A warm farewell 

to a great lady

By Ron P. Coderre

As adults we can look back and think of individuals who played a significant role in our lives as we grew up.  There may be a number of people who have had an impact but certain individuals seem to stick out more than others.

Sr. Doris Berube of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit died peacefully Nov. 7, surrounded by other sisters and friends, all who loved her dearly.

How do I know she died peacefully, because thanks to a phone call I received shortly before her death I was able to visit Sr. Doris and thank her for the positive impact she had on my life.  Although she was in an unconscious state I was able to speak with her, while holding her hand, and tell her I loved her for the impactful role she played in my life.  And although her breathing was labored and she was perspiring as she was passing into the hands of her Lord, I know she heard every word I said.

I was a seventh grade student at St. Mary’s School in Putnam the first time we met.  It was September 1953 and I was assigned to her classroom, where she would be my teacher for the entire school year.  Her sisterly name at the time was Sr. Therese Thomas.  I believe she took that name in honor of St. Therese of Avila and St. Thomas. As a teacher she was one of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my life.  She was in charge of her students, and there were upwards of 30 in her class.  Some might say she was strict but I remember her as being fair, kind and loving with every student regardless of their ability.  She taught us religion, mathematics, history, geography, English, French, spelling and on Friday afternoons, it was music and art.  

Midway through our school year two students from Lithuania moved to Putnam.  Thanks to Sr. Therese Thomas’ international flare, she welcomed those students and integrated them into this foreign class by having them teach us all songs in Lithuanian.  It’s a memory I’ll never forget.  She made them feel welcome and made all of us aware and appreciative of another culture.

I moved on in life after St. Mary’s and so did Sr. Doris.  Eventually she became the director of the International Institute at Annhurst College and a professor in the education and English departments until the college closed in 1980. Sr. Doris was not the type of person to sit around and do nothing.  In later life she continued to actively help people by serving as the CCD coordinator at St. Mary’s and then as secretary at Hawkins House in Danielson.

Over the years, I’d run into Sr. Doris on various occasions and she’d always greet me as “my Ronald.”  Her memory of her students and their names was fantastic.  When we’d meet I never failed to tell her how much the education I received from her and all the Sisters at St. Mary’s had helped me through my undergraduate and graduate work in college.  In her own humble way she’d be amazed that she and others like her had had such an impact, not only on me but on the hundreds maybe even thousands of young boys and girls who came under her tutelage.

As she lay in her casket in the Chapel at the Daughters of the Holy Spirit Provincial House and sitting through her Mass of Christian burial officiated by another of her students, Father Edward Dempsey, many thoughts went through my mind. There will never be another Sr. Therese Thomas, a dedicated teacher.  Did she leave her earthly dwelling believing that she was simply doing her sacred duty?  And did she realize how many lives she had positively impacted?  And many of those influenced by her teaching continue to pass on her doctrine to others in the way they carry on their lives today.

Her effect on the world may have appeared minimal in her eyes but in the eyes of those who knew her and were students of hers, her influence was exponential.

Sr. Doris Berube, aka Sr. Therese Thomas, is certainly now at the right hand of God, where she continues to spread herself for the benefit of others.  God bless you, Sister Doris Berube.  With love from your seventh grade student, Ronald P. Coderre.

 

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