Clementice was born in Waller, Texas, on Nov. 23, 1908. She was the eighth of ten children, six boys and four girls, born to Polish immigrant parents. When she was two years old, the family moved to Doniphan, Missouri, where she lived until her entrance at Clyde on November 7, 1933. She was invested as a novice on May 10, 1934, and made her first monastic profession on October 5, 1935. She took her final vows on February 8, 1941.
Sr. M. Stanislaus served for many years at our monastery in Clyde, and she became one of the most gifted seamstresses in the Congregation. The refrain that guided her throughout her life was, “you must do it well, you must do it well.” Her other duties included the cleaning of the priests’ house at Clyde, a duty which flowed over into her life-long prayer for priests.
Sr. M. Stanislaus remained at Clyde until 1958, when she was transferred to Kansas City until 1967, when she returned to Clyde. She also served for some time at our San Diego monastery, where she endeared herself to many friends. There she was known for the exquisite roses that she tended at the front entrance to the monastery.
When our San Diego monastery closed in 1992, Sr. M. Stanislaus was transferred to St. Louis and became a member of St. Benedict Health Care Center. She befriended a rabbit, Bonnie, who resided in the monastery courtyard. Sr. M. Stanislaus loved God’s creation in flowers and animals. One of our sisters wrote of her: “if one were to conjure up an image that would be a describe Sister, it would be that of a beautiful rose.” The full blossoming of her loving heart occurred in her senior years, when she strove to love everyone unconditionally, accepting everyone just as they were.
Sister was close to her family, and her niece, Lillian Payne, visited her regularly. Lillian remembered Sr. M. Stanislaus, then about twenty, walking her to kindergarten and making sure that the bow in her hair was straight and in place.
Sister was up and around until just several weeks before her death, when liver cancer made that impossible. Sr. Mary Jane visited her before leaving for a meeting and said, “Jesus is coming very soon for you,” to which she responded, “But he is so slow!” A few days later, one of our nurses had just taken care of her needs and laid her gently in bed when Sister took three short breaths and went to God. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated in St. Louis on September 2, 1997, with burial the next day at Mt. Calvary Cemetery at Clyde.