September 23, 2009

Religious sister marks 70 years of ministry—and still serves

By John Gleason

Is there a secret to keeping young? Maybe not.  Perhaps it’s simply knowing what God wants you to do and pursuing that with all your passion.

For Sister of Charity of Leavenworth Owen Marie Falk, who celebrated her 70th jubilee as a religious sister this year, it isn’t a matter of knowing any secret, or even looking for one.  It boils down to one simple thing—enjoying what you do.  Now in her third career—she retired from the previous two—Sister Owen Marie, who is 88, said no matter what line of work she was in, that’s what she was happy doing.

One of six children raised in Fort Collins, Sister Owen Marie graduated from Fort Collins High School and immediately entered the novitiate.  Trained as a teacher at St. Mary College in Leavenworth, Kan., she spent 40 years teaching in Wyoming, Kansas and Montana before returning to Colorado where she spent the last nine years of her teaching career at Annunciation School in Denver.  Asked the high point in her career as an educator, she had a quick answer.
“It was the children,” she said. “I loved working with the children.”

Sister Owen Marie’s biological sister, who is also a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth, affirmed that response. Sister Marie deLourdes Falk said her sibling’s love of her students was reflected in the reputation she gained as a teacher.

“She taught first grade for most of her 40 years in the classroom,” noted Sister Marie deLourdes.  “And all that time she was known in our community as one of our outstanding primary teachers.  She was excellent.”

After Sister Owen Marie retired from the classroom she didn’t sit back and take it easy. An opportunity presented itself and soon she, along with Sister Marie deLourdes, began a second career; this time working for archdiocesan housing. 
“I went from one extreme to the other,” she said.  “Now, I was working with seniors.  We opened Holy Family Plaza, the senior living facility in north Denver.  For years I was the activities director and my sister was the administrator.”

She fully enjoyed her second career.

“For 17 years it was the best job you could have,” she said.

One would think that after nearly 60 years of ministry and two careers, Sister Owen Marie would be ready to retire for good.  Again, that wasn’t to be the case.

“After leaving archdiocesan housing, I decided to try something else,” she said.  “So my sister and I walked into St. Joseph Hospital and said we wanted to volunteer.  When they asked us what we wanted to, we told them we didn’t want to be shut away in an office.  We wanted to work with people.”

And so they have. For the last nine years, the two sisters have volunteered in the Oncology Department of St. Joseph’s.  Their duties include greeting people who are coming in for treatment, serving coffee and making conversation. Their goal is to do whatever helps the patients relax before seeing the doctor.

“Sometimes what people really need is a sympathetic ear,” Sister Owen Marie said.  “We try to cheer them up and make them comfortable. Hopefully, it helps.”

Long time friend Sister Sharon Ford, R.S.M., said Sister Owen Marie is a humble person who does nothing but give.

“She is blessed with a wonderful sense of humor and the Archdiocese of Denver is blessed to have her among them,” she said. “You couldn’t ask for a better person to be working with people at the hospital.”

Despite her seven decades of ministry, Sister Owen Marie continues to serve at St. Joseph’s four hours a day, five days a week.

“Teaching, housing ministry, volunteering at the hospital,” she mused.  “I’m so blessed at what I’ve had the opportunity to do.”