Sister Marian Coughlin, SND(formerly Sister Mary St. Patrick)July 19, 1928-March 14, 2026Professed August 16, 1948
Born in Youngstown, Ohio, on July 19, 1928, Marian was the ninth of the twelve children, seven boys and five girls of Joseph and Gertrude (Handel) Coughlin. Hers was a happy, busy, hard-working, and loving Catholic family. Each day was filled with challenges and blessings. Marian was in awe of her first-grade teacher and made up her mind that she was going to be a sister when she grew up. After starting at a public high school, Marian transferred to Notre Dame Academy in Cleveland as an aspirant in her junior year. She entered the Sisters of Notre Dame as a postulant on February 2, 1946, and at investment received the name Sister Mary St. Patrick.
Sister Marian received a bachelor’s degree from St. John College in Cleveland and later a master’s degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. By 1949, the need for teachers was great. Sister Marian began her 48-year ministry in Catholic elementary schools as a classroom teacher in the Cleveland and Youngstown dioceses, in Dunedin, Florida, and McLean, Virginia. Former students from Amherst, where she ministered for thirteen years, recall their teacher’s enthusiasm for learning, her joyful spirit and her care for them.
Sister Marian served as principal in four schools but knew that her real calling was with the second graders, where she was honored to prepare them for the sacraments. She continued this ministry at St. Mary, Chardon’s PSR program for another twenty years after she left full-time teaching. Sister Marian actively supported ND Global Missions and the SND Associates. Sister was a woman of prayer who treasured her large family, her SND Sisters, her many friends and colleagues and her former students. She communicated her love for others through prayer, prolific letter writing and email messages. May she rest in peace.
The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, March 27, 2026, at the Sisters of Notre Dame Center, 13000 Auburn Road, Chardon, OH. It will be live-streamed here. Visitation will be from 9:30 until Mass begins.
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