Life through Love and Friendship: Sisters Mary Ellen Roach and Sue Verbiscus

“If the world takes something from us on the one hand, God will give us something on the other.”

St. Louise de Marillac

By Sebastian Isaacs, Communications intern

S. Mary Ellen Roach continues to show Welsh corgis, an avocation that began in 1970.

If you call Sisters Mary Ellen Roach and Sue Verbiscus at their cozy Seton House in Denver and S. Mary Ellen doesn’t answer from their landline, then the Sisters might be out on one of their weekly drives through the same mountains they used to climb.

After stopping at their favorite little diner for breakfast, the Sisters drive around to “see the beauty in nature and the mountains,” according to S. Mary Ellen. This new routine, which comes along each year when the weather permits, is “something very special for us.”

In this chapter of the Sisters’ lives, they have exchanged their skis and climbing harnesses for word puzzles and quiet conversations. “We just enjoy each other every day at the house,” S. Mary Ellen said about what retirement has brought for them.

However, one thing has remained constant throughout every chapter of the Sisters’ lives – their shared avocation for dog training, which began soon after being missioned at the Loyola School in Denver.

Following an attempted break-in at the convent in 1970, S. Mary Ellen said, “Father Murphy suggested that we needed a dog.” Their first dog, a German shepherd malamute mix named Lance, was purchased for $15 and employed as a guard dog soon after.

Following Lance, the Sisters adopted a German shepherd puppy from an Associate in Colorado Springs whose own dog whelped a litter of puppies. “It evolved from there,” S. Mary Ellen shared. “We have a good friend in the city who raises Welsh corgis, and so I got into Welsh corgis while Sue got into shepherds.”

Today, S. Mary Ellen continues to show her Welsh corgis while S. Sue has retired from showing. After losing her last shepherd about two years ago, “we came across a rescue corgi,” S. Mary Ellen said. “I’m still showing and little Miss Muffin is retired with Sue.”

“Dog training has opened up a new world with the people we know,” S. Mary Ellen continued. “We found a whole new ministry in the dog world.”

For many years, S. Mary Ellen has been involved with the Blue Springs ‘n Katydid Dog Training Center. She explained that S. Sue “was one of the top trainers in the sport of Schutzen in the state.” Both have shown dogs and frequently placed in American Kennel Club (AKC) and other competitions throughout the years.

S. Sue Verbiscus, now retired, poses with her rescue corgi, the latest in a long line of dogs she has shared with S. Mary Ellen Roach.

It wasn’t until 2011, though, that the Sisters were able to devote more time to their avocation when the Loyola School closed. Having been missioned to the school in 1968 and ministering for nearly 40 years together, the Sisters’ had the opportunity to build a relationship that would last a lifetime.

S. Mary Ellen remembered, “I was just a first-year Sister ready to go out on mission and met Sue in Bay City, Michigan. I got a notification that I was missioned to teach at Loyola and she was missioned at the same time as principal. She was a mentor, and I was drawn to her immediately.”

Though most of their days at Loyola were filled with teaching and convent duties, S. Mary Ellen shared that S. Sue “was very influential in my education and taught me how to progress with the students. I spent my time in elementary education and in our later years, Sue and I both went on to the University of Northern Colorado to earn our master’s degrees in special education.”

“As the years went on, our friendship only grew,” S. Mary Ellen added. “It continues to grow to this day.”

Since the convent closed, the two Sisters continued to live in community with one another at various houses before settling down at Seton House, where there’s ample backyard space for their dogs to roam. S. Mary Ellen laughed, “One of the stipulations is that we always have to take the dogs with us to new houses.”

At their home, the Sisters find it hard to describe the value of their relationship after spending most of their lives together, building a loving bond rooted in their strong faith. “Each day is a new day for us,” S. Mary Ellen said, pondering what this chapter brings for her and S. Sue. “You never want to close the book on things, you open a new chapter in your life. We’re enjoying every minute of this one.”

Throughout the years, S. Mary Ellen also shared that their “role model” has been Servant of God S. Blandina Segale. “She’s always played a big part in our lives because she ministered out here,” S. Mary Ellen said. Her selfless nature has no doubt inspired Sisters Mary Ellen and Sue as they’ve experienced community life in Colorado.

While the two have never lost connection with their Sisters in Cincinnati, S. Mary Ellen affirmed that “the love of the Community continues to grow with us each day. In the earlier days, there were a number of Sisters out here, now we talk with them through the computer!”

Distance has never been an obstacle for Sisters Mary Ellen and Sue, whether it was the distance separating them from their Sisters in Cincinnati or the physical distances they climbed together. Relying on one another has made the difficult possible.

“You know, even when we were able to do some of those things like climbing the Fourteeners, there was a dependence on each other to get to the top safely,” S. Mary Ellen said. As the two Sisters explore this new chapter of their life together, surely that dependence will remain.

Although Sisters Mary Ellen Roach (left) and Sue Verbiscus no longer climb mountains or ski, they still enjoy driving to the mountains and spending time together with their dogs.

(From left) Sisters Sue Verbiscus and Mary Ellen Roach have shared life in community since 1968, when they were both missioned to Loyola Catholic School in Denver.

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