Dominican Sister of Peace Margaret (Mary Ronald) Sunic, OP, (93) died at Mount Carmel East Hospital in Columbus, OH, on December 5, 2017. She was born in 1924, one of six children born to Ruth Daugherty and George Sunic in East McKeesport, PA.
Sister Mary Ronald, then Margaret Sunic, worked for two years in a defense plant before entering Dominican life in 1944. She took her final vows in 1949 and served God’s people as a Dominican Sister for more than 70 years.
Sr. Mary Ronald earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Saint Mary of the Springs College, now Ohio Dominican University. She taught elementary school in Ohio, New York, New Mexico, and Pennsylvania for more than 20 years, working mainly with fourth and fifth graders.
In 1969, Sr. Mary Ronald returned to school herself, earning a Master of Science in Education and Library Science from Duquesne University. She served as a librarian at St. Thomas High School in Braddock, Pennsylvania, and Dominican Academy in New York City.
After a brief return to teaching in the 1980’s, Sr. Mary Ronald became a licensed nurse’s aide in 1992. She served as a nursing assistant in New York for two years, and then returned to Columbus, OH, to work with the residents of Mohun Health Care Center until her retirement in 2002.
She became a resident at Mohun in 2007, where she was known and loved for her dry wit and her dedication to the Steelers and the Pirates. At her Diamond Jubilee, Sr. Mary Ronald celebrated God’s grace in her life.
Sr. Mary Ronald was preceded in death by her parents, George and Ruth Daugherty Sunic, her brothers, George and John, her sisters, Elizabeth Clontz, Ruth and Mary Sunic. She is survived by her nieces and nephews.
A Vigil of Remembrance Service was held at the Columbus Motherhouse Chapel on Tuesday, December 12. The funeral liturgy was held at the Columbus Motherhouse Chapel on Wednesday, December 13. Sr. Mary Ronald is interred at St. Joseph Cemetery in Columbus, OH.
Memorial gifts in Sr. Mary Ronald’s memory may be submitted securely online or sent to:
Dominican Sisters of Peace
Office of Mission Advancement
2320 Airport Drive
Columbus, OH 43219
To download a PDF of the memorial for Sr. Margaret (Mary Ronald) Sunic, OP, click here.