In addition to her ministry in education, pastoral care and spiritual counseling, Sr. Theresa Blaquiere, RSM, was a major force in Detroit and nationally in the area of housing and community development. She died Oct. 5 after a brief illness. She was 76 and had been a Sister of Mercy for 59 years.

Sr. Blaquiere entered the Sisters of Mercy in 1953. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1958 from Mercy College of Detroit (now University of Detroit Mercy) and a master’s degree in 1965 in educational administration and curriculum development at Saint Xavier College (now University) in Chicago. She also completed post-graduate studies at Michigan State University, University of Detroit, Wayne State, Notre Dame and University of Maryland.

Her first 13 years were spent in education, teaching in parochial schools in Michigan, as an instructor at Mercy College of Detroit and as principal at Holy Cross School in Lansing. In 1971, she was elected to the leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy and then spent three years (1974-77) as a pastoral minister at St. Catherine’s Parish in Portage.

In Benton Harbor, she co-founded and co-directed the Catholic Community Center from 1977-81. From 1981-84, she served in Washington, D.C., responsible for the coordination and completion of the Sisters of Mercy Shelter the Homeless Project. In 1982, Sr. Blaquiere became the first executive director of the McAuley Institute, which provided technical assistance, loans and advocacy to nonprofit housing developers.

In Detroit in 1984, she was the co-founder and then executive director of Core City Neighborhoods (CCN), whose mission included the physical and economic revitalization of a 3.5-square-mile area on Detroit’s near west side. As a consultant, Sr. Blaquiere also assisted in the design and strategic planning for a $10.5 million fund to be used by nonprofit community and housing development groups.

Sr. Blaquiere’s most recent full-time ministry was with the Jesuit Formation Staff in Berkley. For the next 11 years, she was assistant to the director of novices and was an instructor in religious life classes, as well as placement director for the ministry experiences of the first and second year novices. She later served on the board of the Mercy Education Project Board as chair for eight years.

Sr. Blaquiere is survived by her brothers, Norman (Wilma) of Union Lake and Dan (Mary) of Powhatand, Va.; her sisters, Rita (Jim) Butkovitch and Cecile (Bill) Brown; many nieces and nephews; Sisters of Mercy and numerous friends.

Mass of Christian Burial was Oct. 9. Burial is in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Southfield. Memorials may be made to the Mercy Education Project, 1450 Howard Street, Detroit, MI 48216-1917.