Sister Marie Dolores Beck dies at 85

Sister Marie Dolores Beck, a Sister of the Good Shepherd who ministered for decades at the Good Shepherd Center in Halethorpe, died Jan. 5. She was 85.

Born Margaret Patricia Beck in Washington, D.C., Sister Marie Dolores was the second of four children in a close-knit traditional Catholic family. According to an obituary prepared by her religious community, she was attracted to the Sisters of the Good Shepherd because of their residential work with girls. She also embraced the order’s fourth vow of zeal for the salvation of souls. 

Sister Marie Dolores originally planned to enter religious life immediately after high school, but stayed home for six months to assist her brother, Frank, while he recovered from back surgery.

She entered the Good Shepherd Sisters at the Mount Street House in Baltimore, where she received the name of Sister Marie Dolores. Most of her ministry was in Baltimore.

When Good Shepherd Center, a residential treatment facility for adolescent girls with serious emotional and behavioral difficulties, opened in 1970, Sister Marie Dolores was a key figure in working out the intricate logistics of the move from Calverton Road. 

Sister Marie Dolores served as the first superior of the new retirement/infirmary community of St. Joseph Residence in Halethorpe, and then became the chief receptionist at Good Shepherd Center.

“Sister Marie Dolores managed to combine a demand for precision with a warm outreach to every person who entered the house,” according to the Good Shepherd Sisters. “In addition to her graciousness toward visitors, her presence at the front desk had a palpably calming effect on the staff and girls at Good Shepherd Center. She had a gift for forming and maintaining relationships, and continued to reach out regularly by letter and phone to innumerable people even many years after her retirement.”

Sister Marie Dolores’ other assignments included a brief stint as an assistant group leader in Washington, D.C., a period of service in Rome to help with preparation for a General Chapter of her religious community and assuming responsibility for closing the Good Shepherd house in Batesburg, S.C., in 1968. For health reasons, she also spent some time in Phoenix. 

After the Good Shepherd Center closed in 2017, Sister Marie Dolores moved with most of the other sisters to Maria Hall in Danville, Pa. She later moved to the Immaculate Heart Community at Mason Pointe. 

A memorial service for Sister Marie Dolores was offered Jan. 9 at Hutchens Mortuary in Florissant, Mo. A funeral Mass will be offered at a later time.

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