SISTER ESTHER MARIE PHILLIPS, SC, age 75, died in Phoenix, Arizona on February 14, 2013. Born in Hammond, Indiana, Sister Esther Marie entered the congregation of the Sisters of Charity on September 8, 1955, from Saint John Evangelist Parish in Tucson, Arizona. Preceded in death by her parents, Wilbur G. and Esther M. (Keilman) Phillips, she is survived by two sisters, Mrs. Joyce (Jerry) Welshenbaugh and Mrs. Lynn (Alan) Wright, nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews. She earned a bachelor’s degree in history/education from Seton Hill University and taught students of the intermediate and junior high school levels in the dioceses of Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Tucson, and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. She ministered as vice principal at Saint John Evangelist School, Tucson and as principal at Saint Mary-Basha Catholic School in Chandler. In 1985, Sister Esther Marie was nominated to serve as secretary of the congregation of the Sisters of Charity, a position she held until 1993, when she returned to Arizona to minister as office manager at Resurrection Parish in Phoenix. In 2000, she became the director of Ministry of Care at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Scottsdale, Arizona a position she held until her retirement in 2011. At the time of her 50th anniversary, Sister Esther Marie reflected on her life as a Sister of Charity. “The meaning of my religious profession remains the same—the growth of a relationship between Christ and myself. Since my entrance into the congregation, I have grown more able to look through externals in order to center on the real value of each person, myself included—the true Presence of God’s life and love. It is out of this belief that I encourage others to make their response to God’s love.”
