In Memory of Sister Dominic Church

December 19, 1929 – December 6, 2013

Sister Mary Dominic Church, 83, daughter of Guy and Olive (Cushing), was born Mary Evelyn Church on December 19, 1929, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She entered the Sisters of the Presentation in September of 1949 and professed her perpetual vows on June 19, 1955.

She earned her teaching certificate from Iowa State Teachers College (now UNI) in Cedar Falls, Iowa, before she joined the Presentation community. Post-entrance studies in math earned her a bachelor’s degree from Clarke College (now Clarke University) in Dubuque and a master’s dregree from the University of Notre Dame.

Her Presentation career, spanning 64 years, took her to Charles City, Humboldt, Elkader, Algona, Waukon, Dubuque (St. Columbkille 1965-1968), Storm Lake, Cedar Rapids and Fort Dodge, all in Iowa. The highlights of her ministries included teaching elementary and high school math and related courses, as well as sponsoring curricular and extra-curricular student projects and activities. She received a Golden Apple Award from The Fort Dodge Chamber of Commerce in 1999 for her teaching excellence.

She joined the finance team at the motherhouse in 2001 and retired in 2007 to enjoy her hobbies of crocheting, walking, reading, doing puzzles and continued with prayer and community service. Sister Dominic saw her life as reflective of the Presentation foundress, Nano Nagle, through her devotion to education: “I always wanted my students to do their best.”

Surviving are nieces, nephews and the Sisters of the Presentation with whom she shared her life for 63 years.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers, Waldo and Victor and her sister, Lucy.

Memorials may be made to the Sisters of the Presentation, 2360 Carter Road, Dubuque, IA 52001 or online at www.dbqpbvms.org.