Welcome to the Ursulines of Brown County
 Sister Joan Leonard (formerly Sister Mary Robert) of the Ursulines of Brown County died Saturday, July 24, 2010 at Hospice of Cincinnati after a long illness. A memorial Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Chapel, Saint Martin, Ohio on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 4:00P.M.
Sister Joan was born the daughter of Robert and Mary Harrington Leonard in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Marita Rack, Barbara Leonard, Joy O’Connor, and Judy Leonard and is survived by her brother Robert (Nancy) Leonard of Chester, Maryland.
Sister Joan became a member of the Ursuline community in 1948 and was professed in August, 1951. Although she began her teaching with the kindergarten class at Ursuline Academy and the upper grades at St. Vivian School, she soon became a high school English teacher at Ursuline Academy. Sister Joan retired from the traditional school system in order to work with the elderly, but that opportunity also became an educational experience because of her conviction that the Humanities stimulate and sharpen mental ability. While studying for her Doctorate at the Union Institute she began a second career in the field of gerontology and established the Arts and Humanities Resource Center in 1975. As the director of AHRC from its formation in 1975 until her retirement in 1998 she gathered a competent staff and created numerous workshops and programs to demonstrate her theories in a practical manner. Many awards, including Ohio Humanities Council Achievement Award 1987, Ohio Governor’s Award 1989, Ursuline Academy Woman of the Year, National Council of Christians and Jews Community Service Award 1991, the Post-Corbett Award 1993 and the Nicholas T. Elko Knights of Columbus Award 1996 indicate the success of her endeavors. In 1981 she participated in the White House Conference on Aging. She was a member of the Committee of Arts, Education and the Humanities for the National Council on Aging, and a consultant for both the NCA and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In later years Sister Joan taught classes on both campuses of Chatfield College and published a book, Cutting at the Root of Ageism: the Effect of Developing Three Gifts, which compiles her research and the work with the elderly that was so dear to her heart. |
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Sister Anne Maureen Maher |
 For many years Sister Anne Maureen Maher taught and worked with young people, elementary school through college, but this year she has taken on a new ministry that encompasses the outer edges of the life span. Her title is Spiritual Life Services Coordinator. On Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays Sister is part of a core team that cares for the spiritual needs of the Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati who live at Mother Margaret Hall. There are six team members who work in Spiritual Life Services and nine other volunteers who assist in any way they can. “Our mission is to provide support for and comfort to residents,” says Sister Anne Maureen. “The team members make sure the sisters have the opportunity to receive the Sacraments: Holy Eucharist, Penance and Anointing of the Sick. Counseling is available as well as one on one visits. Programs are planned by the team to offer educative, spiritual and prayer experiences.” Semi-annual retreats are available to the residents and special prayer experiences are planned for them as well. Sometimes the elderly struggle with problems of aging and illness, and the team is called upon to respond, incorporating a palliative approach to their care. The team members also assist with funeral preparations when a sister dies. Sister Anne Maureen enjoys the other end of the life span continuum on Wednesdays when she is caregiver for Michael Anthony Hamburg, age four, in the morning and his sisters Josie and Jackie when they come home for school. |
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Visiting nurses offer heat relief |
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Recent article in the Cincinnati Enquirer by Peggy O'Farrell on Ursuline Sister Phylllis Kemper. View online article or download (PDF). |
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Chatfield presents honary degrees |
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 Chatfield presented Agatha Fitzgerald, OSU and Cecilia Huber, OSU with honorary doctorate degrees in public service. (Photo - L-R: Sister Agatha Firzgerald, John Tafaro (Chatfield College), Sister Cecilia Huber)
Sister Agatha Fitzgerald has been an amazing and inspiring force for quality education at Chatfield’s St. Martin campus and at other allied locations for over 30 years. Sr. Agatha has generously shared her artistic talents with the college and her work can be found on the walls at the St. Martin campus and at the Findlay Market location. Her relief of Sister Julia Chatfield adorns the entrance to the Welcome Center on the St. Martin Campus.
