In Memoriam
Sister Mary Beaton
Sat, Nov 18th, 2023
Sister Mary Beaton, formerly Sister David Marie, 91, a Sister of St. Martha, Antigonish, died at Mary’s Court, Parkland, Antigonish, on Saturday, November 18th, in the 69th year of her Religious Life.
Born in Scotch Lake, Nova Scotia, Sister Mary was the daughter of the late Neil and Isabel (Gouthro) Beaton.
Sister Mary entered the Sisters of St. Martha on August 15, 1952. She pronounced her First Vows on August 15, 1954, and her Perpetual Vows on August 15, 1957.
Sr. Mary began her life in ministry on the Bethany Farm and working in the Bethany kitchen. Both would be hallmarks of her Martha life, down to earth and practical, with homemaking at the core. In Nova Scotia, Sr. Mary was missioned to St. Andrew’s; East Bay, Cape Breton; St. Martha’s Hospital, Antigonish; Villa Madonna, Bras d’Or, Cape Breton; Bethany, Antigonish; Sydney, Cape Breton; Sydney Mines, Cape Breton. She also served in Lethbridge, Alberta, and St. Augustine’s Seminary, Toronto, Ontario. She took great pride in serving as homemaker for the Bishop of Antigonish, as well as the Priests and Seminarians at St. Augustine’s. In her later life she served as sacristan at Bethany, and in the first year following the move to Parkland. Gospel Hospitality was evident in the ways in which she cared for all those whom she served.
Sr. Mary was a wise and prayerful woman who had the courage to speak out when she felt that there was an injustice. Her service to her Martha sisters was rooted in love and she was called to leadership roles in local communities. She was grateful to anyone who reached out to her, and she in turn reached out to others. Her family meant the world to her.
Besides her parents, she was predeceased by six sisters, Sister Florence Beaton, CSM, Mary Florence, Ann, Margaret, Katherine, and Mary Sarah and three brothers, Duncan, Angus, and Martin. Sister Mary is survived by sister, Sr. Elizabeth Beaton, CSM and brother David as well as several much-loved nieces and nephews and their families.
