Virginia Stuart, SNJM

Sister Virginia Stuart was born in Oakland, California, the only child of  James Stuart and Belle Merrick Stuart Marshall. Her father worked as a night engineer at a plant in Berkeley while her mother was a pioneer with the telephone company working with them for fifty-plus years.

Inspired at an early age by the Catholic faith nurtured in her home and by her admiration for a Holy Names Sister, Virginia felt drawn to religious life. She entered the Holy Names Novitiate in Oakland shortly after her high school graduation from Holy Names High School in 1949.

The next spring, she was accepted as a novice receiving the Holy Habit and the religious name Sister M. Regina Clare. She made her first profession of vows in 1951, making her final profession in 1956.

Over time Sister Virginia completed a bachelor’s degree from Holy Names College in Oakland and a master’s degree in social sciences from California State University, San Francisco.

During her years of service, Sister Virginia was a teacher, administrator and parish associate in California schools and parishes in San Francisco, Oakland, Union City, Fremont, Los Angeles, Laguna Hills, Venice, Pacoima, Van Nuys and Alhambra.

From 1977 to 1988, Sister Virginia served alongside Sister Marie Kronheimer as the co-principal of Mary Immaculate School in Pacoima, helping the struggling inner city school to build a strong student community and improve educational achievements.

After she and Sister Marie retired from formal school administration, they co-founded Be Smart Tutoring in Alhambra in an effort to continue supporting student education. They rented a room in a retreat center nearby several schools where children could come for tutoring four days a week from 3:30 to 6pm. They also made tutoring available during the summer. Both were welcome addition to the neighborhood that they offered for ten years.

Sister Virginia also engaged in a variety of other volunteer work including visiting at the Maryknoll Retirement Center and assisting with the TAP program (Teachers and Priests) helping incoming priests from other countries with their English pronunciation and delivery of homilies.

Sister Viriginia now lives in Campbell, California, as part of a retirement community of Sisters and lay people where she happily enjoys a ministry of presence with those living there.