Sister Theresa Martin Pigott, OP 1923-2015 Sister Theresa Martin, baptized Anna Elizabeth Pigott, was born on October 25, 1923, in Detroit. She was the third of six children born to Peter and Katherine (Walsh) Pigott. Her mother was born in County Limerick, Ireland, and her father was born of Irish immigrants in Erie, Pennsylvania. His family eventually moved to Highland Park, Michigan where jobs were more available. Her parents were married in 1918 in Detroit. In her autobiography, Sister Theresa wrote, One year after Mom and Dad married, my oldest brother William Joseph was born, next came Leo Joseph and then me. [Then followed] Ann Elizabeth. The family was completed with three more children: Mary Louise, Katherine Therese, and James Henry. These were depression days so being frugal and learning to make do was par for the course. But we never felt poor or deprived. Dad was a plumber by trade and a chromium plater at Ford’s. Mom always prepared delicious meals for us, saw that we were clean and dressed properly, taught good manners and bestowed on us her Irish wit and wisdom. These lessons have long lingered in my daily habits and for this I am most grateful. Sister Theresa attended Visitation, the family parish school. Arithmetic was one of her favorite subjects but reading was difficult for her. This made a lasting impression. She wrote: Because of my hardships, difficulties and embarrassment in learning to read, I believe that once teaching became my profession, I had great empathy for students who were experiencing these same difficulties and I determined to find ways and means to bring meaning into these curious little formations that people call words. Teaching phonics and reading on the primary level became my forte. Her oldest brother William Joseph joined the Marines in June 1940. The following September, Sister Theresa entered the postulate. Her parents supported her decision. “This may seem to have been a sudden decision,” she wrote. “Quite the contrary! From my earliest years I was attracted to the life of a Religious.” Sister Theresa made first profession in August 1941 and the following month began her teaching ministry on the northwest side of Chicago at St. Celestine School in Elmwood Park. The school building was not ready so they set up school in the church building. After eight years at St. Celestine, Theresa was assigned to teach in Lansing, Michigan, 1

at Resurrection for two years and then at Queen of Miraculous Medal in Jackson, Michigan, for seven years. She described those years in this way: [B]eing involved in musical and dramatic productions [was] par for the course. Training altar boys or preparing little girls for religious processions was another regular [responsibility]. Still other duties were assisting in the library, ordering books, supplies, candy, and milk or being responsible for the hot lunch count. By this time, Sister Theresa had received her bachelor’s degree from Siena Heights College and had begun to focus her attention on supervising primary grades. This meant conducting meetings for teachers, assisting with preparations for workshops, and spending time updating books used at the primary grade level. In 1959, Sister Theresa was assigned to be principal of Our Lady of Las Vegas in Nevada. As the administrator, she was responsible for opening this new school. It was a challenging time but, as she said, “it dovetailed beautifully” with her current graduate studies at Siena. She remembered her six years there as “happy days, full of hard work. Good friendships were formed and the constant challenge of change simply readied my acceptance for the renewal presented by Vatican II.” By the time Sister Theresa ended her term as principal in 1965, she had received her master’s degree from Siena Heights College and would now be assigned to teach high school math and science courses. In California, Sister Theresa taught at Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland for three years and Moreau High School in Hayward for two years. She said her challenge was to “keep Euclid’s Laws straight (i.e., removing ambiguity) for high school students.” In 1971, she returned to Detroit to be closer to home because of her father’s declining health. She taught at Bishop Borgess High School for three years. Her father died the following year and the experience of helping her mother adjust to living alone made a deep impact on Theresa. She became increasingly more interested in ministry of care for the elderly than teaching high school students. She wrote, “The urge to care for our own senior Sisters needed to be satisfied.” Sister Theresa began by volunteering in the Occupational Therapy Department at Maria Health Care Center. She said, “I knew little about what I was getting into. Once I started assisting under the watchful eye of the department director, I knew this work had to become a reality for me.” After interning at Maria for three years, Theresa received a grant to study at Lourdes College in Sylvania, Ohio, for two years to earn an associate’s degree in occupational therapy. During this time, she also had field experience in three Ohio health care facilities: Luther Home of Mercy in Williston, Richland Hospital in Mansfield and St. Rita Hospital in Lima. 2

