Dominican Sister of Peace Dorothy Marie (Antonius) Lemon, OP, (100), a native of Pittsburgh, PA, died on March 14, 2022, at the Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus, OH.
One of three children born to Clarence and Mary Haney Lemon, Sister Dorothy entered the Congregation in 1942 after several years working as a telephone operator. She made Final Profession in 1944 and earned a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from St. Mary of the Springs College, now Ohio Dominican University. She also earned a number of Continuing Education Certificates in subjects ranging from Intercultural Communication to Pastoral Catechesis.
Sr. Dorothy spent the early years of her long and devoted ministry to God’s people as an educator and school administrator in Ohio, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico. She believed that all of her ministry was a form of teaching.
In 1965, Sr. Dorothy joined three other sisters as part of the Congregation’s missionary foundation in Chimbote, Peru. She would minister in Peru for twenty years and developed a deep love for the Peruvian people. She supervised teachers of religion, moderated teenage boys and girls in the Legion of Mary, taught First Communion classes, and even worked with families to teach good nutrition.
After Sister Dorothy returned to Columbus, she served in pastoral ministry at Saint Pius X parish and then became active in Congregational service as Director of Hospitality and Facilities at the Columbus Motherhouse. She was a faithful companion to many of her sisters at the Mohun Health Care Center until she began her own ministry of prayer and presence at Mohun in 2006.
Speaking of Sr. Dorothy, Sister Barbara Lolli described her as “The picture of what a woman religious should be.”
She was preceded in death by her parents, Clarence and Mary Haney Lemon, her brother Clarence, and her sister, Anna Margaret Evangelista. She is survived by several nieces and nephews.
A Vigil of Remembrance Service was held on Tuesday, March 22 at the Columbus Motherhouse Chapel. The funeral liturgy was held on March 23 at the Columbus Motherhouse, followed by burial at St. Joseph Cemetery.
To donate in Sr. Dorothy Lemon’s memory, please click here.
To download a printable copy of this memorial, click here.
Memorial gifts in Sr. Dorothy’s memory may also be sent to the Dominican Sisters of Peace, Office of Mission Advancement, 2320 Airport Dr., Columbus, OH 43219.
