Sister Marie was born in Spring Hill, Minn., in 1914, the fourth of 10 children. At an early age she chose the Benedictine way of life;  in 1933 she was admitted to the novitiate and given the name Sister Placid. She reclaimed her baptismal name in 1960.

S. Marie was a gifted teacher, and teaching gave her the opportunity to see many places. For 26 years she taught in the intermediate and upper grades in Catholic schools in the dioceses of St. Cloud, LaCrosse and Seattle. In 1965, S. Marie began teaching science at Cathedral High School and then at Saint Benedict’s Academy. She also taught future science teachers and nurses at the College of Saint Benedict and St. Cloud Hospital School of Nursing. She earned an M.S. in education at Creighton University and furthered her studies in Denver, Ariz., and Memphis with the National Science Foundation’s summer programs.

Following teaching, S. Marie was an assistant librarian at the College of Saint Benedict for eight years. In 1982, she set up and managed the first Whitby Gift Shop in a little yellow house on Minnesota Street known at the time as “Whitby Convent,” after the 7th century Benedictine St. Hilda of Whitby. She described the gift shop as an outlet for the Sisters’ crafts, which they did for relaxation and therapy, “like everyone else in the world does.” A talented seamstress and crafter, the shop included items made by S. Marie.

In 2005, S. Marie moved to Saint Scholastica Convent. She currently lives at St. Benedict’s Senior Community where her recent 94th birthday was a grand celebration.