Now a certified occupational therapist, Sister Theresa returned to Maria Health Care Center in 1980 to minister in the Occupational Therapy Department for the next eight years. In her autobiography she wrote: My dream of returning to Maria came true in the fall of 1980 when an opening occurred in the O.T./Activities Department. These days were filled with much joy and happiness. After three years, I was asked to move to the Physical Exercise Department. This, too, was an important ministry to our Sisters since it focused on the maintenance of muscle strength or restoration to use after surgery or illness. I remained in this department for five years. In 1988, Theresa began caring for her mother who was ninety-seven. After her mother’s death in 1991, she continued to provide respite care to elderly in their homes for another two years. In 1993 she returned to Maria where she served as a Nurse Assistant for six years before retiring in 1999. During the wake service, Sister Helen Sohn, Assistant to the Chapter Prioress of Holy Rosary Chapter said, A defining time in Theresa’s life took place in the 40s when she accompanied her mother on one of her return trips to Ireland. She said that she experienced first hand Irish joy, hospitality, love for one another and the pleasure they took in life. Personally, I felt that Theresa gave us a perfect description of the Sister Theresa Martin we came to know and love: Irish joy, hospitality, love for one another and pleasure in life. Sister Theresa Martin died on November 2, 2015, at the age of ninety-two and in the seventy-fourth year of her religious profession. Many shared remembrances during the wake service. Sister Norma Dell described her friend as “a mentor since 1953,” a teaching partner and a travel partner. She told of Sister Theresa’s help in Olive Hill, Kentucky, with collecting clothes and household items and of her love for the annual Christmas Bazaar at the Motherhouse. Her creations were ready for this year’s bazaar. Her friend Rick spoke about Theresa’s influence in his return to living his faith as an Orthodox Jew. Her niece, Theresa Pigott, spoke about her last conversations with her Aunt Theresa, who shared her thoughts about her death. Though at first troubled by her aunt’s decision not to have company during those final days, she now understands that her aunt was taking time for personal, quiet reflection, and for making a decision to return to Maria so she could die among her family. “Incredible,” she said.

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In her homily, Sister Maria Goretti Browne, Vicaress of Holy Rosary Mission Chapter, said, Theresa’s choice of readings1are so her! All of them struck me as perfect for her, since they are the story of her life. “Blessed are” – all of the Beatitudes begin with those two words. This blessedness is not something for the future; it is NOW. The poor Jesus speaks of are not those who have to work for a living nor those who struggle to put food on the table, nor those who have no possessions. The poor are the ones who are absolutely dependent upon God. Does this not describe Theresa – dependent on God for everything? Theresa looked realistically at life and she looked realistically at death. She knew that nothing can separate us from the love of God. In life we live with Christ. When we die, we die with Christ and because we die with him, we will also rise with him. Death may be a separation as far as we are concerned, but for Theresa it’s a step closer into the presence of Christ. Theresa did not leave us; she just went ahead. ‘Arise my love, my beautiful one and come fly with me.’

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Song of Songs 2:10-13, Romans 8:35-40, Matthew 5:1-12a

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Left: First Communion. Center: September, 1940. Right: Sister Theresa Martin on Profession Day with her parents, Peter and Katherine, and her siblings.

Diamond Jubilee in 2001. Front row (seated, L to R): Agnes Edward McGill, Coletta Slattery, Marie Urban Schwartz, Middle row (standing, L to R): Irene Marie Kerich, Marie Therese Creighton, Kathleen Scanlon, Lucian Marie Dusseau. Back Row: Thomas Josephine Lawler, Celeste Beauregard, Gertrude Stizmann, Theresa Martin Pigott, Mary Jane Schallert.

Left: Sister Theresa Martin in Kentucky with Sister Norma Dell. Right: S. Mary Giacopelli (left) and S. Theresa Martin with their awards for 6 years service to the Red Cross Blood Bank.

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