June 3, 1928 – May 18, 2024
Miriam Shea, CSJ died peacefully on May 18, 2024, at Carondelet Village in St. Paul. Sister Miriam was a kind, creative, and joyful presence; a fun-loving delightful hostess; and a woman of deep wisdom and faith.
Miriam was born the oldest of three sisters, in Minneapolis on June 3, 1928, to Neil and Mabel (Finno) Shea. Upon graduating from high school, she entered the community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet in 1946.
Miriam states that one of the greatest blessings of her life was her liberal arts education. She received a bachelor of arts in education and sociology from the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul in 1958. She attended the University of Hawai`i from 1963-65, where she majored in art. She later received a master of arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Her first missions were teaching at St. Therese, St. Gregory, and St. Mark in St. Paul; St. Helena and Christ the King in Minneapolis; and St. Michael in Grand Forks, North Dakota. From there, Sister Miriam received what she considered the greatest gift from God and the CSJ community, the “gift of life in Hawai`i,” where she taught music and art to K-12 students; worked for the Diocese of Honolulu, giving workshops on how to teach religious education to elementary school children; and oversaw sodality at two of Hawai`i’s military bases.
Upon her return from Hawai`i, Sister Miriam taught for three years at St. Pascal in St. Paul, and then 16 years in the art department at the College of St. Catherine, where she designed and implemented the Master of Art Education program.
Even in her retirement, she continued to teach, drawing out the creative gifts of the residents of Carondelet Village in St. Paul. Sister Miriam served on many boards including the Minneapolis Institute of Art. She also received the Art Educators of Minnesota Distinguished Service Award in 1993.
She loved to sing and was always an active member of the St. Catherine University and CSJ choirs. She loved books and word puzzles and will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
Miriam is preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Kathleen Morgan. She is survived by her sister, Betty Doherty; nieces, nephews, grandnieces and nephews; cousins; many dear friends; colleagues; and Sisters of St. Joseph and consociates.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, June 5, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., in Our Lady of the Presentation Chapel, 1884 Randolph Avenue, St. Paul, with burial following at Resurrection Cemetery in Mendota Heights. Memorials preferred to the Sisters of St. Joseph Ministries Foundation.
Dear Miriam, rest in love and peace.
Rest in peace, sister