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Sister M. Blaine Pierce
Pittsburgh
Sister M. Blaine Pierce passed away Friday, June 18, 2010, at Mt. Alvernia. She was born Donnamae Pierce, May 27, 1932, in Pittsburgh, daughter of the late Benjamin Franklin Pierce and Marie (Doerr) Pierce. She is survived by her brothers, Aidan and Harold; sisters, Mary Klein and Lois Zandier; and nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brother, the Rev. Blaine T. Pierce; and sisters, Lucille Logan and Naomi Keenan. She entered into the congregation July 16, 1950, from St. Peter and Paul, Pittsburgh. Sister Donnamae was a teacher for 51 years, most of which were spent teaching in the intermediate grades. Sister then served as group supervisor at the Mt. Alvernia Day Care and Learning Center for the next eight years. In 2000, Sister received the Golden Apple Award by the Diocese of Pittsburgh in recognition for her excellence in teaching and service to the Church and community. Sister's years of ministry to children in the classroom and her sisters in community were dotted with a very generous and joy-filled spirit which she radiated to all. Friends will be received from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday at Mt. Alvernia, where Chaplet of Divine Mercy will be held at 1 p.m. Vespers will be held at 4:45 p.m. Monday followed by Mass of Christian Burial at 5 p.m. Burial will be in the Sisters' cemetery, Mt. Alvernia Cemetery.
The following obituary was published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette:
Obituary: Donnamae Pierce / Catholic nun, teacher for 51 years
May 27, 1931 -- June 18, 2010
March 29, 2012 2:24 am
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By Dana Vogel / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Sister Donnamae Pierce of Millvale came from a family that treasured religion -- her eldest brother was a Catholic priest and her aunt was a nun.
Sister Donnamae dedicated her life to the same order as her aunt did, the Sisters of St. Francis of Millvale, her family said.
Sister Donnamae died Friday at the Mount Alvernia Motherhouse. She was 78.
Sister Mary Jo Mattes, a member of the same order and a former housemate of Sister Donnamae, called Sister Donnamae "a very generous and outgoing person."
Sister Donnamae was devoted to teaching although her niece, Claire Marmo, of Valencia, said, "No matter what ministry she was assigned to, she would have been happy."
During her 51 years as a teacher, Sister Donnamae worked at numerous schools in the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, including St. Augustine in Lawrenceville, St. Gregory in Zelienople, St. Anne in Castle Shannon and St. John Neumann in Lawrenceville, where she taught until her retirement in 2003, said Ms. Marmo. She spent most of her years teaching intermediate grades.
After her official retirement, Sister Donnamae volunteered at the Mount Alvernia Day Care and Learning Center, where she was a group supervisor, until her death.
Sister Mary Jo said Sister Donnamae "gave the gift of excitement to her students."
"She made a connection with the children," she added.
In 2000, Sister Donnamae received the diocese's Golden Apple award -- an annual award recognizing excellence in teaching and service to the church and community.
Upon receiving the award, Sister Donnamae called herself "a teacher in the Catholic-school style" and said she felt honored to follow in the footsteps of the Catholic Church's first teacher, Jesus Christ.
Ms. Marmo remembers her aunt as an energetic woman. "Even in her later years, she was very vivacious. She was very active with my grandchildren," she said.
Sister Donnamae joined the sisterhood in 1950, when she was 18.
The second youngest of eight children, she took the name Sister Blaine, after her brother the Rev. Blaine Pierce.
She used that name until the Second Vatican Council allowed her to return to her baptismal name, but many people still knew her as Sister Blaine, Ms. Marmo said.
In addition to Ms. Marmo, Sister Donnamae is survived by two brothers, Aiden of Garland, Texas, and Harold of Penn Hills; two sisters, Mary Klein of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Lois Zandier of Warminster, Bucks County.
Funeral services were held Monday.
Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/obituaries/obituary-donnamae-pierce-catholic-nun-teacher-for-51-years-252469/#ixzz2JE6yeTdD
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1932 - 2010 (78 years)