In 1962, Fr. Francis Hughes enlisted the services of the Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron* (1230 W. Market St., Akron, OH 44313-1708), whose pioneer spirit and dedication made St. Joseph the recognized school that it is today.

They lived in The Faragher House that was purchased, renovated and used as the Convent. This was a red-brick Victorian home built around 1885 by Martin B. Sanford [son of Jason and Hannah (Ladd) Sanford]. This building still exists today as a private residence (Bill and Valerie Fosnight), 10941 Main St., on the corner of St. Rt. 44 and the entrance to Crestwood High School.



Later they resided in the house at 4534 Pioneer Trail (currently used as the rectory) until 1990 when Sr. Laura Wallace retired and no other sisters resided at the parish.

*On Easter Sunday 2009, the Dominican Sisters of Peace was officially founded as a new congregation,
a pontifical institute formed through the union of seven former congregations of Dominican Sisters.

Sister M. Dennis Fath (Sr. Mary), O.P. ~ Principal, Teacher & Convent Superior, 1962-1965
Born March 17, 1913, the daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Faith, Sister Mary Fath entered the convent from St. Peter Parish in Cleveland in 1931. On April 30, 1932, when she received the Dominican habit she also received the name Sister Mary Dennis. She made profession on June 17, 1933. Sister Dennis was a student at Sister College in Cleveland, Ohio for two years after she made profession. In 1935, she was assigned to St. Dominic School in Youngstown, where she taught first grade for four years. Her next assignment was at St. Vincent School, Akron for six years as a first grade teacher. In 1945, Sister Dennis was placed in our Lady of the elms Preschool as a teacher for one year, then as superior for three years. From 1949 to 1957, she became the principal of the preschool. In 1957, Sister Dennis was assigned to a new school, Regina Coeli in Alliance, where she became the principal of the elementary school and superior of the convent. In addition to those positions, she also taught grades one and two.
In 1962, Sister was asked to be principal of St. Joseph School, Mantua, as well as teacher, this time in grade two for one year and grade four for two years. In her, varied assignments, Sister Dennis was then sent to St. Paul School in Akron, teaching grade four for four years until 1969. Around that time, Sister Dennis became Sister Mary Fath when the sisters were permitted to use their baptismal names, if they wished.
In 1969, Sister Mary Fath was assigned to St. Hilary School, Akron, where she taught grade five for one year, the next year, she taught grades seven and eight math and religion. Sister loved teaching math which later on became her full-time ministry. However, in 1971, she became the grade five teacher. Another change brought Sister Mary to Our Lady of the Elms Preschool again as Directress, where she remained for four years.
In 1977, Sister Mary was assigned to Immaculate Conception School, Ravenna, Ohio as teacher of grade six until 1982. In the school years 1982-1993, Sister became the math teacher for grades six, seven and eight, and served as homeroom teacher for the sixth graders. This was a special assignment which she loved very much. She also became involved in tutoring the children in computer skills and remained in Ravenna as a volunteer teacher until 1995.
After sixty years of teaching, Sister Mary Fath returned to Our Lady of the Elms Motherhouse to retire. When her health failed, she was transferred to Regina Health Center in Richfield for special care. Sister Mary also loved history and enjoyed doing history research especially on old houses in the Ravenna area. She loved to travel, visit museums, and she enjoyed gardening and ethnic cooking in her free time. Sister Mary died at the age of 90 on Sunday, December 21, 2003. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Our Lady of the Elms Convent on December 24. Many of her former pupils and those who taught with her were present at her wake and funeral. She is remembered with much love.

