Age 95
A calm and peaceful presence, Sister Shaun quietly shared her faith and love of God and Creation with all she encountered.
After graduating from high school, she worked as a bookkeeper for three years before entering the Sisters of Mercy in Portland, Maine, at the age of 22. She earned a bachelor’s degree in education from St. Joseph’s College in Standish, Maine, and a master’s degree in fine arts from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts.
She taught elementary school for 22 years in the Portland, Maine diocese. Then after pursuing her master’s degree, she taught art for eight years at the high school level at John Bapst High School in Bangor, Maine, and Catherine McAuley Hugh School in Windham, Maine, and at the college level at her alma mater, St. Joseph’s College. She also became a woman of the arts, a gifted painter, jewelry maker and silver smith. She presented workshops in spirituality and art in collaboration with others. Sister Shaun also exhibited her work with other artists at the annual Congress Street Art Walk.
In 1989, she was appointed secretary to the president of the former Portland regional community, a position she held until 1998, when she was appointed community archivist. In addition, she also ministered at McAuley Residence for Women and Children where she generously gave of her time and talent.
During her twenty plus years of living at the retirement center Deering Pavilion, in Portland, Maine, she enjoyed many activities while getting to know the other residents. She took an active role on the resident counsel and volunteered when needed. She also was a familiar face at the pop-up library where she regularly borrowed many books as an avid reader. She also enjoyed puzzle making and playing cards with her neighbors. She loved animals, in particular, the cats she fostered from Hart of Maine, a local adoption center for cats.