Sisters of Providence honor those
who support their mission

The Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods presented several awards during the annual Mother Theodore Guérin Dinner on June 4.

The dinner, named after the foundress of the congregation, is an opportunity for members of the congregation to show their gratitude for the support offered by their donors and friends.

Dorothy and Charles Stuart of Indianapolis received the Queen Amelia Award, which honors those who have made significant contributions to the congregation and who have been influential in informing others of its life and mission.

Dorothy Stuart is an alumnae of the Providence Aspirancy, and she and her husband have responded often over the years to the need to support the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, the ministry fund, the education fund, the building of Providence Center, the retirement fund and Mother Theodore Hall, a new health-care facility.

The award is named for Queen Amelia of France, the wife of King Louis Philippe, who was a major donor for the young congregation in the United States in the mid-1800s.

David Milroy of Columbus received the Sarah and Joseph Thralls Award, which honors those who have made significant contributions of time, talent or gifts-in-kind to the congregation.

Milroy has served for 14 years on the congregation’s Investment Advisory Council and volunteered to develop a formula for determining how well its investment managers are performing.

The award is named for the pioneer family that offered hospitality by way of a primitive cabin in a dense forest to Mother Theodore and her companions upon their arrival at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1840.

The congregation also added five new members to its “Rooted in Providence” plaque, an honor for major donors to the Sisters of Providence.

Those honorees were Robert and Isabell Gallagher of Ithaca, Ill.; Josephine Golding and her late husband, Syd, of West Terre Haute; Lilly Endowment Inc.; The James P. and Genevieve M. McLaughlin Family Foundation of San Mateo, Calif.; and George and Marilyn Paige of Benecia, Calif.

The Sisters of Providence, a congregation of nearly 500 women religious, minister in 20 states, the District of Columbia, Taiwan and China. †