Sister Mary Donald Miller, SSND

“The gift you have received, give as gift.” Matthew 10:8

Our beloved Sister Mary Donald Miller, SSND, 92, died peacefully at 9:20 a.m. on Monday, October 14, 2019, in Notre Dame Health Care, Good Counsel Hill, Mankato, Minnesota. Sisters had been praying with her since she was placed on Hospice the preceding week.

The funeral liturgy, with Father Eugene Stenzel as presider, will be held Monday, October 21, at 10:30 a.m. in Our Lady of Good Counsel Chapel. Burial will follow in the Good Counsel Cemetery. Visitation will be held Sunday, October 20, 2:00-5:00 p.m., with a prayer service scheduled at 3:00. We extend our sympathy to Sister Mary Donald’s nieces and nephews and their families, her friends, colleagues and former students, and her sisters in community, the School Sisters of Notre Dame and SSND Associates. She was preceded in death by her parents, Henry and Barbara (Smith) Miller, her sister Marguerite Smith, and her brothers Douglas, Fred, Tom and Don.

Born two months prematurely in a St. Paul hospital on February 8, 1927, and weighing just over three pounds, Sister Mary Donald (named Patricia), the youngest Miller child, was not expected to survive. A nurse quickly baptized her because there was no time to contact a priest. Patricia spent the first six weeks of life in an incubator, and later wrote, “Only after these six weeks could my mother hold me in her arms. Till then she could only peek through a window.” Several serious illnesses marked Patricia’s early years; three bouts with pneumonia, whooping cough and tonsillitis threatened her life. She wrote, “But I thrived on my dear mother’s wonderful care, and soon I developed from a frail delicate being into a strong, robust child.” In 1933, Patricia entered first grade in the neighborhood school, Randolph Heights. When she was nine, the family moved to the other side of town and she was able to attend St. Columba School for grades four through eight. Sister Mary Donald described her call to religious life: “On graduating from eighth grade in 1941, I attended St. Agnes High School where the example and spirit of Notre Dame had its influence on me. During grade school I felt no inclination to the religious life but I had great esteem for the sisters. I recall having told a priest after eighth grade graduation that he would never see me joining the convent, for I was too full of mischief.” During her high school years she worked at various locations, including factories, an office and a bakery, and took care of children several evenings a week. She also belonged to several parish, school and city athletic teams and clubs. She continued her vocation story: “It must have been in my freshman year that our Blessed Mother took a special grip on my hand to lead me to Notre Dame, for I felt a strong attraction to the sisters, and this inclination grew until my ideals were realized when I entered the SSND candidature, August 28, 1945.” She was received into the novitiate in July 1947, and given the name Sister Mary Donald, the name of one of her brothers. The theme of gratitude runs through Sister Mary Donald’s writings: “My first vows were taken July 17, 1948, and seems to me now more important than final vows, because it was ‘forever’ in my heart. Daily I have thanked God for the call to Notre Dame.” Her first teaching experience was at St. Matthew School, St. Paul (1948-49), where she taught 58 fourth graders, took three college classes on Saturdays and another class three times a week at Diocesan Teachers’ College (DTC), and counted the Sunday collection until well past noon on Sundays. The next year, she moved to St. Agnes in St. Paul because it was closer to DTC. After finishing DTC in 1950, she taught for one year at St. Michael School, in Madison, Minnesota. In 1951, she began a nine-year stint at St. Joseph, Red Wing. She taught third and fourth grades and later moved up to seventh grade. Describing her time in Red Wing, she wrote, “It was here that I began a growing interest in helping students with reading problems, and great emphasis was placed on the teaching of reading in the classroom by our principal.” Also in Red Wing, Sister Mary Donald coached the school basketball team. Two high school students, Betty (Schaffer) Ahlers and Pat McCusker, helped with transportation of the team, and through their association with Sister Mary Donald became close friends with her. Betty later commented, “She was a continual source of support to me and I admired the way she lived her life.” Sister Mary Donald next taught seventh graders at Holy Rosary School in North Mankato (1960-62) and then was principal and eighth grade teacher at St. Casimir School, Wells, until 1966. She commented about her time in