Sister Mary Sarah Goldbach
Born to earthly life: February 11, 1911
Religious profession: July 22, 1931
Entered eternal life: March 8, 2010
Rose Goldbach, daughter of Frank Goldbach and Mary Kreil Goldbach, grew up on a family farm near Marshfield, Wisconsin with four brothers and five sisters. It was a hard but happy life, removed from the distractions and attractions of the city.
As novice, Mary Sarah rhapsodized over farm life in her autobiography, describing the pleasures of walking to the woods to pick flowers in summer and skating on the crusted snow of the farm fields in winter.
Rose received her grade school education at St. Joseph School in Hewitt, Wisconsin. The School Sister of Notre Dame who assigned her students a composition at year’s end, set Rose’s vocation in motion. Sister had told the eighth graders to write, “What I Will Do After Leaving School.” Shortly afterwards she confronted Rose and asked, “Did you really mean what you wrote?” Rose’s “yes” led the sister superior to act promptly. Together they met with her mother to discuss plans.
But Mary knew her husband’s reluctance to surrender Rose. As a result, Rose agreed to stay home for a year. Often she discussed her father’s attitude with her mother, who would counsel, “Rose, if God wants you to be a sister, you will be one.” Mr. Goldbach withheld his permission until Rose left for the Milwaukee Motherhouse Juniorate in 1926 to take up her high school studies.
The schema for Rose’s life was typical of that era. For the next decade it was college courses as candidate and out to teach as second year candidate. (Rose took on fourth graders of St. Joseph, Appleton, Wisconsin, at age 17!) Then she went back to the Motherhouse to be received as Novice Mary Sarah. (She described the enclosure as “our dear Nazareth.”) As a second year novice she was sent to St. Joseph, Milwaukee, and then back to the Motherhouse for first vows in July 1931.
Thereafter, the dual task of acquiring degrees and teaching school followed. Sarah spent 15 summers taking education and general science classes at Mount Mary College to earn her B.S.! Marquette University granted her a Master of Education degree in 1957.
Diplomas in hand, Sister Sarah gave herself to teaching at the elementary and secondary levels in Michigan and Wisconsin. A significant change in occupation came in 1977, when she was appointed bursar at Notre Dame Health Care Center.
At age 99, after 20 years of retirement, Sarah finished her life of simplicity, dutifulness, and lightheartedness – no small gifts to present to her loving God!
– Francele Sherburne, SSND
Sister Mary Sarah professed her first vows in 1931. She served as a teacher for almost 50 years.
Her ministry locations included:
- St. Joseph, Appleton, Wis.
- St. Joseph, Milwaukee, Wis.
- Holy Name, Sheboygan, Wis.
- Our Lady of Lourdes, Marinette, Wis.
- St. Mary, Port Washington, Wis.
- St. Anthony, Detroit, Mich.
- Messmer High School, Milwaukee, Wis.
- Notre Dame High School, Milwaukee, Wis.
- West Catholic High School, Grand Rapids, Mich.
- St. Mary, Burlington, Wis.
- Notre Dame of Elm Grove, Elm Grove, Wis.
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