Sister Anita Valdez was called home to God on July 15th after suffering a massive stroke nine days before. She had seemed in good health at 85 and was in the Clyde kitchen making her signature rice pudding when she suffered the stroke.

Sr. Anita was brn Mercedes Loyola Valdez January 6,1933 in La Jara, Colorado, the middle child of seven, of Joseph Herman Valdez and Alice Ann Gallegos. She had three older and one younger brothers and two younger sisters. Although the family farm at La Jara sat at 7,600 ft., she recalled picnics “in the mountains” a few miles away. They also went to the Rockies, where the sheep pastured in summer.

Benedictine spirituality was alive in the family. Sr. Anita said that, “my mother always saw to it that we had a Benedictine medal.” She spent two summers in Chamberlain, S.D. at a Native American school assisting her cousin Sr. Consuelo Chavez, OSB, of Sacred Heart Monastery, Yankton, S.D. During high school, Mercedes took 4H classes; sewing was one that served her well for the next 70 + years. She also learned to play the organ; that latter gift was developed and well utilized in monastic communities.

Although Mercedes first thought she might enter the Benedictines at Yankton, Sr. Anita related that she heard of the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration from a neighboring parish priest, Fr. Frank Faistl. She was drawn to a more contemplative life, having been “moved by the sight of my grandmother and grandfather kneeling at their bedside, seemingly totally absorbed in prayer.” There was a connection with Clyde through a friend, Mary Jane Romero [our Sister], with whom she attended the same school and knew from church parish events. Mary Jane entered Clyde in July 1950 and Mercedes did so on September 15, 1950. Entering a monastery so far away was a choice of great hardship, since at that time sisters did not visit their families.

Mercedes made first profession October 5, 1952 and received the name Sister Mary Anita. She made final profession October 5, 1957. Sr. Anita recalls a key memory, “how the chanting of the psalms began to grow on me.” Indeed, all her life, it was evident that Sr. Anita had a great love for the Liturgy of the Hours, which she would often attend even on days of solitude retreat. After final profession she was sent to the Kansas City monastery for two years, then to Tucson for four and then back to Mundelein. It may have been because of her organ skills; sisters who played organ were moved around as needs arose.

Vatican Council II, 1962-1965, brought change to all segments of the Church. Sr. Anita said a key appreciation was, “the dawn of Vatican II, asking religious to consider their origins.” For Sr. Anita, it also brought a vocational discernment, and she asked to transfer her vows to the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery in Yankton, S.D. Thus, from 1966 to 1994 Sr. Anita served the church in active ministry in Nebraska, S. Dakota, N. Dakota and Indiana. She formally transferred in September 1968. Once she famously hiked up Pike’s Peak on a whim without water with another sister who couldn’t walk very well. They got to the top at night and fortunately were given a ride down by rangers.

She wrote, “In Yankton I majored in music and Spanish. While I could enjoy working with people and seeing how God works in people’s lives, I seemed always to hunger for a more contemplative way of life. Having done graduate work in liturgy enabled me to do parish liturgy, but chanting the Office remained a deep love of mine. In 1993 I finally decided to listen to my heart’s longing and returned to the sisters of Perpetual Adoration. The decision was a peaceful one but not without pain of leaving Sisters I had bonded with over the years.” 

Back among her ‘original’ community, Sr. Anita was sent to Tucson in 1995 where she remained until about 6 months ago. She first companioned the Spanish Sentinels, women dedicated to the Eucharist. Each month she gave a talk in Spanish and wrote a letter for distribution by mail. In later years she worked with the Contemplative Prayer group, first started by our sisters years ago, that met on Monday nights to practice contemplative sitting prayer. It was also her responsibility to host the various groups which asked to use our basement Assembly Room. A favorite task was scheduling guest concerts by the Arizona Repertory Singers. Sr. Anita loved people. She wasn’t one to run off hither and yon but was a warm receiving presence for any visitor to the monastery. And, she was a steady advocate for peace and justice, prompting the sisters to write to the Congress about many things.

 And she made rice pudding for Saturday supper. Our community in Tucson loved her Saturday rice pudding and voiced our unhappiness when there was not enough for second helpings.loved her Saturday rice pudding and voiced their unhappiness when there was not enough for second helpings. Having moved to Clyde, she was making that pudding for the sisters at Our Lady of Rickenbach when she had a stroke on July 6th. They did get to eat it that night, in sorrow.

After hearing her prognosis, Sr. Anita could respond to questions and chose to ‘come home’ to ‘let go’. Over the next days at Our Lady of Rickenbach, our own healthcare center, her strength declined and she gradually heard the call of God in her being, as she let go. Sisters spent time in vigil with her and she passed quietly at 6:45 pm on July 15. Contemplative prayer prepared her well for this final journey.

Sr. Anita is gratefully remembered by her monastic communities of Clyde and Yankton, her brothers Joseph and Alonzo and her sister Marge, many cousins, nieces and nephews and friends.

Her Funeral Mass and burial at our Mt. Calvary Cemetery were on July 23, 2018.