Wells, “I recall the emphasis placed on reading throughout all the grades and the fine teamwork manifested by all the teachers.” During her years of teaching, Sister Mary Donald earned a Bachelor of Science in education from Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, in 1957 and an M.A. in reading from Cardinal Stritch College, Milwaukee, in 1964. Noting Sister Mary Donald’s commitment to and success in elementary education, SSND leadership asked her to be a part of the Education Department of the Mankato Campus of Mount Mary College on Good Counsel Hill in 1966. She later wrote, “I was scared to death! I hadn’t even taught high school and now they wanted me in college!” In this capacity she taught several education classes to postulants and young sisters, sharing her expertise in a variety of ways. Due to the construction of a new building for Good Counsel Academy, a former residence hall at Good Counsel was vacated. Sisters were asked for ideas for the building. Sister Mary Donald had a suggestion: “I know what I would do. Start a reading center.” She convinced province leadership that she was serious and was told, “The building is yours.” She enlisted the help of her Cardinal Stritch adviser, recruited sisters for various tasks, and opened the Good Counsel Reading Center in the summer of 1967. Fifty-seven students and six adults attended the six-week session. Over the past 52 years the Reading Center has become the Learning Center, and has transitioned to serving both adult immigrants and others needing to learn English, as well as children with learning difficulties. Sister Mary Donald directed the Learning Center until 1975, and also served in initial SSND formation 1973-75. In 1975, Sister Mary Donald became principal at St. Stanislaus School in Winona. She summarized her time there: “These eighteen years were full of surprises, challenges and growthful opportunities. After ten years, the Winona Catholic Schools went through a series of consolidated changes. I was asked to continue as superintendent/director of the consolidation and full-time principal of the middle school. These changes, brought about through pain and letting go from parishioners, teachers and students, developed into a thriving educational system.” What this summary leaves out is the immense love and appreciation shown to Sister Mary Donald by the people of Winona. One of her favorite experiences was being selected Jack Frost in the 1991 Winona Winter Carnival. St. Mary’s University bestowed its highest honor on her, an honorary Doctor of Education degree, and she also received the Bishop’s Medal of Service. It was in Winona that she became known as the “Shoe Nun.” She learned that she could earn a commission for every pair of Mason shoes she sold, commissions that became a tuition fund for needy school families. For several years, she carried shoe catalogs with her at all times, encouraging those she met to purchase shoes for her cause. In 1993, Sister Mary Donald brought her concern and love for students to the Mankato Area Catholic School System, serving as principal of Holy Rosary Intermediate and Fitzgerald Middle School. She continued to draw out the best efforts from both staff and students and implemented programs to improve the educational atmosphere. One of her strong interests was that of a Peace School. Working with students, staff and parents to develop a set of guidelines, Sister Mary Donald promoted the culture of peace at Fitzgerald. The school’s efforts were recognized when the student body received the Mankato Dr. Martin Luther King Pathfinder Award in 2003. In 2004, Sister Mary Donald “semi-retired” but stayed on the Mankato staff as a mentor to teachers and students. Beginning in 2005 and almost until the day she died, Sister Mary Donald remained active in some capacity with the Learning Center. Her last efforts were to help some of the Good Counsel nursing assistants with their citizenship studies. Her commitment to education and community was recognized in 2008 when she received the Mankato YWCA Woman of Distinction award. And throughout her life, she maintained her attitude of gratitude. Her response to “How are you?” was consistently, “I’m grateful.” She treasured her extended family and was grateful for any opportunity to be with them. She participated fully in Notre Dame Hall activities and community meetings, and was a member of the weekly sisters’ Spanish class. At events involving the Mankato community, many who were present made it a point to greet her. She reached out to others through phone calls and letters, still written in perfect penmanship. Sister Mary Donald received a gift – and she shared it with all. May the gift of being forever in God’s presence now be hers.