50-YEAR JUBILARIAN BIOGRAPHIES

ARNADENE WELTON BEAN

Arnadene Welton Bean (Sr. M. Louis James) is the oldest of ten children of Rosalia Welton and Albin Louis Bean. She was born in Mt Angel, grew up in Lake Oswego, attended Our Lady of the Lake Grade School and St. Mary’s Academy and entered the Holy Names novitiate after graduating in 1955.

Like most young sisters she studied and earned a BS in elementary education & went out to teach in Eugene, Salem, Portland and Bend. Along the way she received an MA in education. For four years she served as principal at Christie School before fulfilling a long-time desire to go to Africa and work in the Holy Names mission in Lesotho. She served as principal of a high school, lived with the Basotho sisters and learned to love them, her students and the country. Her experiences of family, classroom teaching, serving at Christie and in Africa increased her awareness of social justice.

After retuning to the States, she taught one more year, worked as pastoral associate in a small culturally diverse parish and earned a second master’s degree in theology during the summers. She and the women parishioners started a women’s group addressing feminist issues in church and society and she became involved with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. She went on to work as a trial assistant at the Metropolitan Public Defenders Office and later went to Alaska as Area Director of the Jesuit Volunteers. In every place and position she met wonderful people, learned and enjoyed much.

A new ministry--that of Provincial Assistant on the Oregon Province Executive Board--claimed the next six years of her life. After she finished her term she entered a CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) program at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem. Currently she serves as chaplain at the Oregon women's prison - Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville where she continues to learn.
She is grateful to God who blessed her with family, community, students and friends who taught, supported & loved her through her life and 50 years as a Sister of the Holy Names Community.
 

JOAN FLYNN

The oldest of nine children born to Millie and Barney Flynn, I was raised in southeast Portland along with all my siblings. During my grade school years at our Our Lady of Sorrows, I first thought of religious life. This interest stayed with me throughout high school at St. Mary’s Academy in Portland.

Upon graduating from high school, I joined Oregon’s labor force for four years, working first for White Stag Mfg. Co. and then for the Northwest Bell Telephone Company. At the end of that period I took steps to become a Holy Names Sister.

In preparation for teaching, I attended Holy Names College in Spokane, WA and Marylhurst College where I earned a degree in Education. I taught a total of eight years in primary and elementary grades at St. Peter’s and Cathedral Schools in Portland and St. Mary’s Academy in The Dalles, OR. Then my next location assignment was at our Provincial House where I became involved in various ministries: in our Care Center working on behalf of our sick and elderly Sisters, as well as serving as bookkeeper assistant, Retirement Coordinator, and member of the transportation team.

During these years, I enrolled in courses at Community Colleges that to qualify as a Licensed Practical Nurse and later, I earned an Associate Degree in Nursing, fulfilling an early childhood dream to be a registered nurse. In that capacity, I worked at St. Charles Medical Center and Marylhurst Care Center as an L.P.N. for several years, then at Mid-Columbia Medical Center as an R.N. for 21 years until I retired from nursing.

Life remains ever busy as I combine the upkeep of our home in The Dalles with the privilege of caring full time for my mother and volunteering for Habitat for Humanity. When opportunities present themselves, I find great joy when participating in camping, hiking, picnicking, skiing and traveling to out-of-the-way places in the Northwest.
 

JOAN MAIERS

Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in upstate New York, Joan Maiers might well have encountered the Holy Names community on the East Coast. However, not until her family’s move to Oregon did she meet these SNJM educators. Her pathway included religious vacation school near Eugene, the Assumption grade school, and St. Mary’s Academy in Portland, where her mother also had graduated.

Within the novitiate, Joan resolved her dual interests, science and language arts, by agreeing to complete a pharmacy degree at the University of Washington. After interning at Sacred Heart Hospital, Eugene and Providence Hospital, Portland, she managed the Marylhurst Pharmacy for over twenty years. During that time, while serving as province pharmacist, she also earned credentials to teach high school English for 10 years at St. Mary’s Academy, Rex Putnam and Tree of Learning.
At present, she offers classes at Marylhurst University, on such topics as writing, the literature of Hildegard and Hopkins, and effects of prescription and non-prescription medications. Joan also arranges local poetry readings and workshops, as well as manuscript critiques. Her poetry is published in books and periodicals, including Blooming in the Shade, If I Had a Hammer, Calyx, Seattle Times, Sojourners, Oregon English Journal and Journal of Pastoral Care.

