Subseries 67 - Stellarton, Nova Scotia

Ready, Mary Margaret: Born 23 August 1921 in Tignish, Prince County, PEI, daughter of Francis Ready and Annie Wallace; entered 21 January 1950; first vows 15 August 1952; final vows, 15 August 1957; died 17 May 2022.

One of four children, Margaret was born on the family farm, near Tignish in the northwest area of Prince Edward Island. Her early formal education in a local one-room schoolhouse until Grade 8 was followed by studies in Tignish at the Convent of the Our Lady of the Angels under the direction of the Sisters of Notre Dame. Upon graduation in 1938, Margaret moved to Charlottetown to attend the Normal School at Prince of Wales College in pursuit of a teaching certificate. During this time, she boarded at the Notre Dame Sisters convent and school, dismissing the idea about entering their community: “I didn’t want to wear their habit.” At the convent, she first learned of the Sisters of Service (SOS) at a retreat preached by Redemptorist Fr. Andrew MacDonald.

After acquiring a teaching licence in August 1939, Margaret returned home to teach for six years in the same country school of her early education while living at the farm. Undecided on the next step, she accepted the offer of two married aunts from Boston, who visited PEI during the summer. Returning to Boston with them, she spent a year babysitting and other household tasks for friends of her aunt. After one year of residency in the United States, immigration law dictated that she must become a citizen to remain. Before leaving Boston, she met a school friend, Albertine Gaudet, who lived at the SOS residence in Montreal, and was persuaded to come to the Montreal residence.

Before entering on January 21, 1950, she came to Toronto, working as a clerk in the catalogue office in the downtown department store of Easton’s of Canada. Sister Ready professed first vows on August 15, 1952 in advance of her first mission assignment in the northern Alberta town of Rycroft, where foundress Sr. Catherine Donnelly taught at the high school. At the dormitory of the town school (1952-1955), Sister Ready was assigned as the housemother of the students from outlying farms who attended school during the week. A gall bladder attack in 1955 resulted in Sister Ready returning to Toronto for surgery and recovery. Assigned as assistant (1955-1961) to Novice Mistress Agnes Dwyer, she helped with the novices to adjust to religious life. She remembered Fr. Daly at the end of his life, as thoughtful, particularly in his writing personal notes to sisters on the missions. Sister Ready professed final vows on August 15, 1957.

In 1961, she returned to the United States as superior (1961-1968) of the catechetical mission in Fargo, ND, combining duties at the religious correspondence school with the management of the house as well as learning to drive a car. Within two years, the Fargo Diocese opened a new office of Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) in Grand Forks to introduce parish schools of religion. After closing the correspondence school in 1963, Sister Ready for the next five years trained the parish teachers, assisted in the CCD office and studied theology at College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minnesota to keep abreast of the changes from the Second Vatican Council. She continued theology studies (1968-1969) at St. Thomas More Institute when posted to the Montreal residence.

Moving to Halifax, Sister Ready embarked in social work training at the Regional Vocational School, earning a diploma in social welfare. For the course’s practicum, Sister Ready was assigned to New Waterford, Cape Breton and was hired as a social worker in New Glasgow (1970-1975) for Catholic Family Services of Eastern Nova Scotia and moved to Family Enrichment and Counselling Service i(1975-1981) in Moncton, NB as a family counsellor. A return to religious education came with the positon of principal (1981-1991) of the correspondence school of religion and superior (1983-1990, 1992) in Clarenville on the east coast of Newfoundland. During this assignment, she travelled to homes and small chapels to meet students and teachers and prepare children for the sacraments. In 1982, Sister Ready was elected to the General Council, travelling to Toronto for meetings until the term expired in 1986.

After the closing of the Clarenville mission, Sr. Ready was a co-ordinator (1992-1994) of the retired Sisters at Scarborough Court, Toronto. Afterwards, a sabbatical (1994-1995) was undertaken for the spiritual renewal at the Oblate retreat centre of Galilee in Arnprior, Ontario. Following a return to the Motherhouse (1995-1997), she accompanied Sister Adua Zampese to Radville, Saskatchewan (1997-2002), a farming community in the southern part of the province without a resident priest.In moving to Regina in 2002 for a year, Sister Ready again acted as companion to Sister Zampese, the religious education co-ordinator for the parish of St. Anne’s.

In retirement, Sister Ready lived with the sisters at Scarborough Court (2003-2005) and LaSalle Manor (2005-2015). Sister Ready died on May 17, 2022 at in her room at the Houses of Providence, where she had moved in 2015. Rev. Peter McKenna celebrated the Mass of Resurrection in the chapel of Presentation Manor with interment in the community plot at Mount Hope cemetery, Toronto.