Remembering a friend

Sister Mary Alice, right, and me at our first
Providence Associate Advisory Board meeting.

This blog is written from my heart about a woman who was more than a colleague, but a friend. You see, I have been privileged to work for and with Sister Mary Alice Zander for the last six years. I work in the communications part of the Office of Congregational Advancement, and I was blessed with being selected to work with Sister Mary Alice and the Providence Associate Relationship.

On March 5, 2011, Sister Mary Alice left us after a long, courageous and hope-filled battle with cancer. Perhaps “hope-filled battle” sounds incongruous, but hope is exactly what she gave each of the people who loved her. Her two years of surgeries and chemotherapies would have left most of us depleted. I’m not saying Sister Mary Alice didn’t struggle and have bad days, but I personally know that every time I talked with her on the phone, via e-mail or in person, I came away feeling the positive energy that always exuded from her. Yes, that energy radiated from her even when her health was declining.

And like so many others whose lives were touched by Sister Mary Alice, my heart is very heavy and a huge piece of me is missing. I grieve that I will no longer be in the physical presence of this woman of Providence. I miss her gentle ways. I miss how she made you feel when you talked with her that you were the only one she wanted to be with. I miss her sense of humor. And I just miss her.

Yesterday, Sister Jan Craven, one of Sister Mary Alice’s many good friends, saw that I was struggling and talked with me. Yes, she, too, grieves for her dear friend and sister. But she also reminded me that we are all left not only with good memories of Sister Mary Alice, but also with her energy.

To help me remember Sister Mary Alice I created a video that will hopefully help others to remember this very special woman. To view the video, click here.

Indeed my life has been blessed and is far richer for having known Sister Mary Alice Zander. And like so