“Petite, soft spoken, and it should be said — beautiful.”
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These are among the memories offered by Dan Smith of Sister Nancy Ulrich, who passed away unexpectedly in February of this year at the Sacred Heart home in Milwaukee.
Sister Nancy was approaching her 70th anniversary as a School Sister of St. Francis, and Smith was one of over 1,000 young people to have been one of her students at Our Lady of Good Counsel School in Aurora.
Sister Nancy entered the convent in 1956, and arrived in Aurora in 1971 after serving nine years in other towns and schools. She taught in the upper grades of the Aurora school for 24 years, and ascended to become its principal from 1995-98.
Primarily for health reasons, she left Aurora in 2021 to reside at the Franciscan Sisters’ facility in Milwaukee. But her legacy has continued to live on in Aurora since her departure, primarily in the memories of her former students.
Sister Nancy’s students went on to become physicians, attorneys, inventors, entrepreneurs, teachers, elected officials and hundreds of successful and productive citizens. But they don’t remember her as a grandiose or flamboyant teacher – in fact, quite the opposite is true.
I contacted Dan Smith, a retired attorney who is now an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame Law School, and Mike Saltijeral, a Marine Corps war veteran and president and CEO of his own successful company. Both were Sister Nancy’s students long ago, and with their permission, I share some memories of their beloved teacher.
“Sister Nancy controlled our sometimes rowdy class not by raising her voice, but by lowering it,” Smith said. “She was quietly, unfailingly stern and serious when teaching the group, yet gentle and forgiving one-on-one. Only as an adult did I see her sharp wit and love of laughter. My classmates and I remain eternally grateful to her.
“What did Sister Nancy grasp at? Poverty, chastity, obedience,” he said. “But the Sisters were nobody’s victims. They knew their vows and their values did not make them weak. It made them strong. They touched thousands of lives, and improved them immeasurably, including mine.”
Saltijeral had previously written a memoir which he entitled “The Summer of 1981.” It was his personal tribute to Sister Nancy, and he shared the following portions with me.
“In the summer of 1981, I was facing the possibility of having to repeat seventh grade. My parents met with Sister Nancy and asked, ‘Is there anything we can do so Mike doesn’t have to repeat seventh grade?’ Sister told them that it would require me to give up my summer and allow her to tutor me, and I agreed to do it,” Saltijeral said in the memoir.
“Sister Nancy patiently worked with me, and recognized that I showed signs of dyslexia,” he said in the memoir. “But she never treated me as though I were not intelligent. She never made me feel broken, incapable or less than anyone else. Instead, she took the time to discover how I learned. With her help, I successfully completed the work and was able to move forward.
“For most of my life, I looked at it as the summer that I gave up. But now I realize that I had the story wrong. Sister Nancy gave up her summer for me,” he said in the memoir. “She gave me her patience, knowledge, encouragement, and most importantly, her belief in me.
“Sister did much more than help me pass the seventh grade. She changed the direction of my life. Truly great teachers help us understand ourselves. They recognize the gifts hidden inside us before we can recognize them on our own. Sister Nancy was that kind of teacher.
“Today I understand that Sister Nancy gave up her summer to help give me a future. That was her gift to me, and it’s a gift I will carry for the rest of my life,” he said in the memoir. “May you rest in God’s eternal peace, Sister Nancy.”
Sister’s passing was unexpected, and I recently talked with Sister Leema Rose, who was one of her caregivers near the end of her life. Sister Leema Rose spoke of the humble and loving person that we all knew Sister Nancy to be.
“Sister Nancy loved each one of us who were taking care of her. She always had a smile,” she said. “She liked to have a Rosary and a flashlight in her hands as she retired each night.
“She always said to let other Sisters be cared for first, and that she would wait. We didn’t expect that she would pass away so soon, but I think she was prepared,” she said. “But she had wanted to celebrate her 70th year jubilee as a Sister in a few months … 70 years of religious life.”
I consider myself lucky to have known Sister Nancy since she arrived in Aurora in 1971. She was truly a humble, kind, loving and unforgettable soul. She brings to my mind the famous Margaret Mead quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
Long live the memory of Sister Nancy Ulrich. She was a thoughtful and committed servant of the Lord, of her students and of her fellow man. And she did her part to change the world.
Tom Strong is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
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