Marie René Pretti, CSJ
August 9, 1925 - April 5, 2026
A mountain girl of faith.
Sister Marie René Pretti was a mountain girl born nearly 102 years ago on August 9, 1924, to parents John and Reketta (Moscon) Pretti in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. “I had an ideal family filled with the love of God, planted by my parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and friends in God’s country — the heart of the Rocky Mountains,” said Marie René. “That makes me a mountain girl. What more can I say other than, ‘Thank you, God!’”
S. Marie was the second child born to the family and was baptized as Ruth. Her brother was six years older, and they were blessed with parents who loved them and allowed them to do almost anything they wanted to do with their free time —horseback riding, skiing, sleigh riding and hiking.
Her faith was important to her because her parents, especially her mother, made sure her children learned what it means to be Catholic. There was no Catholic school in town, so it was important the children attend summer school sessions; that’s where S. Marie first met the Sisters of St. Joseph. She said that she and her best friend, Sister Ann Donegan, would go to vacation school together, and both got interested in the sisters and thought perhaps they had a religious vocation.
S. Marie said that when the sisters were gone, she would forget about it. When she got to her senior year of high school she thought, “Well, gee, I guess I have to make a decision.” Her problem was she didn’t discuss anything with anybody ... not even the pastor. She made the decision herself and then told her parents that she was going to the convent. It was summer time and the sisters were there, so they helped her get her things together. Her mother wasn’t too anxious about it. However, her father didn’t think it was a good idea. He had two sisters who were Benedictine sisters in Austria. But since there were no major objections, S. Marie went to Denver and then took the train to St. Louis.
You can imagine how she felt when she arrived. The sisters had told her that the motherhouse and the Mississippi River were beautiful. Compared to her home, she thought, “Gosh, you call this beauty?” And then it was in St. Louis that she first encountered humidity. She claims she'd never even heard the word before.
Her commitment to God was ever present to her, and she says she did what she had to do in order to be formed and accepted into the convent. She always felt blessed to be a Sister of St. Joseph. S. Marie began her 80 years of ministry as a teacher at Visitation Grade School in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1945. She returned to her home state of Colorado three years later to teach at Catherine of Siena Grade School in Denver. From there, S. Marie taught for two years at both St. Joseph Academy in Green Bay, Wisconsin (1955-57), and St. Margaret of Scotland Grade School in St. Louis (1957-59). At the same time, she studied at Saint Louis University (SLU), where she earned her master's degree in history. She also received a degree in secondary administration from SLU.
She taught at St. Francis de Sales High School in Denver for two years and then left to serve as principal and teacher at St. Mary’s Grade School in Littleton, Colorado. In 1967, much to her surprise, she was asked to go back to Green Bay until 1969. Then, she returned to Denver to serve at St. Francis de Sales as principal for four years. S. Marie moved to Augusta, Georgia, in 1973 and taught at Aquinas High School. In 1977, she returned to her beloved Glenwood Springs and the parish she grew up in, St. Stephen’s, where she served in the religious education program. In 1981, she became the principal and a teacher at St. Stephen’s Catholic School until 1993.
She left there to teach at Our Lady of Las Vegas Grade School until 1996. A year later, she moved to Las Vegas to care for her elderly aunt. From 1997 to 2009, she was a substitute teacher for the Las Vegas Catholic School.
In 2009, S. Marie moved to Nazareth Living Center to live out her ministry of prayer and presence. She wrote about her conversations with Jesus. She said she heard Him say, “‘Hang in’ until I call you home.” And that’s exactly what she did until she was called home.
Adapted from Sister Kathleen Karbowski's eulogy