Elizabeth Mary Meyer was born in Carlyle, IL to Henry Bernard Meyer and Catherine Mary Seiffert Meyer. She was the fourth of seven children. Her older sister, Isabelle, entered our Congregation at Clyde and became Sr. M. Anselma Meyer. They had five brothers, Robert, Henry Jr., Paul, Joseph, and Ferdinand whom everyone called Fritz. Elizabeth was known to her family as Betty.

Sr. Elizabeth Mary wrote, “We were a close-knit family. Together we shared the beauty of family life and the beauties of nature on our small farm. Our relatives and friends would come and enjoy nature with us. We enjoyed walking in the wooded area near home, watching and listening to the water in the woods, enjoying the ferns and other wild flowers. The family recited morning and evening prayers together as well as meal prayers. Our recreation was playing softball, croquet, cards, dancing and singing. Dad would read short stories after our evening meal sometimes. ”

Betty enjoyed school, piano lessons and babysitting for her relatives. She also helped her mother care for the lawn, flower beds and bushes that decorated the home. Betty also learned fine stitching from her mother and came to love embroidery and quilting.

After high school, Betty became a nurse’s aide at St. Mary’s hospital in East St. Louis. She said of those years, “Going to church for mass and other devotions was the highlight of that time. I received divine energy from my faith which made my life a joy and allowed me to see beauty all around me.”

“I heard the call to religious life at an early age, around seven years old. Often it would seem that I heard God’s voice around the table during our family meals and when I was alone...the only question was where I should go.”

She looked at communities ranging from the strictest Carmelite community to foreign missions. She regretted not being able to be a priest and so took praying for priests to be a personal mission. Working as a nurse’s aide, she considered nursing communities until she had to deal with the emergency victims of an automobile accident.

Through Sr. M. Anselma and the literature sent from Clyde, Betty became acquainted with the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. At first Betty was not too favorably impressed by Clyde. She had considered the possibility of founding a new religious community, even speaking to a cousin in the seminary about joining her in this endeavor. The cousin left the seminary and the idea for a new community left as well. About six months later Betty went to visit Sr. M. Anselma. After speaking with her and with Mother Dolorosa, arrangements were made for Betty to enter Clyde on April 15, 1939, Easter Saturday. This sudden decision came as a surprise to the family, but it was a happy one.

As a postulant Elizabeth worked in the printery. She was received as a novice on Thanksgiving Day, November 30, 1939 and began work in the altar bread department. She made her first profession of monastic vows on Feb 8, 1941. At that time she received the name Sr. M. Dymphna. She came to know much about this Irish saint and grew quite devoted to her. Still, when the sisters were allowed to return to their baptismal names after Vatican II, Sister chose to return to Elizabeth Mary because Elizabeth meant “House of God.”

In 1943 Sr. Elizabeth Mary was one of the founding pioneers of our Kansas City monastery. She took this to be the answer to God’s inspiration to be part of founding a religious community. She returned to Clyde to prepare for her Final Profession which she made on the Feast of St. Scholastica, February 10, 1946. She returned to Kansas City and worked in the altar bread department and as assistant in the sacristy.

In 1951 Sr. Elizabeth Mary went to our monastery in Mundelein as sacristan. There she worked with many of the seminarians from St. Mary of the Lake Seminary. She had a life-long dedication to praying for seminarians and for priests.

In 1954 Sister was chosen to be one of pioneers to our new community in San Diego. She wrote, “It was my joy and delight to be one of the two who carried the living flame of the Clyde sanctuary light to San Diego. Only God knows what this tremendous experience meant in my life as an adorer of the Eucharist."

When the Tucson sisters were preparing for the consecration of their monastery chapel in 1954, Sr. Elizabeth Mary was called on to assist them. Then in 1956 she returned to Clyde for the ceremony of Consecration of Virgins which she was privileged to receive. In November of that year she went to Mundelein to help them out for two weeks during General chapter. The two weeks turned into seven years. She was called back to San Diego for five years and then returned to Mundelein until we sold the property in 1978. "This was truly a deep pain,” she said, “a stretching - a letting go of our monastery where we found a deep spiritual relationship and a spiritual/liturgical sharing with the priests and seminarians. For me this letting go led me to enter more deeply into the awareness of God’s obedient love.”

Sr. Elizabeth Mary spent the next years living in Kansas City, St. Louis, Clyde and eventually moved to Our Lady of Rickenbach Health Care Center where she could be close to Sr. Mary Anselma who died in January, 2006. Sr. Elizabeth Mary suffered from Alzheimer’s disease in her last years.

On the morning of Dec 5th, 2009 Fr. Peter from Conception Abbey was asked to anoint her. Immediately after receiving the Sacrament of Anointing Sr. Elizabeth Mary entered into Eternal Life. Many of the OLR sisters as well as Srs. Pat, Ginny, Sean and Cheryl were there when she died. The funeral Mass was held on Dec 12, 2009.