Sister Marilyn Ingraham

Current Ministry Location: Maryknoll Sisters Center – Maryknoll, NY

Sister Marilyn was born in Palm Beach, FL on June 8th, 1926 to Gertrude Ingraham and Frederick Ingraham; she had one sister. Sister Marilyn graduated from Cheverus High School in Malden, MA in 1944 and then entered the Congregation at the Maryknoll Sisters Novitiate September 6th, 1944 at the Venard (a farmhouse in Pennsylvania where the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers operated a junior seminary).  There, she and other Maryknoll Sisters helped out by cooking and cleaning for the seminarians. In 1945, Sister Marilyn earned a diploma from the Wyndham Business School. She pronounced First Vows March 7th, 1950. Later, Sister Marilyn moved to the Maryknoll Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY. During her time there, she studied at Rogers College earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education in 1953.

Sister Marilyn pronounced Final Vows at the Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY on March 7th, 1953. For the next two years, she taught first and second grade children in St. Louis, MO.

Then, in 1954, her assignment to foreign mission came. She was headed to South America, where she taught elementary school children in Peru from 1959-1969, then taught developmentally disabled children in Bolivia from 1969-1970.

Sister Marilyn returned to the United States, teaching in Hatch, NM from 1972-1973, in San Diego, CA, from 1973-1974, and in Brockton, MA, from 1974-1984. During this time, she attended Boston College, Boston, MA earning an MA in Special Education.

She then returned to Bolivia where she served as coordinator of Casa Rosario, the Maryknoll Sisters House, for one summer. In 1992, she was assigned again to the United States and taught in the Providence, RI, public schools.  Later, she taught and tutored Hispanic children at Holy Trinity Parish, Brooklyn, NY from 1992-1997. In addition, from time to time she helped students with their immigration problems.

Sister Marilyn retired in 2001. She participates in the Maryknoll Affiliates NYC Subway group. She also dabbles in watercolor painting and volunteers at the Sisters Center, Maryknoll, NY she is also driven by a long-held commitment to peace and justice and writes letters to Congress regarding social justice issues.