Rose Mary Michael, SNJM
(Sister Lambert Marie)
August 29, 1932 – June 6, 2024
Sister Rose Mary Michael, SNJM, 91, died on June 6 at Mary’s Woods at Marylhurst in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The Mass of Resurrection is being celebrated Thursday, June 27, 11am, Chapel of the Holy Names at Marylhurst.
The daughter of Lambert and Marie (Witzle) Michael, Rose Mary grew up in northern Minnesota. She was the oldest girl of 12 siblings and learned at an early age to cook and to take care of her younger siblings, skills that morphed into note-worthy talents that remained with her all her life.
Entering the Sisters of the Holy Names from the province of Manitoba, Rose Mary completed her novitiate at the Mother House in Montreal, Quebec, eventually receiving the religious name Sister Lambert Marie. After finishing coursework at St. Joseph Teacher’s College in Montreal, she returned to the Midwest to teach in Holy Names schools in Michigan.
A time came when the school in Duluth, Michigan, where Rose Mary taught, was to be closed. She and several other SNJMs had to decide whether to remain with the Manitoba province which necessitated moving to Canada or to join a province in the United States. Rose Mary chose to come to Oregon, transferring in 1970.
After moving west, Rose Mary taught CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) classes and for five years ran a beauty salon for the Sisters at the Provincial House at Marylhurst. Next came the infant care section of her ministry, when children of local parents, including the Portland Trail Blazers basketball players, confided their infants to her care. She later trained as a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant), working in various medical facilities including at Mary’s Woods in Lake Oswego where she eventually spent her retirement. She used both these backgrounds to help a special needs child, Ellie, who flourished under her care.
Rose Mary also served as a sacristan for the Sisters’ Chapel at Marylhurst and assisted in the formation of Portland’s Korean Catholic community. As one of the founding Sister residents of
Mary’s Woods, the continuing care retirement community developed by the Holy Names Sisters on their Marylhurst property, Rose Mary was responsible for setting the spirit of hospitality and respect that lives on in the residents and employees today.
A woman of many talents, Rose Mary was well known for her baking skills, especially her buttery sweet cinnamon rolls, and for her skillfully hand-crafted Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, clowns and stuffed animals. She will be remembered for her graciousness, quiet presence, integrity and deep faith in God.
A Holy Names Sister for 70 years, Rose Mary is survived by her sisters Anna (Alaska) and Catherine (Michigan), her nieces and nephews, and the members of her religious community. Remembrances may be made to the Sisters of the Holy Names, PO Box 398, Marylhurst, OR 97036 or online at
www.snjmusontario.org/donate.
