Mary Clara Jewell was born on March 12, 1902, in Clark, Missouri. She was the third of five children born to Clara (Smact) and Edward Spellman. After finishing grade school in Clark, she went to St. Mary’s Academy in Moberly, where she was taught by the Sisters of Loretto. “After two years of school in Moberly, 1 asked to spend one year at St. Joseph’s Academy, Clyde, Missouri. From the moment I entered the chapel, 1 knew this was where I wished to spend my life. My family was not in favor of my leaving home, at that time, to enter the convent. I returned home and finished high school at St. Mary’s Academy, Moberly, Missouri. We were a very close family and spent most of our evenings around the piano, which my mother played, accompanied by violin, with my two brothers and me. As my mother taught music, much of my time was spent with music and caring for my younger sister and brother.”

On January 31, 1921, her long-desired wish was fulfilled. “I arrived at Clyde on the Wabash train at 7:00pm. I was met by one of the sisters in a carriage and taken to the old reception room for lunch. My mistress soon came in and took me to the postulants’ dormitory and my religious life began.” When she was professed on Feb. 12, 1923, she received the name Sr. M. Brigitta. On Feb. 10, 1928, she made her final profession. She returned to her baptismal name, Clara, in 1968.

It was through our magazine, Tabernacle and Purgatory, to which her grandparents subscribed, that she first heard about Clyde. It was fitting that her first assignments in the community were in the printery, folding and stitching books. Later she fed the large press and worked on all the other machines in the printery. “I remained there for 31 years, (and) afterwards worked in the Correspondence Department, reading the incoming mail and taking care of the circular mailing. 

In 1956, Sr. M. Clara was given charge of the guest house, a charge that she shared with Marie Freehill, who was in residence there. Marie often stayed up into the night waiting for guests to arrive. For both of them, nothing was an inconvenience. It seems that Sr. M. Clara learned the value of friendship and hospitality early in her life. Through her ministry of hospitality, she touched thousands of lives. From 1979 onward, the guest house was closed during the winter months in order to save fuel costs. Shortly, thereafter, on April 16, 1979, Sr. M. Clara and Marie Freehill both retired from the guest house. Marie passed away in 1982. The guest house was closed permanently in the summer of 1983, when it required plumbing and electrical repairs.

Sr. M. Clara assisted with the circularization of Spirit & Life, until she moved to St. Benedict’s Health Care Center in July 1989. 

Throughout her life, Sr. M. Clara’s relationship with her brother, Philip, was a source of strength and blessing for her. While she lived in St. Louis, Philip visited her three times a year. They sat in the monastery courtyard for hours, chatting or enjoying the silence. Each Sunday after Eucharist she would await his telephone call.

In her last month, Sr. M. Clara could be heard saying, “Are you staying overnight? We have plenty of room.” In early December, she became visibly weaker, and the sisters began to take vigil at her bedside. Then she rallied for a few more weeks. As gently as she lived, Sr. M. Clara passed away in the early afternoon of January 23, 1998, as her sisters prayed silently at her bedside. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in the St. Louis Monastery Chapel on January 26, with burial in Mount Calvary Cemetery at our Clyde monastery the following day.