Dominican Sister of Peace Sue (Susan Bridget) McMahon, OP (80), a native of Pontiac, MI, died on January 6, 2023, at the Lourdes Senior Community, a founded ministry of the Dominican Sisters of Peace in Waterford, MI.
Sr. Sue was one of eleven children born to Hazel Shipley and Thomas McMahon and grew up attending Catholic schools in her home state of Michigan. After earning her Bachelor of Arts in History and Social Studies with a Minor in English and Philosophy from the University of Detroit, Sr. Sue taught elementary school before joining the Congregation in 1968. She made first profession in 1971 and took her final vows in 1979.
Sr. Sue’s motive for becoming a consecrated religious was simple – she wanted to “help bring Christ into the lives of others.” She continued her ministry as an elementary school teacher for several years in schools in Michigan and earned her Master of Religious Education from the Catholic University. In the early 1970’s, Sr. Sue put her love of teaching to work with a new focus on religious education. She ministered as religious education coordinator at Immaculate Conception in Lapeer and St. Michael in Pontiac, Michigan.
In the early 1980’s, Sr. Sue responded to the needs of her Congregation by earning her license as a Nursing Home Administrator and took on the role of Assistant Administrator at Lourdes Nursing Home. She later became Administrator at King Haven Manor, Assistant Director of Human Services for the Formidable Management Company, and Director of Fox Manor. She served as Administrator at Lourdes Nursing Home in Waterford, where she later volunteered and lived her final ministry of prayer and presence. Sr. Sue also served as a member of the General Leadership team during the period of Dominican “clusters” before the creation of the Peace congregation.
Sr. Sue loved community and loved celebrating with her Dominican Community as a volunteer at Michigan ministries St. Mary Retreat House, Vivian Via Rosa, Lourdes, and the Oxford Motherhouse.
Sister Sue was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers Robert, John, Thomas, Richard, and James McMahon; and her sisters Rosemary Currier, Kathleen Michaels, and Patricia Zurbriggen. She is survived by her sister Joan Flanigan and her brother Dennis McMahon and numerous nieces and nephews.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held on January 11, 2023, at Lourdes Senior Community Chapel in Waterford, Ml. Sister Sue McMahon was interred at Our Lady of Sorrows Cemetery in Oxford, MI.
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Memorial gifts in Sr. Sue McMahon’s memory may be sent to the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement, 2320 Airport Dr. Columbus, OH 43219 or oppeace.org.