Sister Martha Mooney, OSU '58: Says, "Farewell For Now"
Posted on October 3, 2018 in Articles
Author: Eileen McCann
Student, alumna, Ursuline Sister, teacher, Assistant Principal, Principal, math tutor. Those words describe the many roles of Sister Martha Mooney, OSU ’58 and her 64-year journey at Beaumont School. She was practically born at Beaumont School. But she announced at the end of the 2017-18 school year that she would pursue a new ministry. While she will no longer be a daily presence, we trust she will never be away from Beaumont for very long.
Sister Martha relished her most recent stint at Beaumont as a Math Tutor, Moderator of the Future Teachers’ Association and Moderator of the Faculty/Student Mission Integration Team. “I have the best job,” she would beam. Alums from the 1970s and ’80s when she was Assistant Principal and Principal, may remember her differently. Sister jokes with her trademarked self-deprecation, “even my family used to ask me if I would ever smile again.” Her fondness for Beaumont students was just as great, but clearly the role demanded a serious front.
Sister credits many other Ursulines for paving her way and offering her their expertise including Sister Kenan, Sister Claudia Klyn, Sister Margaret Ann Kelley and Sister John Mary. She quickly deflects attention, often with a funny story about herself. Sister Martha often made new friends among the current students, only to realize she had taught their grandmothers!
A frequent topic, of course, is the sizable family tree through which she is connected to an endless sea of Mooney and Monroe relatives, many of whom also attended Beaumont over the decades. We often joke that all of Beaumont is six degrees from Sister Martha.
Her love of Beaumont is woven throughout her life. An equal constant is her dedication to the memory of Sister Dorothy Kazel, OSU. Serving as Principal in December 1980, Sister Martha recalls dismissing school when the news arrived that Sister Dorothy and her three fellow missionaries were brutally murdered in El Salvador. In the almost 40 years since, she has kept Sister Dorothy alive at Beaumont, telling her story to students and faculty alike. Sister Dorothy was a Beaumont guidance counselor before leaving for El Salvador, “a friend to the friendless” as Sister Martha describes, with limitless compassion for the students. When (not if) Sister Dorothy Kazel is canonized for sainthood, know that it was Sister Martha who foretold of these events.
It seems only fitting then, that those who want to honor Sister Martha’s long and cherished Beaumont legacy, may do so through a gift to the Sister Dorothy Kazel Scholarship Fund.
In addition to awarding this student scholarship, Beaumont continues to celebrate Mass each December, rededicating ourselves anew to spread Dorothy’s message of justice for all people.
Sister Martha has been spreading the message of both St. Angela and Sister Dorothy, encouraging us to turn to them again and again for friendship and support. She is our modern day “Face of Angela,” whom we “recognized as our faithful friend” (Ninth Counsel).
She will be missed. We wish her well in her next endeavor, hopeful that she will be back to visit often.
To make a gift to the Sister Dorothy Kazel, OSU, Scholarship Fund in honor of Sister Martha Mooney, please visit www.beaumontschool.org/giving or call Eileen McCann at (216) 325-7328
Original Article From: https://www.beaumontschool.org/alumnae/beaumont-news/2018-fall-beaumont-news
