"I have been crucified with Christ, and the life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me." Gal.2:20.

These words, both as her prayer and her desire, took on new meaning for our Sr. Esther Therese when her identification with her suffering Lord was sealed in the sacrament of her dying with him. Death came peacefully at 6:22 p.m.  at the Albany Hospital, as many of her sisters surrounded her.

Marvalee C. Peth was born February 8, 1933 to Sophia Heyer and William Peth in Independence, Missouri. Her journey began in the Baptist Church, but during high school years she became interested in the Catholic Church. Having been warned about the evils in this Church she wanted to find out why it was so evil. Secretly she began taking instructions until her parents found out and stopped her. As soon as she was able she resumed instructions and was baptized on August 10, 1950. She began sharing the liturgies at our Kansas City Monastery and felt sure this was the lifestyle she wanted. Before entering the convent she admits that it was easier to give up her job with A.T.&T. and sell her car than to break ties with her family, a heartbreaking separation. Her parents had strongly opposed her becoming a Catholic, and could not accept her entering a Convent. Strong in her resolve, Marvalee entered at Clyde on March 6, 1959.

"When I drove up to the monastery at Clyde, saw the life-sized statue of the Sacred Heart welcoming me in the rays of the setting sun, I knew then that it was truly a welcome, a welcome for a lifetime."

On Profession Day, September 12, 1961, she received the name. Sister Mary Ignatia, but many years later she was allowed to change her name to one that combined her own baptismal name and her sister's name. After that, Sr. Esther Therese quickly earned the nickname: "E.T."

Sr. Esther Therese had a strong devotion to the Passion of Christ and considered her life "an inner journey into God's love," a journey that was deepened and directed through Sacred Scripture in her prayer and in her studies. While in Tucson in the '6O's began a self-study in Hebrew, later was helped by a Rabbi; while in Kansas City in the 70's she learned Greek. Both languages helped her understand the Word of God more clearly. Ten years after perpetual vows she requested and planned a special public consecration of herself to the Sacred Passion, feeling certain, after a year of prayerful discernment, that she was thus "being swept up to the very summit of Adoration, with Jesus going before and showing her the way."

In every community she served, Clyde, St. Louis, Tucson, Kansas City, she was a cheerful and energetic member. In 1983 she was happy to be a pioneer member of our newest monastic community in Wyoming. She wrote for a Wyoming newspaper about her new "Home on the Range":

"This phase of my journey is one for which I shall ever be grateful. It is a wonderful experience, so drastically different from that which I imagined upon entering the doors at Clyde!"

In May 1987, she was asked to serve at the community at Clyde once more. Soon after she would find herself on a path of suffering, truly following in the footsteps of her crucified Lord. In 1989 she was diagnosed with a rare disease, and then with cancer. For two years, E.T. patiently endured her illnesses remaining very much in the midst of her community. On Saturday, March 2, she suddenly became critically ill and was hospitalized where she remained till her death on March 4, 1991.

"Receive this cross of our Savior Jesus Christ. May you learn to show forth the word of the Cross in word and deed that you may attain to the never ending rewards of the Paschal Mystery."

"I lovingly embrace the symbol of my salvation and cling to it in love, willingly embracing the daily dying that the Lord will ask of me that I may one day be forever united with Him."  

(From her Consecration, May 7, 1976)