After more than 27 years, Sister Mary Ann Conley is retired from St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Snohomish. The 80-year-old nun departed June 20 to return to her Franciscan order in California. Her ministry in Snohomish was mostly serving home-bound people. (Dan Bates / The Herald)

After more than 27 years, Sister Mary Ann Conley is retired from St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Snohomish. The 80-year-old nun departed June 20 to return to her Franciscan order in California. Her ministry in Snohomish was mostly serving home-bound people. (Dan Bates / The Herald)

Sister Mary Ann Conley retires from ministry after 27 years

SNOHOMISH — When Sister Mary Ann Conley arrived at St. Michael Catholic Church, the convent she moved into was a nearly century-old farmhouse. She learned her way around as part of her ministry. In 27 years of service to the church, she drove the area’s rural roads to help people who are homebound.

On Monday, Conley said goodbye to the Snohomish parish that for years was home. She is returning to her native California. She’ll live in Santa Maria, between San Francisco and Los Angeles, with other members of her Sisters of St. Francis order.

At 80, Conley is well past typical retirement age. Still, she expects to stay busy helping others at her new home, the Marian Convent, and the nearby St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Santa Maria.

“She is an ‘Energizer Bunny’ at 80 years old,” said Judy Bartelheimer, liturgical coordinator at St. Michael’s. While Conley’s primary ministry has been visiting homes and care facilities, Bartelheimer said the nun has been an active and spirited presence in the parish.

Bartelheimer said when her family’s Snohomish farm donated corn as part of a fundraiser, Conley was out in the fields as a picker. “She makes wine. She takes part in social activities,” Bartelheimer said. Conley’s return to her Franciscan order “is their gain and our loss,” Bartelheimer added.

Earlier this month, Conley reflected on her life of service.

One of five children, she grew up in the Wilmington area of Los Angeles. A nun who was her teacher at Saints Peter and Paul School in Wilmington “sensed I had a vocation,” Conley said. “I loved the sisters there.”

She was 18 when she entered the Mount Alverno Convent in Sierra Madre, California, near Pasadena, and 21 when she took final vows in 1957. “Next year will be my 60th Jubilee,” she said.

Before Vatican II brought changes to the Roman Catholic Church in the 1960s, she wore a brown wool habit. Today, the only outward sign that Conley is a nun is the Tau Cross pendant she wears. Resembling the Greek letter, it’s a symbol of the Franciscan order.

Before coming to Washington, Conley taught school for 20 years in California and Montana. She then taught religious education in Bothell for a time. In Snohomish, her mission evolved from teaching to bringing the church to people who can’t come to Mass in person.

She made regular visits to bring Holy Communion to people in their homes. “And I visited nursing homes,” she said. The Delta Rehabilitation Center, once known as the Snohomish Chalet, and Snohomish Health and Rehabilitation, long called Merry Haven, were regular stops.

“Usually I’ll say a prayer, read the Gospel for the coming Sunday, and share a few thoughts. I’ll give them Communion and bless them with holy water. For some, I just pray the ‘Our Father,’” Conley said. “It’s such an honor to have this ministry.”

She also has been a spiritual assistant to a Kirkland group of the Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order, known as Poverello. And she has taken part in Cursillo retreats at Camp Don Bosco in Carnation, where Catholics gather to deepen their faith.

That farmhouse convent Conley moved into at St. Michael’s has been gone for years. In 2001, when the Rev. Dick Ward was leader of the parish, the church raised money to build a new convent. Because Ward was then chaplain of Snohomish Fire District 4, the old house was used for a practice burn before a new convent home was built.

“I got to light the match,” said Conley, recalling that she wore protective gear and had mixed emotions watching the old house burn. Conley has lived in the new convent with only her cat Maya since another nun, Sister Pauline Risse, left the parish in 2014.

As Conley sees changes in the church, her faith endures. Last month, Pope Francis spoke of creating a commission to explore the possibility of women serving as deacons. Asked about a future when women might become church leaders, Conley said “I don’t want it for myself, but there are so many qualified women.”

“I just feel so blessed. God has been so good to me, and people have been so good to me,” she said.

In the church foyer recently, a banner expressed parishioners’ gratitude. They’d dipped their hands in paint and pressed them to the cloth. “Thank you Sister Mary Ann,” it said. At a goodbye party before her departure, the nun returned their thanks.

“I just said ‘My heart is full. You will have a place in my heart,’” Conley said. “Words can’t express how much I love everybody and will miss them.”

Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460; jmuhlstein@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

LifeWise local co-directors Darcie Hammer and Sarah Sweeny talk about what a typical classroom routine looks like on Monday, April 14, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett off-campus Bible program draws mixed reaction from parents

The weekly optional program, LifeWise Academy, takes children out of public school during the day for religious lessons.

Protesters line Broadway in Everett for Main Street USA rally

Thousands turn out to protest President Trump on Saturday in Everett, joining hundreds of other towns and cities.

An EcoRemedy employee checks a control panel of their equipment at the Edmonds Wastewater Treatment Plant on Thursday, April 17, 2025 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Edmonds launches technology to destroy PFAS

Edmonds is the first city in the country to implement… Continue reading

Over a dozen parents and some Snohomish School District students gather outside of the district office to protest and discuss safety concerns after an incident with a student at Machias Elementary School on Friday, April 18, 2025 in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Parents protest handling of alleged weapon incident at Machias Elementary

Families say district failed to communicate clearly; some have kept kids home for weeks.

Irene Pfister, left, holds a sign reading “Justice for Jonathan” next to another protester with a sign that says “Major Crimes Needs to Investigate,” during a call to action Saturday, April 12, 2025, in Arlington. (Aspen Anderson / The Herald)
Arlington community rallies, a family waits for news on missing man

Family and neighbors say more can be done in the search for Jonathan Hoang. The sheriff’s office says all leads are being pursued.

Mary Ann Karber, 101, spins the wheel during Wheel of Forunte at Washington Oakes on Tuesday, April 1, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lunch and Wheel of Fortune with some Everett swinging seniors

She’s 101 and he’s 76. At Washington Oakes, fun and friendship are on the menu.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s FIRST Robotics Competition championship robotics Team 2910 Jack in the Bot on Thursday, April 24, 2025 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek robotics team celebrates world championship win

The team — known as “Jack in the Bot” — came in first place above about 600 others at a Texas world championship event last week.

The Washington state Capitol on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)
Parental rights overhaul gains final approval in WA Legislature

The bill was among the most controversial of this year’s session.

Snohomish firefighters appeal vaccine suspensions to Ninth Circuit

Despite lower court’s decision, eight men maintain their department did not properly accommodate their religious beliefs during COVID.

A rental sign seen in Everett. Saturday, May 23, 2020 (Sue Misao / Herald file)
Compromise reached on Washington bill to cap rent increases

Under a version released Thursday, rent hikes would be limited to 7% plus inflation, or 10%, whichever is lower.

A Mitsubishi Electric heat pump is installed on the wall of a home on Sep. 7, 2023, near Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Kicking Gas urges households to get in line for subsidies while funds last

The climate justice group has enough funding to aid 80 households with making the transition to heat pumps and electric ranges

Everett Fire Department’s color guard Jozef Mendoza, left, and Grady Persons, right, parade the colors at the end of the ceremony on Worker’s Memorial Day on Wednesday, April 23, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County officials honor Worker’s Memorial Day

Work-related injuries kill thousands of people nationwide every year.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.