Age 86
A passionate educator, Sister Mary Madeline, loved to see growth in education and love and knowledge of God.
Growing up on a dairy farm in a large family in Canandaigua, New York, Sister Mary Marvin, a twin, was attracted to religious life when she went to Our Lady of Mercy in Rochester, New York, for her last three years of high school. She entered the Sisters of Mercy in Rochester, New York, at the age of 19.
She earned an associate degree from Catherine McAuley Junior College, a bachelor’s degree in history and education from Nazareth College, both in Rochester, and a master’s degree in school counseling from Dayton University in Dayton, Ohio.
She taught for 22 years at several schools in the Diocese of Rochester and for six years was administrator at St. Thomas the Apostle School in Irondequoit, New York. Next, she ministered as a pastoral assistant at St. Anne in Palmyra, New York, and St. Gregory in Marion, New York.
She also served as a chaplain at Strong Memorial and Genesee hospitals before becoming principal at St. Monica School in Rochester in 1991. Because of her continued focus on multicultural education over her 13-year tenure at this inner-city school, she received the University of Dayton Alumni Service Award.
Never idle, she branched out into real estate sales, became the activities director at Mercy Center in Rochester, and volunteered at Helendale Community residence. Inspired by her motto, “The Lord is my shepherd” she continued to serve others.