In 1994 Sr. Agatha was named recipient of the Celebration of Teaching Award given by GCCCU, the Greater Cincinnati Consortium of Colleges and Universities. She has served in numerous administrative posts of Chatfield, including Director of Public Relations, Director of Career Development, Dean of Student Services, and Dean of Academic and Student Affairs.
Sr. Cecilia Huber teaches piano, music appreciation, music history and goes above and beyond in preparing her students for recitals and performances – be they piano, voice, trumpet, harp or just about any other instrument.
Sr. Cecilia is gracious and generous in sharing her musical gifts and abilities with the college through her many concerts, including her annual Christmas concert, and virtually any and all other college events – such as the Quilt & Craft show and commencement exercises. She not only performs, but also directs ensembles or larger collections, and arranges and even writes original music. She is the composer of Chatfield’s Alma Mater. In addition, Sr. Cecilia has been a well respected English instructor and is an amateur nature photographer.
Sr. Cecilia has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the first Chatfield College faculty ExCorde Award in 2005 and the Chatfield College Distinguished Volunteer Award in 2008.
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Ursulines Sisters preserve 85 acres of Farm Land |
 On January 29, the Ursuline Sisters of Brown County granted an Agricultural Easement to the Southern Ohio Farmland Preservation Association (SOFPA) which will ensure that 85.368 acres of agricultural property in the village of St. Martin will remain available for agriculture forever. The Ursuline Sisters have owned the property for over 160 years and the 85 acres surrounds Chatfield College and the long-time motherhouse of the Brown County Ursulines. The signing of the easement culminates a process of several years in which the sisters sought to ensure their legacy is preserved. In their Legacy Statement of March 21, 2009, they stated; "Our land is holy ground supporting efforts to experience and share the love of God in a myriad of ways…We value the agricultural potential of the land and the interdependence we share with the people in the surrounding towns and countryside and with Chatfield College. Proposed projects consistent with our mission for the betterment of the individual must also respect the land assuring its preservation and its unfolding potentials."
The agricultural easement will ensure that no residential or industrial development may occur on the land but that it will be available for a wide range of agricultural uses. The hope is that it will serve as a catalyst to keep Northern Brown County a strong agricultural area.
SOFPA was enthusiastic about joining in the effort of the sisters. SOFPA is a local non-profit corporation headquartered in Georgetown which works with land owners who wish to preserve their land from development. Under an agricultural easement, SOFPA has the legal right to insist that there will never be commercial, industrial, or residential development on the acreage involved. SOFPA now holds agricultural easements in Adams, Brown, and Clermont Counties and is also available to assist farm owners in Highland County.
 According to Jerry Schwallie, SOFPA President, landowners who decide to restrict the future development of their property usually do so for two reasons. Like the Ursuline Sisters, they have a strong desire that their land remain open and available for agriculture forever. Other landowners, however, will be disposed to grant an agricultural easement because of the potential financial benefits either from the tax deduction that can come from donating to a non-profit corporation the right to insist that the land never be developed, or from cash payments that may be available through the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
Landowners who want more information about easement donation may contact Patrick Hornschemeier, Attorney for SOFPA, at his office in Georgetown, for a free no-obligation informational session.
For more information call Patrick Hornschemeier 937-378-4769.
 Present at the signing of agricultural easement from the Ursuline Sisters of Brown County to the SOFPA were: seated: Jerry Schwallie, President of SOFPA, Sister Patricia Homan, Congregational Minister, Brown County Ursulines, Patrick Hornschemeier, Attorney for SOFPA; back row; Sister Phyllis Kemper, Sister Ruth Podesta, Sister Mary Paul Walsh, and Sister Agatha Fitzgerald.
LAND PICTURE:
 One of the fields preserved as farmland forever by the Ursuline Sisters of Brown County. If you would like these pictures sent to you electronically, please give me a call at (937) 378-4769.
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