparents’ golden wedding anniversary, I promised Our Lord after Holy Communion that when my grandfather died, I would promise to become a sister. I knew that my grandfather was a very holy man for he spent many hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament during Perpetual Adoration at our church. I renewed this intention each time I received Holy Communion during my grade school years. As a high school student, the thought of becoming a sister faded into the background until one day in my senior year, while listening to a retreat conference, the thought and desire to become a sister came back never to leave me again.” Ida graduated from St. Mary’s in May 1954, and entered the SSND candidature in September. She was received into the novitiate in July 1955, and given the name Mary DelRey. Her vocation story continues, “On April 1, 1956, my formal petition to take vows was presented to Mother Superior. Two days later I received a letter from my mother stating that my grandfather had died on April 1. Through the grace of God, my promise had been fulfilled.” Sister DelRey professed First Vows on July 17, 1956, and spent the next year as a college student at Good Counsel. In August 1957, she received her first teaching assignment – grade three at St. Joseph, Red Wing. Three years later, she moved to SS. Peter & Paul, New Hradec, “a boarding school on the plains of North Dakota,” where she stayed until 1962. Sister DelRey described her experience there, “After a while I became used to having boarders around all week. Although there were things to accept, they were balanced off with hilarious incidents that can be found only in a boarding school.” (When word of her death was posted on Facebook, two former New Hradec students commented: “She was my teacher in New Hradec and one of my favorites,” and “I loved her in summer Catechism!!!) Sister DelRey continued her Catholic school ministry at Holy Rosary, North Mankato (1962-65); St. Stanislaus, Winona (1965-67); and St. Francis Xavier, Sartell (1967-72), where she also was principal for two years. She taught art and English at Trinity High School, Dickinson, North Dakota during the 1972-73 academic year, and taught art at Good Counsel Academy during the 1973-74 year. She was principal and part time teacher at St. Anne, Bismarck, North Dakota from 1974 to 1985. While in Bismarck, she was featured in an individual art show in 1981 and taught an art methods class at Mary College. She also served as elementary principal at St. Dominic, Northfield (1985-87) and St. John Vianney, Fairmont (1987-89). She was interviewed by the Fairmont newspaper when she began her ministry there, and was asked about the relevance of the Catholic school. She responded that she believes that “the Catholic school should stress the beliefs and values of the Christian community and provide an atmosphere where children love to come to school and teachers love to teach.” During her years in formal education, she earned a BA degree with an art major and English/elementary education minor from Mount Mary College in 1966 and an MA in elementary administration from Northern State College, Aberdeen, South Dakota in 1981. She was active in local and SSND education associations, conducted art workshops for teachers and served on accreditation teams in both North Dakota and Minnesota. She also belonged to SSND province stewardship and ministry committees. Sister DelRey assumed the directorship of Good Counsel Education Center in 1989. She involved herself thoroughly in the position and also reached out to the greater Mankato community, becoming a member of various committees and organizations. At the conclusion of her term in 1992, she wrote the following in her note of appreciation to the province: “I shall look upon my stay there as the most exciting and happy assignment I have had. My best times were the celebrations when all the sisters came home. It was a pleasure to serve you. Thank you for your many expressions of appreciation.” In 1993, following a sabbatical year, Sister DelRey embarked on a multi-faceted ministry in which she used her wide array of artistic talents. First in Mankato for one year, then in St. Cloud for another, and then for several years in Lonsdale (1995-2002), and finally again in Mankato, she was a complete interior decorator – designing, sewing, and arranging in a variety of settings. At Good Counsel she replaced most of the curtains in the building during the 1993-94 year. At Lonsdale, she worked as freelance decorator with no need to advertise, going into new and remodeled homes to share her talent for decorating. Back in Mankato, she worked with chapel and provincial house environment and started the Specialty Shop, which featured clothing and other items not only of her design, but of other artists, too. She was often called on to create special settings for meetings, receptions and gatherings. She worked with a keen eye for beauty and an insistence on perfection that was evident in all that she did, whether it was a table setting for a meal (food included), decorations for a festive event, or an accessorizing scarf, to name a few. An accomplished artist, she also produced abstract paintings for family, SSND community and friends. Several photo albums attest to the high quality and great quantity of her work. Her family members possessed artistic ability also. With her eye for beauty, Sister DelRey nevertheless had an avid interest in a sport not associated with beauty at all – NASCAR racing! Classmates and friends recall her full attention given to the Indianapolis 500 and her trips to the Elko Speedway about one hour north of Mankato. She was also a great fan of the Minnesota Timberwolves basketball team. In her final years, dementia dimmed her creativity. She did not deny the onset of dementia and accepted the challenges that this condition carried. “Beauty is a heart motivated by love.” Sister DelRey lived this theme throughout her life. Friends say that the more beautiful things were, the happier she was. May she now rejoice as she now sees clearly the “beauty ever ancient and the beauty ever new” of eternal life. Sister Mary Kay Ash, SSND