SINSINAWA — Sr. Miguel Hearty, OP, died August 7, 2015, at St. Dominic Villa. The funeral Mass was held in Queen of the Rosary Chapel at Sinsinawa August 11, 2015, followed by burial in the motherhouse cemetery.
Sister Miguel made her first religious profession as a Sinsinawa Dominican August 5, 1933, and her final profession August 5, 1936. She taught for 53 years, including at a preschool she founded for underserved minority children in Apalachicola, Fla.; served as principal for 12 years; and ministered as educational consultant for five years. Sister Miguel’s educational expertise was shared nationally while she served as editor of the Catholic youth publications Mine One Magazine, Mine Four Magazine, and Hi Mine Magazine at different times between 1948 and 1963. She served as consultant to 29 schools in 10 states in the congregation’s Southeast Province. At that time, it was becoming apparent that Sisters would no longer be capable of staffing the numbers of schools they had previously. The province team developed a system to evaluate a school’s current and future prospects in regards to Sister staff and school operations. The process helped parishes and lay people continue to operate their schools after the Sisters were no longer assigned there. Sister Miguel’s ministries were based in Illinois, the District of Columbia, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Florida.
In the Diocese of Madison, Sister Miguel ministered as principal at Edgewood Campus School, Madison, 1962-1964; served as prioress of the local community while she taught at Edgewood High School, Madison, 1964-1966, and Edgewood College, Madison, 1966-1970; and was an educational consultant for the Sinsinawa Dominican Southeast Province, 1970-1971 and 1972-1976.
Sister Miguel was born February 13, 1915, in South Milwaukee, the daughter of Michael and Margaret (Waters) Hearty. Her parents; six sisters, Marcella Hearty, Narcissa Hearty, Leora Hearty, Catherine Carter, Mildred Grobschmidt, and Margaret Foard; and two brothers, Thomas Hearty and Norbert Hearty, preceded her in death. She is survived by nieces, nephews, and her Dominican Sisters with whom she shared life for 83 years.
Memorials may be made to the Sinsinawa Dominicans, 585 County Road Z, Sinsinawa, WI, 53824-9701 or online at www.sinsinawa.org by clicking on “Donate Now,” then “Honor and Memorial Gift.”
Repeat broadcasts of the wake and funeral for Sister Miguel are available online at www.Sinsinawa.org/live Click on the “on demand” tab.