School Sister of Notre Dame who spent decade teaching in Howard County dies

A funeral Mass for School Sister of Notre Dame Mary Amalia Menardi was offered June 19 in the Chapel of Villa Notre Dame in Wilton, Conn. Sister Amalia died June 13 at age 99 at Lourdes Health Care Center in Wilton. She had celebrated her 75th jubilee earlier this year as a vowed member of the School Sisters.

Born and raised in New Jersey, in 1939 she moved to Baltimore and became a candidate for the School Sisters. From 1942 to 1950, she taught grades 1-3 at St. Paul the Apostle School in Ellicott City. According to an obituary provided by the School Sisters, “a one-room schoolhouse nearby was designated for black children. Sister Amalia asked to be assigned there and taught the first through the eighth grades in the same room. She loved the children and remembered her two years (1950-52) at St. Augustine as the highlight of her teaching career.”

While in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, she earned a bachelor’s degree from what is now Notre Dame of Maryland University.

Sister Amalia went on to serve parishes and schools in Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

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