We remember with gratitude the life of Sister Marie Treanor who died on May 28, 2020 at 97 years of age and 79 years as a Sister. Sr. Marie lived Sr. Julie's charism as an educator throughout her sixty-two years of active ministry in places across the country.
Sister Marie was born on November 14, 1922, entered the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur on August 3, 1940. She started out as a teacher in two SNDdeN schools in Massachusetts. Always adventurous, she welcomed her next mission to Honolulu, HI as a teacher at Star of the Sea School. After twelve years she traveled to Belmont, CA, to teach at Immaculate Heart of Mary School. Five years later, she went back across the country to serve as principal of St. Justin School in Hartford, CT. For the next twenty-one years she shared her educational expertise as Associate Superintendent of Schools for the Diocese of Norwich, CT.
An excellent teacher and administrator, she then continued to help both teachers and administrators as a supervisor for the Norwich Diocesan Schools. In her retirement she continued to do volunteer work in her parish, and when she moved to duLac in Worcester stayed as active as she could.
As an energetic and friendly woman and a good conversationalist, Sr. Marie made friends everywhere she ministered. She believed strongly in the power of education to bring about social change and did not hesitate to address injustice wherever she found it. Her no nonsense demeanor hid a kind and sensitive heart. We will remember her especially as a wonderful storyteller who told jokes with a perfectly straight face and a marvelous sense of timing. And never did she forget St. Julie's belief in the power of an education.