ADRIAN, Mich.—This year, 46 Dominican Sisters of the Third Order of St. Dominic are marking jubilees. Out of those Adrian Dominicans are three with connections to the Diocese of Rockford:
75 Years
Sister Rita Crotty, OP
Sister Rita (Patrick Therese) Crotty, OP, a native of Chicago, graduated from St. Joseph Academy in Adrian, Mich., in 1951, after entering the Adrian Dominican Congregation on June 25, 1950. She professed her first vows on Dec. 27, 1951, and final vows on Dec. 28, 1956.
She spent her early years teaching in classrooms in the Archdiocese of Detroit. She came to the Diocese of Rockford in 1968, teaching elementary and junior high grades at St. Patrick School in St. Charles until 1977. She then taught at St. Denis School in Chicago until she retired in 2002. Sister Rita moved to the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse in 2023, where she is engaged in the ministry of prayer and presence.
Sister Ellen Kennedy, OP
Sister Ellen (Esther Francis) Kennedy, OP, a native of Chicago, entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation on June 27, 1950, professed her first vows in 1951 and her final vows in 1957.
After teaching in Detroit, Des Moines, and Chicago, she taught in the Diocese of Rockford at St. Bridget School, Loves Park, from 1962-1964. She then served as an elementary school teacher in the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Joliet.
In 1999, Sister Ellen switched her ministerial focus, serving in religious education in Wheeling. Her last years of formal ministry were with the Cree First Nation people in Manitoba, Canada, as part of the Adrian’s mission in Alaska and Canada from 2007 to 2013. She resides in the Dominican Life Center, involved in prayer, presence, and active volunteer service.
70 Years
Sister Marilyn Winter, OP
Sister Marilyn (Maureen) Winter, OP, a native of Garden, Mich., entered the Adrian Dominican Congregation on Sept. 9, 1954. She professed her first vows on Aug. 5, 1956 and her final vows on Aug. 5, 1961. Sister Marilyn holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Siena Heights College/University in Adrian; a master’s from Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.; and a Doctorate in Ministry in sacramental theology and liturgical studies from Aquinas Institute of Theology, Des Moines, 1981.
She taught for 16 years in Catholic schools, including St. Mary School, Elgin, 1956-1961, and Mount St. Mary’s Academy, St. Charles, 1971-1972. She later served at the diocesan level at the Dioceses of Denver, Winona, Minn., Green Bay, Wis., Richmond, Va., and Lafayette, Ind. She became Chapter Prioress/Provincial for the Mid-Atlantic Mission Chapter of the Adrians in 1998 for six years, then was director of the Office of Worship for the Diocese of Great Falls/Billings, Montana, then was co-director of the Spiritual Life Department for the Adrian Congregation. She has volunteered on boards and committees and in parish work since her retirement in 2015, living in her hometown of Garden, Mich.
