Sister María Eugenia Fúnez 

María’s parents, Eduardo and Julia, provided a loving home for her, Leonor, Doris, and Ricardo. Her father owned a printing business, and they lived in a house in Honduras.

The Fúnez family loved to swim in the ocean and hike in the forests and mountains. To this day, we see María outdoors walking on the Sacred Heart property. She has a cherished picture of the Le Chasseron Mountain in Switzerland, a fond memory of hiking with her two sisters on this mountain.

At 18 years of age, María was inspired by our German sisters working in Honduras and flew from her homeland to the United States to become a School Sister of St. Francis in 1950. She didn’t speak English at that time, but picked it up while she was a postulant and novice.

After her novitiate years, María returned to her home country, where she began teaching young children, living with the sisters from Germany, and attending school herself on weekends and during summers. Some years later, she taught in Costa Rica. Being fluent in Spanish surely served her and others well!

From 1970 to 1980, back in the United States, María taught Spanish and assisted in gym classes at St. Peter and Paul School in Naperville, Illinois. María appreciated Sister Marie Therese Kluthe (Sister Wanda) as “a very hard-working principal of a school that had over 1,000 children.”

After working in Madison, Wisconsin, she retired from teaching in 1993 and sought ways to be of service to the elderly. St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison offered workshops in working with the elderly who wanted to say at home. María participated in these workshops, and she assisted a number of people in their Milwaukee homes with a variety of services.

At times, Sister worked as a translator for different groups. In 2015, María became a vital assistant to Sister Marcian Swanson in Marcian’s final ministry. María lived at Maryhill Convent for 30 years before making Sacred Heart her home.

Sister María is very hopeful for the future of our community and excited about the contributions that sisters will continue to bring from India, Africa, and Indonesia, and in time, perhaps sisters from other countries as well! She strongly believes young people will enrich us with their traditions and languages.

We School Sisters of St. Francis gratefully celebrate Sister María for her 70 years of loving service! Congratulations, Sister!