Sister M. Victoria Frank, O.P. ~ Teacher, 1962-1964
Need profile - Left Community

Sister M. Dominic Schalmo, O.P. ~ Teacher, 1962-1965
Need profile - Left Community


Sister Jeremy Englert, O.P. ~ 1962-1963
(not on DOY records) Need profile - Left Community

Sister Madeline Karam, O.P. ~ 1963-1964
(not on DOY records) Need profile - Deceased

Sister M. Alma Tressel, O.P. ~ Teacher, 1964-1965
Need profile - Deceased

Sister Hyacinth Brennan, O.P. ~ 1964-1965
(not on DOY records) Need profile

Sister M. Rosaire Miller (Sr. Rose), O.P. ~ Principal, Teacher & Convent Superior, 1965-1969
Rose Miller, the daughter of Fred and Margaret Lang Miller, joined the family of six siblings on August 7, 1925. She was already blessed with four sisters and two brothers, and another younger brother came along when she was five years old. Her parents were both German and had moved to the United States from Russia in 1915. Rose was baptized at St. Bernard Church in Akron; however, shortly after that her family moved to St. Paul Parish in Akron where Rose attended elementary school and graduated in 1939. She attended Garfield High School in Akron, graduating in June, 1943. She was an office clerk for two years at Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Akron. In 1945, she decided to enter the convent of Our Lady of the Elms in Akron. In 1945, she decided to enter the convent of Our Lady of the Elms in Akron. Her oldest sister, Sister Agatha Miller, entered the same convent when Rose was two years old.

At Reception Day, March 10, 1946, Rose became Sister Mary Rosaire and donned the white Dominican habit. A year later, April 13, 1947, Sister Rosaire pronounced her first vows. She was immediately sent to Immaculate Conception School in Ravenna, Ohio to do some student teaching. In September of 1947, she became the third grade teacher at St. Dominic School, Youngstown. After one year in third grade, she taught the fifth graders. She then assisted in Our Lady of the Elms Preschool for a while and then to St. Vincent Elementary to help in the first grade; she assisted in the preschool again for one semester and in the second semester attended St. John College of Cleveland as a student. She obtained her BSE degree in June of 1954.
Her regular assignments in education began in 1952 and continued through 1971 in the following schools: St. Matthew, Ellet; Immaculate Conception, Ravenna; St. Felicitas, Cleveland; St. Dominic, Youngstown; SS. Peter & Paul, Doylestown; and St. Joseph, Mantua, where she was principal, grade three teacher, and superior of the convent.
Sister Rosaire reverted to her baptismal name after Vatican II renewals and was then known as Sister Rose. She also began a new ministry as a receptionist and clerk at St. Thomas Hospital for four and a half years. In 1976 she helped with food service at Our Lady of the Elms Convent. Then she went back to office work and was secretary at St. Vincent Elementary School, at Our Lady of the elms Preschool and Our lady of the elms Special Education School until 1993. When the Special Education School closed, Sister rose became the portress at Or Lady of the elms Mother house, which she has managed successfully through the years until the present time. She schedules other sisters and sometimes high school student to work in the Portress Room. She helps those in need in various ways. Sister Rose, 91, died on June 11, 2017 at the Regina Health Center, Richfield, Ohio. 

Sister Antoinette Greco, O.P. ~ 1965-1967 (not on DOY records)
Need profile - Left the Community

Sister M. Jude Baltrinic, O.P. (Sr. Bernadine) ~ Teacher, 1965-1966
Bernadine Baltrinic was born on January 28, 1932, in Empire, Ohio, the eighth in a family of eleven children born to Mike and Mary (Pozderac) Baltrinic. She was first generation Croatian since her parents were born in Croatia, Yugoslavia (they met and married in the United States). Being part of a close-knit, religious family helped her to better understand those in her home town who showed their dislike of Catholics, foreigners, poor people, and those with large families. This experience seemed to draw her in her adult years to helping the less fortunate and working for peace and justice.
The family moved to Firestone Park in Akron in 1944 where she was enrolled in the seventh grade at St. Paul School and was taught by Dominican Sisters. As with other family members, music was a part of her life (she took piano, saxophone and oboe lessons and also played in the orchestra and band in school). Once she entered the convent she played the organ for Eucharistic liturgies at her various missions and directed the school choir. Bernadine graduated from Garfield High School in 1950 and began working at the Bell Telephone Company until she entered the Dominican sisters of Akron on September 8, 1951. She believes that the Spirit used her mother and Sister Celine in having her respond to the call to religious life. She attended St. John College as a postulant and lived at St. Agatha Student House. She received the habit and the name Sister Mary Jude on August 4, 1952. After her profession of vows on August 4, 1953, she was assigned to teach at Immaculate Conception School in Ravenna, St. Agatha in Cleveland, and St. Joseph in Mantua until 1966.
After leaving St. Joe's, Sister Jude served in El Salvador working with two Dominican sisters from her congregation, a lay woman and four priests from the Cleveland Diocese. Her work has led her down the path of justice which has energized her life and ministry. She has been involved wide variety of positions and projects within the Akron Dominicans community and Crown Point, the Cleveland Diocese, local communities and committees, and Dominican Sisters International. In 2001, after completing her term as President of the Congregation, Sister Bernie took a sabbatical at Berakah in Pittsfield, New Hampshire. In May 2002, she returned to Crown Point to live and was appointed Vocation Director with an office at Our Lady of the Elms Convent. Her great joy was to celebrate her Golden Jubilee on July 27, 2002 at St. Hilary Church. When she "retired" to the Akron Motherhouse in 2010, Sr. Bernie continue to serve her local community and her religious Community through her work as a volunteer, and finally, through her ministry of prayer and presence. Sr. Baltrinic died on April 28, 2020 and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Akron, Ohio.