Moving often during her early years predisposed her to value travel. Her passport is stamped Ireland, England and Israel, and she is ready to include Mexico, Canada, Greece, Turkey, Spain, France, along with a return to the Isle of Man, her great grandmother’s birthplace.

Joan considers justice and peace illuminated by beauty as one of her lifelong goals. So far, her outreach has extended to Oaxaca, Nicaragua, Malawi, Lesotho and Haiti.
Regarding the influence of writing on such work, she takes to heart the lines of William Stafford’s poem, “Report from a Far Place” (published in Allegiances):
Making these word things to
step on across the world, I
could call them snowshoes.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
they could save your life
. . .when you say them. . .


ANNEMARIE ROTTER

Sister Annemarie Rotter (Sister Carol Frances) grew up in Seattle, with her parents and sister Mildred, and attended Holy Names Academy where she made many friends. and first met the Holy Names sisters, She determined then to become part of the community of these women she admired so much. She entered the novitiate in 1955, and as a mission novice she was named to work in the Diet Kitchen. This appointment came as a surprise, since she had never even been near a stove. Her experience there led to a lifelong love of cooking, and presently gives her and her guests much joy. After the diet kitchen she went to the convent Care Center, which appointment led to study at Chemeketa Community College where she became a licensed practical nurse.

She had worked as a nanny before entering the novitiate and learned to love and appreciate young children. Later she fulfilled a long-time ambition of working with them as a teacher's aide in St. Vincent and Queen of Peace parochial schools in Salem. She assisted in the kindergarten, first and second grades, and helped in the library. Her greatest pleasure came in preparing children for the reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. During this time she attended many classes along the way for enrichment and inspiration in her work. her motto is: "To help any child any way I can."

Annemarie loves her cat, and enjoys many hobbies including gardening, cooking, playing cards and cheering on her favorite teams: the Mariners, the Seahawks, the University of Washington Huskies, Notre Dame and the Trail Blazers, A superb hostess, she delights in giving parties for the sisters and friends at Tillamook Towne House, preparing meals for the 20 or more guests. Each day she travels to Holy Cross Area School where she helps in the first grade. Truly her mission is to the very young and to those who are only young at heart.

MARIAN WATKINS

Sr. Marian Watkins, (Sr. Robert Marion), was born in Tillamook, the second child of Ford and Marjorie Watkins, Two brothers, Ed and Bob, and a sister Carol completed the family. Marian attended several schools, and in the seventh grade ended up at St. Joseph’s in Salem, where she grew to know the Holy Names sisters, Her first teacher there was Sister Anita Noe Sister Mary Rosamund), now joining Marian in celebrating jubilees--Sr. Anita’s 70th and Marian‘s 50th.

After returning to Portland, in her junior year, Marian graduated from Holy Child Academy, worked for a year at the old St. Vincent’s Hospital and entered the Holy Names’ novitiate in 1955. Using the skills she learned at St. Vincent’s, she assisted in the convent Care Center, at various schools, and at the Children’s Holladay Center, sponsored by the YMCA, where she was named “employee of the year.”

For many years Marian has had an interest in working with Asian immigrants, dating back to the resettlement of 1975 when so many Vietnamese came to the United States. She put them in touch with professionals in every field: retired teacher who would tutor them in English, business men and women who offered advice a on how to gain employment. She prepared them to get drivers’ licenses, she introduced them to their neighbors and helped them adjust to their new culture. Many of them she still considers good friends.
 
Currently Marian’s ministry is among the elderly of St. Ignatius parish. She also picks up food, clothing, furniture and other items from various sources and delivers them to nonprofit groups. This fits in with another of her ministries--driver on demand.
Marian has helped numerous people with her ability as an upholsterer, a craft which she learned from her mother. She loves sports, particular high school and college basketball. Above all, she cherishes the time to pray, socialize and be with her family and friends.