A funeral Mass was offered Sept. 1 at The Villa, the Religious Sisters of Mercy’s retirement home in Towson, for Sister Marian Millard, R.S.M., 86, who died of heart failure Aug. 29.
Born Louise Olive Millard on July 9, 1921 in Columbus, Ga., she was a daughter of the late Catherine (Stiles) and David Henry Millard. She entered the Mercy community at Mount St. Agnes in 1941 and received the name Sister Marian. She professed her final vows on Aug. 16, 1946.
Sister Marian earned a bachelor’s in education from Mt. St. Agnes College in 1963 and her M.Ed. in reading from Loyola College in Maryland, Baltimore, in 1972.
Her primary ministry was in elementary education. She taught at Mt. Washington Country School, Baltimore (1944-47); St. Cecilia School, Baltimore (1950-51); and Holy Family, Randallstown (1961-65). She then served as principal and teacher at St. Peter, Baltimore (1965-66); and principal at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Baltimore (1968-71) and finishing her teaching days at Mt. Washington Country School, where she had begun (1971-84).
She also taught in schools in Georgia and Florida.
Moving into health care, Sister Marian served as a secretary at Stella Maris, Timonium (1984-87); admissions clerk at Mercy Medical Center (1987-98) and volunteered at Mercy until her move to The Villa in 2003.
Sister Marian is survived by a cousin, Mary McCollum of Baltimore; two nieces, Pat Farrow of Dover, Del., and Pat Lancaster of Linthicum; and numerous second cousins.