Sister M. dePorres Schimmoeler, O.P. ~ Teacher, 1965-1967
Need profile - Left Community

Sister M. Sebastian Ricciardi, O.P. ~ Teacher, 1966-1969
Need profile - Left Community



 

Sister M. Conrad Roth, O.P. ~ Teacher, 1967-1968
The former Mary Roth was born on July 20, 1926, in Bayonne, NJ. She was the fourth child of six born to the late Joseph and Margaret Boylan Roth. Sister Mary Conrad entered the Sisters of St. Dominic of Akron now the Dominican Sisters of Peace from St. Augustine Parish, Barberton, Ohio, on September 8, 1944. She made first profession of vows on September 1, 1946. Sister Mary Conrad's teaching career began in 1946 where she taught at St. Mary, Wooster; then at St. Agatha, Cleveland; Immaculate Conception, Ravenna; St. Joseph and Regina Coeli both in Alliance; St. Joseph, Mantua and Our Lady of the Elms, Akron. From 1968 to 1970 she taught and was principal at St. Joseph Alliance; and from 1976 to 1979 she was principal at St. Hilary Akron. In 1979 she returned to the Elms Motherhouse where she became Transportation Coordinator a position she held for the next 27 years purchasing and maintaining the cars for the sisters. Because of health issues she moved to Regina Health Center on November 3, 2011. Sister Mary Conrad Roth, O.P. died on August 31, 2012, at Regina Health Center, Richfield, Ohio, and she is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Akron.

Sister M. Kevin Howley, O.P. (Sr. Lin) ~ Teacher, 1968-1969
Sister Lin's background is a mixture of Irishness, Dominicanism, and Firsts. Born September 22, 1923, she was the first daughter born to her father, who arrived at Ellis Island aboard the Lusitania in 1911, and her mother, who arrived a few years later - both of them coming from the Emerald Isle. Her birth year (1923) was the same year Our Lady of the Elms Convent was dedicated in Akron. Sister started first grade the same year that the new congregation was officially established (1929). She graduated in the first ninth grade class of St. Dominic School, Youngstown. The earliest college courses she took as a newly professed sister were at Siena Heights in Adrian, Michigan, and St. Mary of the Springs in Columbus, Ohio - both Dominican colleges.
Heartfelt gratitude goes out to her congregation for the many opportunities afforded her over the years which have enhanced her ministries: teacher and elementary school principal. She received the name Sister Mary Kevin when she received the Dominican habit on July 13, 1941. Sister was one of the first sisters assigned to open Regina Coeli School in Alliance, Ohio; the first sister, Director of Religious Education in St. Joseph Parish, Alliance; the first sister to serve in Cassiday-Turkle Christian Funeral Home, Alliance; the first Co-Pastor of All Saints Parish, Canton; the first sister receptionist at St. Mary Magdalene Parish, Willowick.
Sister Kevin went back to her baptismal name after Vatican II changes occurred, shortening Elinor Catherine to Sister Lin Howley. She taught primary grades at St. Augustine, Barberton, Our Lady of the Elms, Akron, and St. Joseph, Mantua. At Regina Coeli, Alliane, she was a teacher as well as principal from 1962 to 1968. In Denver and Glenwood Springs, Colorado, her role was religious education from 1969 to 1972. In 1972, she was elementary parochial school religion consultant for the Youngstown Diocese, and from 1979 to 1987, director of religious education at St. Joseph, Alliance. Sister Lin was in pastoral ministry at St. Peter Parish, Canton, and in Grieving Ministry for Cassady-Turkle Funeral Home, Alliance. From 1997 to 2000, Sister volunteered as parish receptionist at St. Mary Magdalene Parish in Willowick, where she served on the RCIA team. In 2009, she volunteered at St. Patrick Parish in Leetonia.In addition to her teaching and other assignments, she served the congregation as a member of the Admission and Formation Commission, a member of the Elms School Board for two terms, and was appointed a member of the Constitution Committee in 1983. Sister retired at Our Lady of the Elms Wellness Center. She passed away on October 21, 2021 at Mohun Health Care Center in Columbus and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Akron.

