Mary Lyons, SNJM

Sister Mary Lyons was born in Walkerville, now a part of greater Windsor, Ontario. Her parents Samuel and Catherine (Hackett) Lyons were immigrants to Canada. They both came from Scotland, eventually meeting and marrying in Windsor. Mary was the third of six siblings, three girls and three boys. She attended Holy Name Elementary School followed by her high school years at St. Mary’s Academy in Windsor.

Impressed by the dedication of the Sisters, Mary began thinking about joining the Community. In July 1949, she entered the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary in Outremont, Quebec, the location of the Noviciate for Canada and the Eastern United States. It was such a wide spread of different personalities from various parts of Canada and the United States, she said in describing the time. They were a group of 32; eleven were English-speaking and the others were French speaking from Quebec. But Mary recalled that they would get together and talk about where they came from, where they went to school, and everything else one could imagine.

In February 1950 she received the holy habit and the religious name Sister M. Agnes Veronica. She pronounced first vows in August 1951.

When she returned to Windsor, Mary began a 24-year career in education as a teacher and principal. The next phase of her ministerial career was in provincial administration. Overtime she was part of three different provincial teams in Ontario.

When she left administration Mary joined a nonprofit housing organization for low-income families, the Windsor Coalition for Development founded by two priests in the city who were genuinely concerned about conditions for the poor. Mary was part of tenant advocacy department for the Coalition working with a team to help people in their homes, including support groups for women.

When she finished her eight years there, Mary continued in a variety of volunteer services for the Sisters. Among them were helping in provincial administration with secretarial tasks and receptionist duties. At the same time, she lived at Oak Avenue House and was involved with transitional housing opened by the Holy Names Sisters to support refugees.

For 20 years, Mary has lived in Windsor’s Devonshire Retirement Residence. She has relished being a part of this community and loves to engage with the diverse people there. Spontaneity is a good thing, and the conversations are life-giving she said.

We are thankful for the life and gifts of Mary and celebrate with her the joyful occasion of her 75th anniversary of profession as a Sister of the Holy Names.