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Sister Cecilia Ranger, SNJM
Sister Mary Sheila
March 6, 1930 – August 5, 2026
Sister Cecilia Ranger, SNJM departed this life on August 5, 2026 in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Sister Cecilia celebrated 96 years of life and 75 years of her religious profession.
A Memorial Mass will be held on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at Chapel of the Holy Names in Lake Oswego, Oregon.
Her burial will follow at Holy Names Cemetery in Marylhurst, Oregon.
Sister Cecilia Ranger, SNJM
Sister Mary Sheila
March 6, 1930 – August 5, 2026
Sister Cecilia A. Ranger, SNJM, 96, died on August 5 in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated Tuesday, August 18, at 11 a.m. in the Chapel of the Holy Names, Marylhurst, Oregon. Burial follows at nearby Holy Names Cemetery.
Cecilia Ranger was born in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, oldest of the seven children of Theodore and Elizabeth Burnett Ranger. In 1947 she graduated from Sherwood (Oregon) High School, working a year before starting at Marylhurst College in 1948. With a deep interest in religious life, Cecilia entered the Sisters’ Novitiate in 1949, eventually receiving the religious name Sister Mary Sheila.
Sister Cecilia’s ministry career spanned teaching, spiritual formation, SNJM community service and academic leadership. Having completed a B.A. in Home Economics at Marylhurst College, she spent 15 years in SNJM high schools teaching sewing, cooking and other home ec skills. The schools included Sacred Heart Academy, Salem; St. Francis High, Eugene; The Immaculate High, Seattle; Holy Names Academy, Spokane; and St. Mary’s Academy, Portland.
In late 60s and early 70s Cecilia’s primary assignment was as novice director for the Oregon Province and later as vocation director. During this time, she also completed a master’s in theology from Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles.
When Marylhurst College transitioned in 1974 to a non-traditional co-educational college, Cecilia was named director of the Christian Spirituality Center at Marylhurst. In 1978 she moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she spent five years at St. Mary’s Seminary and University as a professor, spiritual director and advisor while also pursuing her Ph.D. in biblical studies.
After returning to Oregon, she taught at Mt. Angel Seminary until 1986, when she was selected as Provincial leader of the Holy Names Sisters in Oregon. During her tenure, she facilitated the first phases of development for Mary’s Woods at Marylhurst, the continuing care retirement community established by the Sisters on their Marylhurst property.
When she completed her six-year term as provincial in 1992, Cecilia joined the Marylhurst College faculty as chair of the Religious Studies and Philosophy Department. There, she developed a graduate theology program with an emphasis on pastoral ministry and interfaith dialogue and a partnership with San Francisco Theological Seminary for a Doctor of Ministry. She later served on the Board of Trustees after Marylhurst became a university.
In recent years, Cecilia was an active member of the Mary’s Woods community, where she was a friend to many and continued to teach, write and lead workshops on theology and spirituality. When she wasn’t teaching or studying, she was a great hostess. She enjoyed cooking and baking for friends and family. She also enjoyed sewing and was quick to offer to mend clothing items.
Cecilia continued to remain interested in the life and spirit of the Church and the future of religious life, and she kept up with the latest thinking and movements in this arena. She will be remembered as dedicated to the mission of the Sisters of the Holy Names, as a life-long learner and as a woman of deep faith.
A Holy Names Sister for 75 years, Cecilia is survived by her brothers, Patrick and Bruce Ranger, her nephews, nieces and cousins and her religious community. Remembrances may be made to Sisters of the Holy Names, PO Box 398, Marylhurst, OR 97036 or online at www.snjmusontario.org/donate.