Sister M. Mildred Cook, O.P. ~ Principal & Teacher, 1969-1977
Mary Angela Cook was born of Leo and Frances Hahn Cook on January 7, 1912, and was the oldest of eight children. She attended St. Bernard Grade School and then Sacred Heart Academy (1926-1927). Although her mother felt she could use Mary at home, she offered no objection when Mary entered Our Lady of the Elms Convent on September 15, 1928. Mary graduated from Our Lady of the Elms High School on June 7, 1929. In the Novitiate, when Mother Ambrose taught German, Mary sometimes dozed because she already knew German very well. Earlier, when she was ten years old, Mildred, her little sister, at the age of three, had died. Mary was deeply moved. Consequently, she took the name Sister Mildred in religious life.
In 1930, Sister began her teaching career at St. Augustine School, Barberton. Then, from 1933 to 1935, she taught at SS. Peter and Paul School, Doylestown, and at Immaculate Conception, Wooster, the following year. From 1937 to 1939, Sister taught at St. Dominic, Youngstown, and finally at St. Vincent Elementary School, Akron. For the next nine years, she taught grades 4, 7 and 8, 1 and 2, and 3. She was a very good storyteller, and the children loved her.
A short time after she was given charge of the Elms school cafeteria, she was asked to be Novice Mistress at Our Lady of the elms convent, a position she held from 1948 until 1959. It is said that she rendered invaluable service to the community by permanently implanting in her novices a true spirit of the Dominican life and an intense love for the traditions of the community. Some of the 87 novices she trained mention some of her sayings: "We are all useful but not necessary" and "I am teaching you for the future." She had an exceptionally good vocabulary. She was also very compassionate.
Then in 1959 until 1963, Sister taught at St. Dominic, Youngstown. From 1963 to 1969, Sister Mildred returned to SS. Peter & Paul, Doylestown, to be principal and second grade teacher. In 1969, Sister served as principal and third grade teacher at St. Joseph, Mantua, where she remained until 1977. Sister then returned to Immaculate Conception, Ravenna, for two years as a teacher-assistant. After this long career in teaching, Sister spent two more years in parish ministry at St. Peter Parish, Loudonville, where she had the great joy of having a dog.
Eventually sister retired because of poor health and lived at the Elms Motherhouse. She divided her time in various ways: Crocheting and crewel work, playing cards, watching TV game shows, listening to classical music and light opera, writing letters, and visiting the sick. She especially like to have one of her brothers visit or take her out to eat. Over the years, many benefited from her skills as a seamstress. She lightened many people's burdens through her cheerfulness. She had devotion to the Stations of the Cross and often made the Way of the Cross before being incapacitated by arthritis. As her illness grew worse, Sister said her ministry was one of prayer and suffering. Despite a more and more debilitating illness, she carried on with remarkable courage and perseverance. She died at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio, on May 11, 1987.

