Sister M. Daniel Frailey, CSC
(February 14, 1911 - December 1, 2010)
Please, join in prayer of thanksgiving for this Sister of the Holy Cross who died on December 1, 2010 in Saint Mary's Convent.
Word has been received of the death of Sister M. Daniel (Frailey) who died at 2:55 a.m. on Wednesday, December 1, 2010, in Saint Mary’s Convent, Notre Dame, Indiana.
Sister Daniel was proud of her Dutch and German heritage, and her strong character and physical stamina were obvious products of what she called “good genes.” Forty-five years of successfully teaching youngsters in junior high schools of the East certainly attest to her stamina. The arts and crafts she also taught illustrated her creativity and ability to capture the attention of children of all ages.
She used this special talent not only in the formal education setting but also to provide meaningful activities to youngsters at summer camp. To quote from her biography: “For many summers I taught arts and crafts at Camp Merryelande, in the loblolly pines of Southern Maryland. During the war years especially, when both parents in a family worked or where the father was in the service and the mother in the workforce, the camp was a welcome and safe place for families to send their daughters for summer vacations. The campers had a wonderful time with the water sports and arts and crafts.” Sister Daniel’s talents were always welcome because she engaged the youngsters in effective learning activities that they enjoyed.
After 45 years of teaching she turned to parish ministry in Louisiana where she visited the homebound and worked with the poor in the Emergency Aid Center in Franklin, Louisiana, plus being the eucharistic minister in two hospitals. During those 10 years she was a welcome member of the local community of Marianite sisters.
At age 77, this wiry religious joined Sister Barbara Korem and Sister Theresa Jane Bellner in Raymondville, Texas, where she worked in what she called a “support” position helping with the services to the poor that had become so much a part of her ministry life in Holy Cross.
At the age of 87, she went to Saint Catherine’s in Ventura, California, where to quote her, she could live “a less strenuous schedule.” Sister Daniel was feisty even to her last days at Saint Mary’s, where she had a ready answer for every occasion and could make others laugh at her dry sense of humor.
One serious side of Sister Daniel was her love of the Eucharist. Anyone taking Communion to the sisters in the convent would find an eager recipient in Sister waiting with her two fingers poised and upraised to receive the Blessed Sacrament -- she always responded with a resounding, “Amen.” She is now face-to-face with the Lord she loved. May she rest in peace.