Sr. Marie Cyril Delisi, IHM, age 98, died Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, surrounded by her IHM family in Monroe.
Born Jan. 26, 1928, to Sicilian immigrants, Rosario and Marie Delisi, Ninfa Mary Delisi joined brothers and sisters at home in Detroit, Michigan. Her family belonged to Our Lady of Help Parish, where she attended grade school. Ninfa graduated from St. Charles High School in the summer of 1947 and entered the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Monroe). She received the religious name Sister Marie Cyril.
Sister Marie Cyril earned a bachelor’s degree from Marygrove College and a master’s degree in education from Wayne State University. She began classroom instruction in 1950 at St. Joseph, Monroe. Teaching assignments in Michigan included Sacred Heart, Roseville; St. John, Jackson; St. Charles, Coldwater; St. John and Lake Michigan Catholic Schools, Benton Harbor; and Epiphany and St. Cecilia, Detroit. She served in school administration positions at St. Mary Wayne School, Wayne; St. Ambrose Academy, Detroit; and St. Philip, Battle Creek. Her tenure in education was one of dedication, student achievement and support of professional colleagues, as well as managing school mergers and closures, and the impact of the failed Michigan Proposal C.
As education structures changed in Michigan, Sister Marie Cyril remained committed to students, going where need was identified: substitute teaching, tutoring programs at Discovery Learning Center, St. Veronica, St. Matthew and at the request of educators meeting new needs in Detroit. In 2006, IHM Sisters Marie Cyril, Alice Baker and Mary Laird and four Dominican Sisters established Epiphany Education Center in the former Samaritan Hospital. The Center continues its mission today. Sister Marie Cyril was a committed co-director, board member and contributor for 20 years.
Sister Marie Cyril was a longtime resident of Detroit and St. Clair Shores and active in the IHM community. She was known for her bright spirit and humor and always being ready to assist family, friends and students. A resident of the IHM Motherhouse since 2025, she recently experienced a decline in health and received on-campus care services.
Sister Marie Cyril is survived by nieces and nephews and her IHM Sisters in community. She was preceded by sisters Josephine and Elizabeth, and brothers Cyril and Frank.
Services will be held at the IHM Motherhouse Chapel, 610 W. Elm Avenue, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026. Streaming begins at 10 a.m. with a Remembering and Mass of Christian Burial. Interment will follow in St. Mary Cemetery. Arrangements are under the direction of Rupp Funeral Home. Memorials may be made to the IHM Retirement Fund, 610 W. Elm Avenue, Monroe, MI 48162-7909.
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