Sister Maria Ciriello, O.P. ~ Interim Principal, Jan.-June, 1979

Home & School reports stated that Sr. Maria took on administrative responsibilities and served as Interim Principal following Mr. John 's heart attack. She entered the Sisters of St. Dominic in Columbus, Ohio from St. Hilary Parish in Akron, Ohio, in 1959 and professed vows two years later. She spent her first 25 years of religious life teaching in and administering schools in the Cleveland and Youngstown dioceses. She earned a PhD from the Catholic University of America in 1987 and subsequently spent nine years teaching in the School of Education there. While in Washington, she also collaborated on strategic planning studies concerning the future of Catholic schools.
In 1996 she accepted the position at University of Portland. She served as president of the Deans and Directors of Teacher Education for the Oregon Independent Colleges Association and was a member of the Mount Angel Seminary Board of Directors. In 2008, Archbishop John Vlazny awarded her the Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice cross.
Her national service includes being project editor and creator of a training program for Catholic school administrators co-sponsored by the US Catholic Conference and National Catholic Education Association. In that work, she provided workshops in more than 100 Catholic dioceses.
Sister Maria was elected to leadership for her congregation in 1977-81 and again in 1997-2001. Since 2009, she has overseen her congregation’s educational institutes and lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Sister M. Laura Wallace, O.P. ~ Teacher, 1969-1990
Sister Laura entered the convent from St. Joseph Parish in Maximo, Ohio. Born February 8, 1922, in Alliance, Ohio, she was the oldest in the family with two sisters and one brother. She went to a Catholic school in grades one through four. In the fifth and sixth grades she went to a one-room country school. In seventh and eighth grade she went back to Catholic school. When she was a freshman, she attended a public high school. Sister Laura first thought about being a sister when she was in the eighth grade. Her teacher (a sister) gave a talk on vocations and she began to think about what she wanted to be. When she was a sophomore she went to Our Lady of the Elms and lived in the Juniorate because she wanted to be a sister. When she was a junior and sixteen years of age, she was permitted to enter the novitiate as a postulant. When Sister Laura was a senior, she graduated from high school as a novice and made religious profession on July 7, 1940.
Sister's ministries took her to various parishes and schools which included St. Dominic, Youngstown; St. Joseph, Alliance; Immaculate Conception, Ravenna; St. Felicitas, Cleveland; Our Lady of the Elms Elementary and St. Vincent, Akron. For three years she served as principal of St. Hilary School in Akron. Her longest assignment was teaching first grade from 1969-1990 at St. Joseph in Mantua, Ohio (she was also president of a St. Joseph's Garden Club, 1986-1987). In 1990 Sister turned to a great love of hers, the beauties of land and nature. She spent time at Genesis Farm, an ecological center in Blairstown, New Jersey. Joining the staff at Crown Point Ecology Center in Bath, Ohio, she brought great enthusiasm for protecting planet Earth. Sister Laura played a major role in the success of Crown Point, conducting workshops and teaching basket weaving and quilting. Sister Laura planted seeds for the crops, grew flowers for the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, and maintained the flower gardens and children's gardens. She also made garlands and wreaths using materials grown at Crown Point; conducted tours of the Farm and used her sewing skills notably to donate a quilt she created each year for Taste of Earth, the annual dinner and fundraiser with a quilt rack which her brother, Bob, made each year to accompany the quilt as an auction item.
In 2001 in addition to her work at Crown Point, Sister Laura offered her services as co-moderator of the Friends of the Elms, a group of women who meet each Tuesday to create gifts to be sold at the annual Christmas boutique. The proceeds are given to the sisters for needs throughout the year. Sister Laura continued to use her talent to make blankets for the poor and generate projects to benefit Crown Point and the Elms.
Sister Laura was presented the Faith Award at the Women's History Project's 2009 Women of the Year Awards Dinner on March 3, 2009. This program pays tribute to women in the community who do much to improve the quality of life for others. She has inspired new gardeners and volunteers with the wisdom and knowledge which she readily shares. Because of failing health, she was transferred to Regina Health Center on Nov. 24, 2010. Sister Laura Wallace, died at the age of 88, on Friday, December 31, 2010 at Regina Health Center, Richfield, Ohio (she is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery). Donations in memory of Sr. Laura can be made to the Dominican Sisters of Peace, 2320 Airport Dr., Columbus, OH 43219-2098.