Lest We Forget
Marie Lowe, CSJP-A (1938-2009)
“There is selflessness, a gentleness of spirit and an inner peace about Marie and you can sense it as soon as you meet her,” remarked one of Marie Lowe’s long standing friends. Gentleness, generosity, genuine concern for others, and selflessness characterized how Marie interacted with others, from her friends, to those she served as a parish pastoral visitor, to the residents of Villa Marie Claire where she was a volunteer for many years. An avid letter-writer, Marie corresponded with a long list of people and could always be counted on to remember birthdays with a card.
Marie Lowe was baptized at St. Catharine’s, Glen Rock, NJ in 1938 and was a lifelong member of the parish. Marie fondly recalls being part of a large and wonderful family. She enjoyed the company of her four brothers, John, Michael, Joseph, and Edward and gratefully remembered the happy, blessed and contented years of their growing up together. Piano, dancing and Spanish lessons enriched their early days and summers were spent at Belle Harbor, New York.
Since Marie’s father was the youngest of ten children and her mother the youngest of thirteen, her extended family included wonderful aunts, uncles and countless cousins who surrounded her with lavish love, concern and support. Marie’s early education was at the Convent of the Holy Child Jesus and she later attended Rosemont College. She continued her education earning a Masters Degree plus 36 credits beyond the Masters which enabled her to meet the NYC Board of Education’s top requirements for teaching mathematics.
Marie was appointed to the Mathematics department of Wadleigh Secondary School in Harlem, New York City. As a teacher, she dedicated herself to her students in the New York City public school system and learned firsthand from them the implications of when justice is denied through institutionalized patterns of social injustice and discrimination. James Fisher, a long time friend observed, “A very gentle and mild mannered person, it is hard to believe that she survived as a teacher in a Harlem school.”
Marie got to know the CSJP community through her volunteer work at Villa Marie Claire and her parish of St. Catharine’s in Glen Rock. After attending the Fifteen Year Anniversary Celebration of Covenanting, Marie requested to become a CSJP Associate and made her first covenant in March 1999. Marie loved her work at the Villa answering phones and the two doors. “I am most grateful for my time at Villa Marie Claire. My days are full, but very rewarding and often inspirational. Actually, I have learned much, just by observing and talking with so many individuals who have lived such full lives and who are always anxious to share an interesting story from their vast experiences or even a bit of humor with a willing listener.”
Marie believed that her parish service also helped her live out the CSJP charism of peace through justice. “On weekends, I sit and pray with homebound parishioners, most of whom are suffering the hardship of limited mobility and the constraints of age. I bring them the Eucharist, the church bulletin, the latest news and a report on the current happenings in the parish they love, but can no longer attend. Again I pray that Mother Clare’s words, ‘serving the highest expression of love’, will continue to energize my actions in this ministry.”
—Kate Chambers, CSJP-A