Sister Marie Charles Buford, CSJ

Fearless advocate for the poor, the elderly and youth
—Sister Teresa Maria Eagan

Jane Marie, the only child of Charles and Marie C. (Muellersman) Buford of Fredericktown, Missouri, was born on October 2, 1925. She graduated from St. Michael’s School taught by Ursuline Sisters. Jane and her cousin, Anna, enrolled at Ursuline Academy in Arcadia, Missouri. After high school, her parents sent her to Fontbonne College in St. Louis, for a two-year business course. She and Anna both enrolled.

Finishing the second year (her cousin had dropped out after the first), Sister Hilda Lorsbach encouraged her to continue. After explaining that she had come for business certification, Sister Hilda offered to extend her scholarship for two more years, asking her to talk with her parents. Graduating two years later, Jane told her amazed parents that she wanted to become a sister. Her mother was happy though reluctant for her to leave. Her non-Catholic dad did not approve but eventually gave his consent.

She entered the Sisters of St. Joseph on September 15, 1946, received the habit and the name Sister Marie Charles on March 19, 1947. Her ministry began in accounting at St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri (1949). In 1952, she taught in St. Louis at St. Joseph's Academy and then, from August through December of 1953, she taught at Rosati-Kain High School. The rest of the year was spent teaching primary at St. Francis de Sales in Denver, Colorado. She returned to Rosati-Kain in 1954. Briefly, she served in the Sisters of St. Joseph’s treasurer’s office (1955) and then as administrative staff at Fontbonne College. She was a clerk, first at St. Joseph Community Hospital in Hancock, Michigan (1956), then at St. Joseph Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri (1960).

The year 1964 found S. Marie Charles at the Academy of Our Lady in Peoria, Illinois, as registrar. S. Maryellen Tierney remembers her as a prayerful person who was quite taken with the writing of Thomas Merton: “When she sent a note or a card to someone, she frequently enclosed a prayer of this holy man who inspired her throughout her life.” S. Ann Pace, who was also at the academy at that time, wrote, “She was … so kind and thoughtful of the students, the faculty and staff. The girls loved her immensely and considered her their confidante ...”

Next, S. Marie Charles ministered as provincialate secretary for the Sisters of St. Joseph from 1967 to 1977 when she became the executive director of the Carondelet Betterment Federation (CCBF). She said, "To be able to have an emphasis on the local neighborhood was a real blessing to me and a real call from the Lord, and I feel good about that." Sister Rosemary Flanigan shared, “Not until the Carondelet Betterment Association's birth did we realize what a powerhouse for good she was. Her footsteps will long be embedded in south St. Louis.”

Associate Sue Allender worked at the motherhouse and for S. Marie Charles simultaneously. When having two jobs got to be too much, Sue gave S. Marie Charles her resignation. When Sister called to ask if she could just fill in until they hired someone, Sue agreed and ended up working a number of years longer. “She was the best boss and always looked after her staff," Sue said.

S. Marie Charles moved to Nazareth Living Center in St. Louis in 2007, continuing to write grants for CCBF until 2009, when she embraced the ministry of prayer and presence.

Associate Patrick McDowell met S. Marie Charles at Nazareth Living Center. “We would discuss national and international events as Sister unfailingly kept abreast of these events ... What a kind and lovely lady she was.”

S. Roberta Houlihan remembers, "Her favorite and most frequently spoken words were, 'Thank you for ...' Need more be said?"

Sister Helen Oates