Dooley Center in Atchison was excited to see an article in the Aging Update last week that LeadingAge National was seeking nominations for their “Words from the Wise” program to be highlighted at their upcoming Annual Meeting and Expo. Renee Porter submitted several individuals that were so inspiring, we wanted to share with everyone.
Sr. Paula Howard
Sister Paula Howard is a member of Mount St. Scholastica—the Benedictine Sisters of Atchison, Kansas—where she has dedicated her life to mission work. Sister Paula participated in several ministries in her 95 years and has enjoyed them all. She was dedicated to her work as a teacher at Bethlehem University in the Holy Land, where she often experienced the sounds of gunshots and was exposed to tear gas as a result of the tension between the Palestinians and Israelis. She retired at age 65 years and came home to Kansas. Upon her arrival she was asked to serve temporarily as dean at Donnelly College—a job that lasted 9 years. She then served as the assistant to the president of the College for one year. While working at Donnelly College she taught herself how to paint landscapes by watching Bob Ross on television. Sister Paula retired from Donnelly College at age 75 years and came home to the Monastery. Upon her return she took a workshop on iconography at Sophia Center and began to write icons of saints. She has written close to 250 icons and has raised approximately $6000 per year to help support her community. For the community sesquicentennial in 2013, Sister Paula was asked to write the history of the Mount from 1965-2013. The book, Monastic Springs, took her 5 years to write and was published when she was 90 years old. She also designed the medal that was given to members during the sesquicentennial celebration. Today, Sister Paula dedicates her time to her religious life and continues to write icons two days a week. She says, “It has been a good life, mainly because of the people I got to know during my 75 years of religious life.”
Sr. Joyce Myers
Sister Joyce Meyers is a member of the Mount St. Scholastica, Benedictine Sisters of Atchison, KS, where she has dedicated her life to mission work. Throughout Sr. Joyce Meyers 95 years, she has made a phenomenal impact on many lives. Prior to turning 65 she was a math, physics and English teacher, followed by being a principal for 15 years and starting the first School Board at her school. Since 65, she has owned and operated her own psychology practice, dedicating her practice to serving the poor and only charging $2-5 per visit for those impoverished. She had a group of adolescents that called her their looney tuner. She retired from her practice at 84 years old, but continues to see a few patients to this day. She has one patient who stated, “she is the only person I can talk to about what really counts.” Sr. Joyce then continued to live in Kansas City and volunteer at Keeler Women’s Center, a place that serves impoverished women. Her volunteering included tutoring women to get their GED’s or to finish their degrees, watching children of single mothers, where she only played intellectual games so the children had some form of education and assisting women in finding jobs. In addition, Sr. Joyce was an active water skier until her mid-80’s, where she taught many children how to water ski. She was also a downhill skier until the age of 82, a hunter and a fisherman until her mid-80’s. She now volunteers her time in her community working in the development office taking in donations, coding them and doing the paperwork for the treasurer. Sr. Joyce states, “I have had a great life, I got to do everything I wanted to do, and I had a great time doing it.”
Sr. Maria Larkin
Sister Maria Larkin is a member of Mount St. Scholastica—the Benedictine Sisters of Atchison, Kansas—where she has dedicated her life to mission work. Sister Maria Larkin has had an impact on people worldwide in her ministry of teaching. She speaks a number of languages, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, and basic Latin, along with her primary language, English. Sister Maria’s love of language took her to several different countries where she taught for many years. When Sister Maria retired from teaching, at age 73 years, she found a new passion: jail ministries. She first became involved in visiting persons in jail because of her language skills. She began working with immigration detainees, who were thousands of miles away from home and struggled with language and laws they did not understand. Sister Maria assisted these men and women by helping them contact relatives and by praying with them. Sister Maria also writes letters to men and women on death row and helps them find peace. Each week she visits the local jail and provides daily meditations and Scripture sheets for those who are incarcerated. She hosts a weekly Bible study inside one of the jail’s pods. Sister Maria likes to remind the men and women in jail that God’s love is limitless. Sister Maria has been involved in jail ministry for the past 16 years, and continues her mission work to this day.
