Meet our 2016 Jubilarians

6-photos_meet-our-jubilariansFrom left, Sisters Joanella Whaley, Rita Yahl, Arlene Hirsch, Mary Ann Mozser, Margie Zuerick and Margo Young.

75 years

Sister Joanella Whaley
Born in Chicago, Sister Joanella met the Sisters of the Precious Blood in Phoenix and knew she wanted to join them. She entered the Congregation on Aug. 15, 1941.

For 45 years she ministered in dietary nourishment in San Luis Rey, Phoenix, Denver, Cincinnati and Dayton. She was an excellent cook who enjoyed serving a meal that was pleasant-looking, nourishing and delicious. She later prepared altar bread that would become spiritual nourishment. She worked hard and lived out her fidelity to God and to daily tasks.

In retirement she lived at Salem Heights in Dayton, moving to the Maria-Joseph Center in 2012. She continues to share community with her Sisters by dining with them and other residents, attending daily Mass and participating in activities. She is never without her rosary, praying it several times a day. She loves sharing memories.

“I marvel at the presence and action of God in my life,” she said. I have been living “the fulfillment of my childhood dreams.”

Sister Rita (M. Melania) Yahl
A native of St. Marys, Ohio, Sister Rita attended Holy Rosary parish school and Memorial High School in St. Marys. She worked for a year after graduating from high school and entered the Congregation on Aug. 3, 1941.

Sister Rita taught for 17 years in elementary schools in Arizona, North Dakota and Ohio. She then spent 25 years teaching home economics at Marion High School in Maria Stein, Ohio. While teaching at Marion, she also assisted in ministry at Maria Stein Retreat House and Shrine.

After retiring in 1986, she volunteered in the shrine’s gift shop. She moved to Salem Heights in Dayton in 2006. For many years she sowed baptismal gowns, doll clothes and other items. She continues to enjoy playing cards and admits to being competitive.

60 years

Sister Arlene (Marie Andre) Hirsch
Congratulations and thank you to Sister Arlene (Marie Andre) Hirsch for 60 years of service to God’s people as a Sister of the Precious Blood.

With a caring smile and compassion, Sister Arlene is currently volunteering with a crisis nursery for drug-addicted newborns. She is also a cheerful presence for the Sisters living at the Maria-Joseph Center in Dayton.

A native of Cleveland, Sister Arlene was raised as a parishioner at the then-Our Lady of Good Counsel there where she was taught by the Sisters of the Precious Blood. She attended the Precious Blood High School in Dayton before entering the Congregation.

The first 12 years of her ministry were spent in elementary education. She then began working as director of religious education and later pastoral associate at parishes in Ohio at Coldwater, Parma and Lakewood. She served as coordinator of the Sisters at Emma Hall for 14 years. She also worked at the Sorrowful Mother Shrine in Bellevue, Ohio and the Maria Stein Shrine in Maria Stein before retiring from paid ministry in 2007. She has since been an active volunteer.

“This jubilee calls me to sing in thanksgiving for the gift of having been called to this Congregation and to cherish the Sisters who have shared the journey and their lives with me,” she said.

Sister Mary Ann (Rose Michael) Mozser
Congratulations and thank you to Sister Mary Ann Mozser for 60 years of service as a Sister of the Precious Blood.

As a child growing up in the then-Our Lady of Good Counsel parish in Cleveland, Sister Mary Ann wanted to be a woman religious. She attended Precious Blood High School in Dayton, the former aspirancy of the Sisters Precious Blood, and entered the Congregation on Jan. 14, 1956.

Sister spent 42 years in elementary education as a teacher and administrator at schools in Ohio at Cincinnati, Dayton, Cleveland and Shaker Heights. She then served as vice president of mission and ministry at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland from 2003-14, when she retired. Sister Mary Ann continues to minister at St. Vincent in an unpaid position as coordinator of volunteers.

“I know with the assurance of a deep faith that the redeeming love of Jesus expressed through healing and reconciling has been extended to me in so many ways,” she said. “My hope and prayer is that I have been a conduit for that same healing and reconciliation in my ministry to others, in my life and service within the congregation.”

Sister Margie Zureick
Congratulations and thank you to Sister Margie (Loretta Rose) Zureick for 60 years of service to God’s people as a Sister of the Precious Blood.

Sister Margie forged deep roots in the hills of Appalachian Kentucky during more than 30 years of ministry to the people there. She established and built the only Catholic church in one Kentucky county and later started a local laundromat in another Kentucky community.

Sister Margie was born in Cincinnati and raised as a parishioner at then-Our Mother of Sorrows parish and attended the parish grade school. She was educated by the Sisters of the Precious Blood at Regina High School in Norwood. She entered the Congregation on Jan. 14, 1956.

Sister ministered in elementary and junior high school education for 13 years before beginning her first of three separate stints in Kentucky. She has also served on the Congregational formation team and was a counselor at Mercy Manor in Dayton.

She retired to Salem Heights in 2015.

“I appreciate the overwhelming love, support and care that I have received from Sisters in community, the staff at Salem Heights and all those who have expressed concern on my behalf,” she said. “Jubilee thanks to each and every one.”

50 years

Sister Margo Young
Congratulations and thank you to Sister Margo Young for 50 years of service to God’s people as a Sister of the Precious Blood.

As director of community health at Community Hospital of San Bernardino and St. Bernardine Medical Center, both in San Bernardino, Calif., Sister Margo, a physician, is responsible for several programs and outreach centers aimed at improving residents’ health and quality of life. She was instrumental, for example, in establishing a free clinic in San Bernardino.

She was raised in Manteca, Calif., and graduated from St. Anthony parish school in Manteca and San Luis Rey Academy in Oceanside, Calif. She entered the Sisters of the Precious Blood on Jan. 6, 1966.

Her first six years in ministry were as an elementary school teacher in Ohio and Colorado. She was director of pastoral care at the Maria-Joseph Living Care Center in Dayton for five years and was then a hospital chaplain in Ohio for five years before entering medical school. She spent 13 years as a medical missionary in Guatemala.

“As an educator, counselor, spiritual companion and physician I seek to bring healing and wholeness as I walk with God’s people in mutual respect and compassion,” she said. “Drawn to the margins, I passionately embrace those most in need be they homeless, undocumented, HIV positive, transgender or mentally ill.”

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