SINSINAWA, Wis. — Sr. Jean Murray, OP, died February 14, 2019, at the Dominican motherhouse, Sinsinawa. Her religious name was Sister Meredith. Natural burial took place February 16, 2019, in the Motherhouse Cemetery. The funeral Mass was held at the motherhouse February 20, 2019.
Sister Jean made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa Dominican August 5, 1952, and her perpetual profession August 1955. She taught French at the high school level for four years and at the college level for 38 years. Sister Jean served as president of Rosary College (now Dominican University), River Forest, Ill., for 13 years and as provincial councillor for the Southeast Province of the Sinsinawa Dominican congregation for four years. She served in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Switzerland.
Dominican University President Donna Carroll reflected on her predecessor, “There was a quiet strength about Sr. Jean Murray that defined who she was and all that she accomplished. First and foremost, she was a teacher, but her calm and skill soon thrust her into leadership as the director of Rosary’s international program in Fribourg in the 1970s, and ultimately, into the presidency of the college. She was the first woman to head the Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities, and Sister Jean founded the Dominican Higher Education Council. Hers was a soft style, but a strong presence. . . . It was Sr. Jean Murray who founded the Fanjeaux Pilgrimage, which today is a mainstay for mission integration across Dominican colleges and universities.” A building on the Dominican University campus bears her name, “Sister Jean Murray Hall.”
In the Diocese of Madison, Sister Jean taught at Edgewood High School, Madison, 1952-1955, and St. Clara Academy, Sinsinawa, 1955-1956.
Sister Jean was born May 30, 1927, in Broadview, Ill., the daughter of Meredith and Marie (Ryan) Murray. Her parents and a brother, Meredith “Bud” Murray, preceded her in death. She is survived by nieces, nephews, and her Dominican Sisters with whom she shared life for 66 years.
Memorials may be made to the Sinsinawa Dominicans, 585 Cty Road Z, Sinsinawa, WI, 53824-9701 or online at www.sinsinawa.org/donate
Repeat broadcasts of the wake and funeral for Sister Jean are available online at www.sinsinawa.org/live
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