Sister Marie Damien Adams, CSJ
September 27, 1932 - May 31, 2022
Kind, capable, caring
John Adams left the Amish settlement where he'd grown up. He and his wife had a son anddaughter. When they were four and two, respectively, their mother died of cancer. John sent his daughter to live with her grandparents in the Amish community. When his son was about 10, John married again. His wife died during childbirth, leaving behind their daughter who was raised by her mom’s family. When his son was 18, John married Marie Schmitt of Peoria, Illinois. They had a son, and then, on September 27, 1932, they welcomed their daughter, Joanne.
Both parents loved to cook, so Joanne and her brother spent time in the kitchen learning that skill. She remembered her parents strongly believing that God was not a fearful God but a loving God who would take care of them, something she held onto when her dad died while she was in eighth grade. As they'd always done, Joanne continued to visit the Amish community a couple of times a year. Her older sister who was raised there, came to stay with them every summer. She attended St. Cecilia’s School and the Academy of Our Lady in Peoria, both staffed by Sisters of St. Joseph.
When Joanne visited her Amish family before entering the CSJ community, they blessed her in her father’s name. Joanne entered on September 15, 1950, and received the habit and the name Sister Marie Damien on March 19, 1951. Her first mission was teaching at Holy Rosary School in Kansas City, Missouri (1952), followed by St. Rose of Lima in Houston, Texas (1957). In 1963, she enrolled at Northwestern University in Chicago, where she earned a master’s degree in speech therapy. She joined the faculty at Fontbonne College in 1964. She then studied at Southern Illinois University
in Carbondale, earning her doctorate in speechpathology and audiology (1966). Returning to Fontbonne in 1968, she worked in speech pathology until accepting the position of academic dean (1976).
In 1988, S. Marie Damien was called into leadership as an assistant province director for the St. Louis province. At the end of her term in 1992, she went on a year-long sabbatical before being called back to serve as general councilor for the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph in 1994.
From 2002 until her retirement in 2013, S. Marie Damien served as an administrative team member for CSJ Care in St. Louis, a former ministry that provided home services for the elderly. She then continued to volunteer where needed. In 2017, she joined our Nazareth sisters in the ministry of prayer and presence.
MEMORIES
From Sister Paulette Gladis
S. Marie Damien Adams has been my best friend since the day we entered the CSJs together. ... We enjoyed living [together], loving the dogs we had over the years, playing cards and other games. Sister was very, very generous with her many talents—cooking, sewing, driving, etc. I will cherish happy memories of Sister.
From Sister Shawn Madigan
There are so many brush strokes and colors that come to me when I remember Marie Damien. ... [She] could run any meeting, make reliable decisions and provide reasonable insights only she had. ... It was a delight to see the home site [of] Damien. Both she and Paulette made house guests feel like we were doing them a favor by staying there. How’s that for true CSJ hospitality?
By Sister Helen Oates
Sister Marie Damien Adams recordings are available