In 2019, Sister Dorothy McCormick, SNDdeN celebrated 60 years as a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur and she reflected that her life in Notre Dame had been "blessing upon blessing." She is the daughter of Raymond and Anna McCormick, and the younger sister of Claire and Raymond. Her sister Claire entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur when Sister Dorothy was a toddler, so Sister Dorothy grew up in the arms of our Sisters. She attended the Academy of Notre Dame, Villanova, in Pennsylvania, from first grade through high school.
As a small child, she resisted any suggestion that she might follow Sister Claire into the convent. With time, however, the call became stronger and a few months after high school graduation she joined the postulate at Ilchester, Maryland.
In these years, she was exposed to the rigors of a Trinity College education in Washington, D.C. together with the challenges of the Church and Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur community undergoing the profound changes of Vatican II. These influences shaped her and enabled her to mature in appreciation of her calling.
She spent 17 years in the ministry of financial service to the Province and Trinity College. During this time, she joined the Reflection Centre where she was exposed to issues affecting developing countries. Challenged by her lack of understanding of the causes of the world's inequality, she asked to pursue postgraduate study in international affairs followed by her first African visit in 1983. As Sister Dorothy said, “The rest is history.”
Sister Dorothy McCormick was blessed with more than 30 years of life and ministry in Kenya. During these years, she taught undergraduate and post-graduate students at the University of Nairobi. She supervised academic work and acted as a mentor. She made close friends among many colleagues and neighbors, and received great support and kindness. She belonged to a Notre Dame community that had, to her great joy, become predominantly Kenyan. In her retirement, she sought to be, to do, and to allow our good God to continue to work.
Sister Dorothy McCormick passed away on December 9, 2023, at the age of 82.
Ministries
Educator
Academy of Notre Dame, Square, Philadelphia, Pa.
Trinity Preparatory School, Ilchester, Md.
Academy of Notre Dame, K Street, Washington, D.C. – Teacher and Co-Principal
University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya
Service to the Sisters
SNDdeN, Maryland Province, Baltimore, Md. – Treasurer
Trinity College, Washington, D.C. – Treasurer and Interim President
Consortium of Universities, Financial Advisor to Executive Director
SNDdeN, Maryland Province, Washington, D.C. – Staff to Board of Trustees
SNDdeN Kenya Region, Nairobi, Kenya – Treasurer