Necrology of Sr. M. Michelle Holland, SP, 2007

Sister M. Michelle Holland, SP\n(Sister Mary Michelle)\nBirth: May 16, 1927\nBirthplace: Bovill, Idaho\nFather: Joseph James Holland\nMother: Marion Frances (Scott) Holland\nEntrance to Postulancy: February 26, 1946\nEntrance to Novitiate: August 27, 1946\nTemporary Profession: February 28, 1948\nPerpetual Profession: February 28, 1951\nDeath: April 28, 2007\nVigil Service: May 2, 2007\nFuneral Mass: May 3, 2007Sister Michelle Holland was born Marion Jean, the fourth of five children, and only girl, in Bovill, Idaho (a small town in north Idaho) to the family of Joseph James and Marion Frances (Scott) Holland. She wrote, “The day was Tuesday, May 16, 1927. I have always liked to associate the day, Tuesday, with the devotion to the angels, and was especially happy on this account to be given St. Michael as my patron at the time of my religious profession.”\nOne week before Michelle made her First Communion, someone tried to burn the parish church down. The attempt failed, but two weeks later, the arsonist was successful. During the next several years the families celebrated Mass in the rectory; the oldest members of the parish given the honor of sitting in the living room, the boys sat in a bedroom, the girls in another bedroom, and young couples in the kitchen. It was a happy day when an unused church building from a neighboring town was moved to Bovill. All of Michelle’s early memories were closely associated with these “church” events.\nMichelle attended grades one through ten in the town’s school which had two grades in each classroom. When her own lesson work was completed, she would listen in on the next grade level’s lessons and challenged herself to understand them.\nAt age 12, she had surgery on her hip at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane and was influenced by the sisters during that time. When her parents needed to return to their home in Bovill, Michelle started to cry. Her father put his hands on her shoulders and said, “Young lady, if you cry every time something goes wrong, you will cry often during your life. God made your shoulders just the right size for you to carry the crosses that God will send you.” She was bedridden at home for a year during her recovery. That experience led her to be a reflective and prayerful person.\nWhen she was in the 11th grade, she wrote, “I rode an antiquated school bus to a school in a nearby town. That year was both challenging and disturbing. It was in a predominantly Scandinavian settlement and one which was definitely anti-Catholic. On Friday, the school cafeteria served chicken or hamburgers and would taunt the four Catholics in attendance to see if we would eat it. We knew we could since they did not serve anything else, but we would not – just to show them our convictions. One teacher was a lady minister on the side and spent much time from English and American History trying to convert the class. In biology it was openly taught there was no need for a supreme creator. At the end of the year my parents decided it was time for me to live in Spokane and to attend a Catholic school.” It was at Marycliff High School that Michelle became serious about her desire to become a religious sister.\nOne day after graduation Michelle’s close friend suggested that they go for a little car drive. Michelle wrote, “The drive ended at Sacred Heart Hospital and Mother Pascal’s office. My friend told me she would pick me up in an hour. It was long enough, for by the time she returned I had formally asked my entrance. There is one amusing memory of that first meeting with Mother Pascal. I told her about my leg and the fact that it was about an inch shorter than the other, causing me to limp. She had me walk up and down in front of her and then stated perfunctorily, ‘You don’t limp; you “waddle” like I do.’ We settled on a February 1946 entrance, and I left for home – to see the sisters again only when I came to enter in Seattle. What influenced me to become a Sister of Providence was that in the town that I was raised there were many lumberjacks and railroad workers. I often wondered, who ever prayed for them? Who was concerned about them being able to know God? So I wanted my life to make a difference in people’s lives.” Michelle became a novice in August 1946, and she professed her first vows in February 1948 and her final vows in 1951.\nMichelle attended the College (now University) of Great Falls, Montana and later Gonzaga University in Spokane where she graduated with a BS in Chemistry in 1951. She received her teaching credentials from the state of Montana; and a Master of Arts in Chemistry in 1962 from the University of Notre Dame. She returned to Notre Dame in 1980-81 for a year of Theological Studies.