Dominican Sister of Peace Mary Sarita (Cecelia) McEneany (88) died at the Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus, OH, on September 28, 2018. She was born in 1930 in Columbus, OH, the daughter of Lucy Reeb and James McEneany. She entered Dominican Sisters of St. Mary of the Springs, now the Dominican Sisters of Peace, in 1950.
Sister Sarita came from a family dedicated to religious service. One of six children, she was one of three of Lucy and James’ daughters that entered religious life. She also had two aunts who were Dominican Sisters. She learned from an early age how to share her gifts and serve others. At the occasion of her own Golden Jubilee, she reflected upon the changes brought about by Vatican II, saying that they made her feel more responsible for the needs and concerns of God’s people, and she served God’s people as a Dominican Sister of Peace for 68 years.
Sr. Sarita earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from St. Mary of the Springs College, now Ohio Dominican University, and a Master’s of Science in Elementary Administration from the University of Dayton. She shaped many young hearts and minds as an elementary school teacher in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Illinois and Michigan. She also served as Principal at the Blessed Sacrament School in Newark, OH.
But her talents reached far beyond teaching and education. After retiring from teaching in 1980, Sr. Sarita served where she was needed most – in Pastoral Care at St. George Hospital in Cincinnati, OH; as a secretary and cook at Lourdes Rectory and School in Cincinnati; as a tutor, as a secretary for the podiatry office at the Columbus Motherhouse and for the North Broadway Children’s Center in Columbus, and Driver and Receptionist for Mohun Health Care Center. It seems fitting that when Sister entered her final ministry of Prayer and Presence, it was in her hometown of Columbus, in the midst of her friends and Sisters at Mohun.
Sr. Sarita was remembered as a woman whose life centered on her God, a woman of great faith, of patience, and of unending gratitude.
Sr. Mary Sarita McEneany was preceded in death by her parents, James and Lucy Reed McEneany; her sisters, Jane McEneany, Patricia Riley, Sister M. Patrick McEneany, OSF, Sister Barbara Ann McEneany, CSC; and a brother, James McEneany, Jr. She is survived by loving nieces and nephews.
A Vigil of Remembrance Service was held at the Dominican Sisters of Peace Motherhouse Chapel, Columbus, OH, on Thursday, October 4, 2018. The funeral liturgy was also held at the Dominican Sisters of Peace Motherhouse Chapel on Friday, October 5, 2018. Sr. Sarita was interred at St. Joseph Cemetery in Columbus, OH.
Memorial gifts in Sr. Mary Sarita’s memory may be sent to the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement, 2320 Airport Dr., Columbus, OH, 43219 or submitted securely at oppeace.org.
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