Mary Groves

"I believe in working collaboratively to establish common ground with persons of all faith traditions in matters that promote peace, understanding and compassion."

Mary Groves, a native Oregonian, was born Mary Louise Hummell in Pendleton in 1939. As a native Oregonian, she has lived in Pendleton, Portland and Bend. Although widely traveled, her desire was always to live in her native state. She is a dedicated mother of three sons, one daughter who died at birth and a grandmother of four. No matter how busy she was or where she was residing, Mary's family came first. At the same time she also shared her remarkable range of talents and creativity in her many roles of education, ministry and counseling over the last seventy years.

Her creative self left its mark on the production of numerous film and education programs some of which have won international awards. The De Sales Program, a unique 64-hour adult religious education program developed with her husband, Richard has become an international success. Mary not only shared the responsibility of the curriculum development but designed the film sets, created props, costuming and was video hostess for this ambitious venture. The De Sales program was originally created to serve Catholics in Eastern Oregon but was quickly discovered by hundreds of thousands of persons from many faith backgrounds in all fifty states. Since the early 1980, this unique training method has spread to 17 countries and fed a growing hunger for deeper personal spiritual development.

In 1998 while employed as a grief educator with a local hospice, the Sacred Art of Living Education and Retreat Center in Bend was born of inspiration for both Mary and Richard. It became obvious that on a national level, spiritual care was not being adequately met at this important time in the life cycle. So, the Groveses once again stirred up their creative imaginations and took on a massive job on with delight. Since the birth of Sacred Art of Living Center and its core program, The Sacred Art of Living & Dying, thousands of people have been touched by this series of workshops that not only shares the tools to diagnose, treat and transform spiritual pain, but inspires courage to embrace all of life's transitions, including the end-of-life, with grace and vigor.

"I believe in the importance of integrating spirituality into every dimension of human activity," she said. Perhaps Mary was most known to her many students for her extraordinary talent in creating sacred environments and ritual. Mary provided unique experiences with a capital "E."