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Sister Ellen Ward, SNJM
Sister Cletus Mary
January 1, 1930 – November 22, 2022
Sister Ellen Ward, SNJM departed this life on November 22, 2022 at South Hill Village in Spokane, Washington.
Sister Ellen celebrated 92 years of life and 73 years of religious profession.
A Mass of Resurrection was held Saturday, January 14, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Fatima in Spokane, Washington.
Sister Ellen Ward, SNJM
Sister Cletus Mary
January 1, 1930 – November 22, 2022
Sister of the Holy Names Ellen Anne Ward (Sister Cletus Mary) died the evening of November 22, 2022, in her residence at South Hill Village, Spokane, Washington. Sister Ellen was born to John and Anacletus (Carroll) Ward on January 5, 1930, in Seattle, Washington, the second of their five children. She was baptized, made her First Communion, and was Confirmed at Seattle’s St. James Cathedral where she attended elementary school. She attended and graduated from Holy Names Academy, having lived her entire growing up years in Seattle’s First Hill area.
Sister Ellen entered the novitiate of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary at Marylhurst, Oregon, in July 1947 and pronounced perpetual vows in August 1954. She her earned her Bachelor of Arts in Education at Marylhurst College and the College of the Holy Names (Spokane) and continued her education at Central Washington State University for a Master’s in Education in Special Education. Sister Ellen began her years of ministry as a music teacher in parish schools in Oregon and Washington; she transitioned into primary grades and the Marian School for special needs students on the campus of the Fort Wright College. In addition, as an adjunct faculty Sister Ellen shared her knowledge by teaching teacher preparation classes. Sister Ellen was the principal at St. Francis of Assisi School, Spokane in the early 1980s. She began a transition in the late 1980s to many years of internal community service primarily at the Convent of the Holy Names. With the closure of the Convent of the Holy Names in 2014, Sister Ellen with other members of her religious community moved into Harbor Crest, an assisted living facility known today as South Hill Village.
Sister Ellen was devoted to her parents and her extended family, which includes her nieces and nephews who have fond memories of their “Aunt Ellen,” of their visits to the Convent of the Holy Names, or of her visits with them as far away as Texas, Colorado, or California. Sister Ellen also bore the nickname “Little El” because of her short stature which in no way constrained the largess of her heart for those within her family, among her students and community members, and those in the wider community whom she ministered to and with over her more than 70 years as a Sister of the Holy Names. Proud of her Irish roots – her father was born in Donnegal, Ireland – Sister Ellen’s depth of care for persons and the commitment to her ministerial work resonated with these familial roots which in turn fostered and sustained her deep faith.
Sister Ellen is preceded in death by her parents John Ward and Anacletus Mary Carroll Ward, her sister Mary Legrand and Mary’s children Patty and Steve, her sister Margaret Harnett, and her brothers John D. Ward and William H. Ward. She is survived by her sister-in-law Joanne Ward, her nieces and nephews with their families, extended family members, the Sisters and Affiliates of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary, associates from the Convent of the Holy Names, and friends.
The Sisters of the Holy Names extend gratitude to the staff at South Hill Village for their loving care of Sister Ellen in her final days and to Hospice of Spokane for their assistance and presence.