Lest We Forget
Sister Margaret Dove, CSJP (1921-2008)
St. Joseph of Peace Sister Margaret Dove (Sister Claver), a woman of deep prayer, great friendships, and prophetic presence, died May 11, 2008 in Bellevue, Washington. Her life was celebrated at a funeral Mass on Friday, May 16th, 2008 at St. Mary-on-the-Lake, in Bellevue, Washington.
Margaret Dove was born in Cleethorpes, England on January 28, 1921 and grew up near London. She entered the Postulancy for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace in Cabra, Ireland, in 1938 and, like many Sisters, travelled by ship across the Atlantic and by train across the United States to be received into the Novitiate in Bellingham in 1939. Sister Margaret became a teacher, earning a B.A. from Western Washington University and a Master’s from Seattle University while she taught in Fernie, B.C., and in Longview, Port Angeles, Seattle and Wenatchee, WA. Sister Margaret was the founding Principal of Sacred Heart School in Bellevue from 1952 to 1955 and later served as Principal in Trail, B.C., Corvallis, OR and Mount Vernon, Port Angeles, and Seattle, WA. She also taught English at Blanchet High School, Seattle, and in Peterborough, England. Everywhere Sister Margaret went, she carried on a loving relationship with the children in her schools and the dogs, cats and birds of her neighborhood.
In her retirement years at St. Mary-on-the-Lake Sister Margaret became a powerhouse of prayer and a loving friend to many Sisters and Associates of St. Joseph of Peace. She said of her prayer life, “I find that the simpler prayer is, the better it serves me. As we get older, we tend to simplify – not that we can’t be bothered, but we don’t want things that don’t do any good to be taking up space.” She continued to be a passionate lover of creation, befriending stray cats and crows while tending her two beloved parakeets.
Sister Margaret is survived by her sister, Veronica Smitheringale of Peterbourough, UK, and by many nieces and newphews in England. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, P.O. Box 248, Bellevue, WA 98009.