“She had a great mind and heart,” said Sr. Suzanne Cooke, a fellow member of the Society of the Sacred Heart. “She was someone who listened with both.”
Sr. Harmon, who in the 1970s served as superintendant of schools for the Archdiocese of Detroit, died June 18. She was 87 and had been in religious life for 65 years.
“She is up with the ‘greats’ in Society education,” said her friend and colleague Sr. Margaret Seitz, RSCJ. “She never once forgot that her knowledge was at the service of others. There is so much more to Maryellen than a listing of all the things she did. Her intelligence was keen and she brought it to bear on everything. She was kind and generous to one and all.”
Sr. Frances Tobin, RSCJ, added that Sr. Harmon’s dedication to her ministry and faith that God was behind it made her stand out.
“I knew Maryellen as a person who was not afraid to climb mountains or go down into deep valleys, realizing that she was being led by the God who was her all,” said Sr. Tobin.
Sr. Harmon was born in Haute, Ind., to Daniel Lewis Harmon and Mary Molloy Harmon. She entered the Sacred Heart at Kenwood Convent in Albany, N.Y. in 1946, making her first vows in 1948 and final vows in 1955.
Sr. Harmon earned her Bachelor of Science degree in professional chemistry with teaching minors in mathematics, biology and philosophy from the University of Detroit in 1945. She received masters degrees in chemistry and mathematics from the University of Detroit in 1963 and 1967 and a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts in 1976. She studied teacher education programs in eight European countries in 1985-86.
Sr. Harmon taught in various Sacred Heart Schools for 23 years, including schools in Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut and Michigan. In 1970, she founded The Street Academy, an “alternative education center” for at-risk youth in Albany’s inner city. In Albany, she was elected to the public school board. From there, she became superintendent for the Archdiocese of Detroit.
Beginning in 1980, Sr. Harmon turned to higher education, included teaching leadership and education courses at Boston College, the University of Massachusetts, the University of Detroit, Madonna College (University) in Livonia and Siena Heights College (University) in Adrian.
Sister Harmon was predeceased by her parents and all of her siblings, including brothers David Patrick and James Molloy; and sisters Frances Harmon Burress, Anne Harmon Hackmon and Josephine Harmon Demko.
Tributes to Sr. Harmon may be left at the Society of the Sacred Heart website, www.rscj.org.
