Sister Mary Alice Reitz

February 5, 2022

Sister Mary Alice Reitz, SSND, 86, died on Saturday, February 5, 2022, at St. Anthony’s Gardens in Covington, LA. Sister Mary Alice was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1935. She was the first child born to Idamae (Martin) and Raymond Reitz. A sister and two brothers would complete the Reitz family. Sister Mary Alice was preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Gerald. She is survived by her sister Waline Schieman of Medina, Ohio and her brother Martin Reitz of Brunswick, Ohio. When she was three years old, her father’s work brought the family to the St. Louis, MO area. Mary Alice attended St. Michael the Archangel Parish School in Shrewsbury, MO. She enrolled at St. Francis de Sales High School for her freshman year. As a sophomore, she transferred to Notre Dame High School and in her junior year entered the Aspiranture of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in St. Louis, MO. Mary Alice entered the candidature of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1953 and began her college education at Notre Dame College. She was received into the novitiate in 1954 and given the name Mary Josene. She professed first vows in 1955 and perpetual vows in 1961. She later returned to her baptismal name. She was awarded a bachelor’s degree in education from the former Notre Dame College, St. Louis, MO in 1965 and a master's degree in Theology from St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, TX in 1975. For nineteen years, Sister Mary Alice taught children in the elementary grades at St. Mary, Fort Madison, IA; St. Joseph, Illmo, MO; Immaculate Conception, Liberty, TX; St. Francis of Assisi, Brookhaven, MS; St. Gabriel, New Orleans, LA; Holy Rosary, San Antonio, TX. In the mid-1970s, she combined her teaching experience and her theology degree and began serving in Parish Ministry and Religious Education at Sacred Heart, New Orleans, LA; Our Lady of the Valley, Phoenix, AZ; Sacred Heart, Texarkana, TX and St. Anthony, Casa Grande, AZ. In 1986, she was invited to be on the staff at AFIL (Association for Independent Living), a program for mentally challenged adults in Dallas, TX. In 2004, she moved with 15 of the residents who were ready to live independently to a condominium facility, Storey Lane Chateau, as the resident supervisor and manager of the program. Sister Mary Alice spent over twenty years ministering to this special group of adults. She treasured these years as a special gift which enabled her to use her God-given talents, to grow and experience friendships within a respecting, caring community, loving and appreciating each other. In 2009, she retired in Coppell, TX, where she continued in volunteer ministry. In 2014, she moved to St. Mary of the Pines in Chatawa, MS. She moved with other community members to St. Anthony’s Gardens in Covington, LA in 2019. On Thursday, February 17, 2022, at 10:00 A.M., a prayer/sharing service followed by a Memorial Mass will be held at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church, 501 Holy Trinity Drive, Covington, LA. Reverend Rodney Bourg, pastor, will be the celebrant. To view the services, click on this direct link to the parish live streaming page, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoHr5IBT6w9kNGjwvBWKBmQ/videos?view=57 Sister Mary Alice chose to have a green burial and was buried in the School Sisters of Notre Dame Cemetery in Chatawa, MS. Condolences and tributes can be posted at www.serenitycovington.com