\nSr. Michelle’s ministry assignments as a Sister of Providence were chiefly in education and administration, including Sacred Heart Academy, Missoula, Montana; Central Catholic High School, Great Falls, Montana; College (now University) of Great Falls, one year as acting president; Director of Education and Provincial Councilor, 1964-74. In 1971, Notre Dame named her the first woman to be given the “Man of the Year” Award. In 1974, she became the first “elected” Provincial Superior of St. Ignatius Province, Spokane, Washington, where she served from 1974 through 1980. From 1981 to 1999, she served as Assistant to the President at Sacred Heart Medical Center, Spokane, Washington and also served as Director of Mission Effectiveness and Values Integration. She served as a member of the St. Joseph Corporation Board, the Sacred Heart Medical Center’s Development Fund Board, and as a trustee for the Mother Joseph Province Retirement Trust Board.\nSr. Michelle served on many Sisters of Providence governing boards and was chair of several of them. She was a member of the Columbus Hospital (now Benefis Health Care) Board in Great Falls, Montana. She also served on the Washington State Hospital Association Committee on governing boards, on the CHA (Catholic Health Association) Board of Trustees, a special study commission of CHA, Chairperson of Region XV of LCWR (Leadership Conference of Woman Religious), the board of the National Sisters Vocation Conference, and several boards connected with Sacred Heart Medical Center. In 1992, she was a founding board member of Providence Services. Providence Services oversaw institutional ministries of St. Ignatius Province/Mother Joseph Province through 2005. She assisted Sacred Heart Medical Center in the development of the Providence Center for Faith and Healing.In June 2005, Michelle received the first Woman of Providence Award at the 25th anniversary celebration of Women in Providence in Collaboration (WPC), an organization she helped found. WPC is a collaborative group of 15 Providence congregations throughout the United States and Canada. Michelle, then provincial superior of the former St. Ignatius Province, and others, saw the need for an organization for the dwindling number of Providence sisters with similar goals. They organized Providence Events for the sisters and others to explore the meaning and charism of “Providence.”\nMichelle belonged to that generation of women Religious who made the transition from the pre-Vatican II to the post-Vatican II forms of religious life. She wore the traditional habit for some twenty years. She said, “I was very positive about making that change, from the very beginning.” After the change, she felt she was better able to relate to her Protestant relatives and to the lay community.\nMichelle highlighted, as her most rewarding experience as a woman Religious, the relationships she formed with people along the way. “I was a science teacher, and I always wanted to teach religion and I had a minor in counseling. I think that some of those relationships with my students have been lasting, and that is what has really given me personal enjoyment. That’s why I entered [religious life], to try and make a difference in people’s lives.”\nMichelle spent her final years in Spokane, living with Sister Dorothy Byrne. She used her electric wheelchair to get around – going to the parish and community events, and greeting her many friends along the way with her beautiful smile. Dorothy was Michelle’s good friend for 59 years. They lived together for 39 years at Sacred Heart Academy in Missoula, MT and at East 34 8th and 205 9th in Spokane, WA. Dorothy said that Michelle’s greatest gift was her wisdom. She was a visionary and was able to articulate her reflections. Sr. Dorothy felt that Michelle lived what Micah said in 6:8. She acted justly, loved tenderly and walked humbly with her God.\nMichelle died April 28, 2007, at the age of 79, and after 60 years as a Sister of Providence. She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Marion Holland, and her brothers, Joseph and Robert Holland. She is survived by brothers Maurice (Dutch) and wife, Colleen, Holland of Clarkston, Washington, and John and wife, Muriel, Holland of Spokane, Washington; many nieces and nephews, and grandnieces and grandnephews.\nMichelle, you have made a difference is our lives and in the lives of the people you have served. Your faith, love, dedication, and joy have touched us and we will remember you always. Providence of God, we thank you for all.

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