Sister Marie Beatrice Janson-LaPalme, SNDdeN, born Louise Janson-LaPalme, was raised in Brockton, Massachusetts. The only girl in a family of three brothers, she has fond memories of her childhood, recalling it as a happy and simple time. Sister Marie, a self-described tomboy, enjoyed sports and had many interests.
Sister Marie attended public school and did not have much contact with women religious. It surprised her family when she decided to attend Emmanuel College in Boston rather than a secular school. She grew closer to the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur at Emmanuel. She recalls being impressed by them and chose, much to the shock of her friends and even as a surprise to herself, to follow them into religious life in 1957.
Sister Marie began her teaching career at St. Thomas Aquinas School in New Britain, Connecticut, and continued to serve as an educator in various schools across the state for an impressive five decades.
Sister Marie is grateful for her vocation and the choice that led her down this path. "I never regretted this choice,” she says, looking back at the past 70 years of service and sacrifice to God’s people.