Sister Anita Whitely called to new life
Former educator, leader inspired
others by sharing her cancer journey

When Sister Anita Whitely’s four-year term in congregational leadership ended in June 2008, she anticipated a new ministry at St. Anselm Parish where she would be working with her sister, Ursuline Sister Ann Whitely. Those plans were abruptly altered with a cancer diagnosis and a subsequent yearlong journey in palliative care. Sister Anita died early Sunday morning, Aug. 9, with her sister at her bedside in the Ursulines’ Saint Angela Center where she had been in residence since October. She was 67.

Her funeral Mass will be celebrated at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11, in the Chapel of the Most Holy Trinity at the Ursuline Educational Center (Motherhouse) in Pepper Pike. Friends may pay their respects prior to the funeral, from 3 until 6:45 p.m. Friends and family will gather at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Saint Angela Center Chapel for a brief prayer. Interment will follow at All Souls Cemetery.

The former Mary Margaret Whitely was born Jan. 18, 1942, in Cleveland, the daughter of the late Philip and Susan Whitely. She grew up in the Collinwood area and attended Ursuline Academy of the Sacred Heart in East Cleveland. She joined the Ursuline community from Collinwood’s St. Joseph Parish Sept. 8, 1960, and professed final vows on Aug. 13, 1968. Sister Anita earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. John College. She also received training and certification in conflict resolution/alternatives to violence and Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE).

Her ministry career spanned 42 years and multiple arenas. She served in elementary education for 27 years, before turning her focus to teaching Alternatives to Violence and Mediation in selected urban schools of the diocese. She also served in the Diocesan Office of Catholic Education, the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution. Before being elected to a congregational leadership position in 2004, Sister Anita served in pastoral care at St. Vincent Home, a facility for troubled youth, in Fall River, Mass. She also served in the community’s formation program.

Hoping her experience coping with cancer might be helpful to others living with terminal illness and facing all the attendant decisions, Sister Anita decided to chronicle her journey. The result is a six-part series, A Journey with Cancer: The Palliative Road, posted at the bottom left of the home page of ursulinesisters.org. Family, friends, health care professionals and other readers have been touched by her insightful and often humorous reflections on her experience. In addition, her work has been incorporated into clinical pastoral education programs in various parts of the country.

Sister Anita’s teaching assignments included tenures at St. Mary Magdalene, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Joseph (Collinwood), Immaculate Conception (Willoughby), St. William and St. Ann schools, as well as Christ the King School where she also served three years as principal.

Sister Anita is survived by sisters Phyllis Balazs (Steve), Sister Ann Whitely, OSU, and Agnes Kost; brothers James (Mary), John (Mary Ann) and Kevin (Kathy), and many nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her sister, Patricia Lorig.

She will be remembered for her warm and engaging spirit, easy laughter and passion for life. She was a woman of great faith and courage, an outstanding educator and motivator, a tireless advocate for peace and justice and a loving family member, friend and Ursuline Sister. 

Donations in Sister Anita’s memory may be made to the Ursuline Sisters’ Ministry Fund.