Sister Charline Sullivan

Kind, generous, supportive

John and Florence (Bene) Sullivan of St. Louis welcomed their daughter, Loraine Mary, on May 23, 1928. During the next six years, Ray, John and Audrey followed. Loraine attended St. Anthony of Padua School from kindergarten through high school. She wanted to be a sister, but when she asked her parents, her dad was not in favor of entering right after high school. After several difficult conversations, he finally gave his permission in August. Loraine entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on September 15, 1946, receiving the habit and the name Sister Mary Charline on March 19, 1947. Her bachelor’s degree in elementary education was earned at Fontbonne College, St. Louis (1965) and a master’s degree in elementary education at St. Louis University (1971).

In April of 1949, S. Mary Charline began her ministry in education at Visitation in Kansas City, Missouri. In May through June of that year, she was at Our Lady of Guadalupe. When the next school year started that fall, she was back at Visitation. In 1951, she taught at Immaculate Conception in St. Joseph, Missouri, followed by Our Lady of Guadalupe in Kansas City (1952) where she was also assistant houseparent for the small girls at St. Joseph Home. She then taught at St. Michael’s in Marquette, Michigan (1956).

From there, she went on to teach at St. Patrick, Rolla, Missouri (1960); Notre Dame de Lourdes, Wellston, Missouri (1962); and Our Lady of Guadalupe, Kansas City (1965). In 1966, she taught at Nativity of Our Lord in St. Louis and then became principal there in 1972. From 1951 to 1976, she was also choir director in each school where she taught. In February of 1976, S. Charline became elementary education coordinator for the St. Louis province until 1978 when she became part of the province personnel service staff. She returned to elementary education in St. Louis as principal at each of the following schools: Nativity of Our Lord (1980); St. Adalbert (1982), and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel (1985).

Sister Nancy Corcoran remembers S. Charline when she was the administrator of Nativity School:

Sectionals had just been created to further democratize our government structure. Charline was appointed the sectional representative to those of us teaching in North Saint Louis. I was at Holy Name School on Grand Avenue ... Charline was a marvelous group facilitator, and we all had wonderful conversations as we grew in our ability to self-express
and participate … in our governance. When it was time for our sectional to choose our own representative, we all asked Charline to continue to represent us. To our shock, Charline refused. She suggested that it was time to share the responsibility, and she hoped that we all would ultimately take a turn. What an example of letting go of ‘power and prestige’ as sectional representatives got to go to the bi-annual assembly. Charline modeled a detachment I admire to this day.

Sister Mary Jo Ritter shares:

I lived with S. Charlene at Nativity ... She was always very upbeat and supportive, wonderful with parents, children, teachers, the pastor and the parish. She was the same to live with. No matter how busy she was, she always made time on the weekend to play pinochle. She was very outgoing and her sister felt like our family.

In 1987, S. Charline joined the Archive Office in St. Louis as assistant archivist. Then, in 1989, she became the archivist. During that time, she was also an archivist for the Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph (1992-2004). In 2004, she became an archival aide until retiring to Nazareth Living Center in 2015.

Sister Marilyn Peot remembers S. Charline as a faithful friend to so many.

I can't count the times she reached out to others, me being one of them. She wasn't just thoughtful and kind—she was always 'there' for whomever needed her—even in the long term, especially behind the scenes ... She had her own personal brand of caring, following through, reassuring and without fanfare.