Sr. Stella Marie Zahner retires

Intermountain Catholic

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Sister Stella Marie Zahner

BOUNTIFUL — Daughter of Charity Sister Stella Marie Zahner retired from her position in the Diocese of Salt Lake City as associate director of the Special Needs Program at the end of February, but will remain in ministry as a sister.

"We never leave our ministry," said Sr. Stella Marie. "As a Daughter of Charity I will still be available to listen to people who may be having problems and offer some advice, and lift their spirits, because at my age, people feel safe in talking to me about things in their lives. I will be involved with the Ladies of Charity with Sister Germaine."

Daughter of Charity Sister Germaine Sarrazin is the Saint Olaf Ladies of Charity chapter sister moderator.

"I am free to go back and see kids in the schools because I’m sure the principals would really like that," Sr. Stella Marie continued. "I can’t go to the schools on a daily basis due to my health and the weather and that’s why I decided to retire."

Sr. Stella started the Special Needs program 18 years ago and served as the director until 2012 when Holy Cross Sister Karla McKinney took over as director. The Special Needs Program works with low-income families in need of tuition assistance. The students are referred to the program by principals or pastors; families are interviewed for financial information and allotted funds based on their needs.

In 1995, Monsignor J. Terrence Fitzgerald, now vicar general emeritus, asked Sr. Stella Marie to coordinate the Special Needs Program.

"It was a wonderful experience," she said. "Having witnessed the struggles and trials of the working poor, I have been able to dispel many myths. Ninety-nine percent of the people I worked with were the working poor, and lately I was working with refugees from Africa. If they receive an education and can go to college, then they can change their lives and get out of the cycle of poverty. We now have almost 400 kids in the program."

Msgr. Fitzgerald has known Sr. Stella Marie since she came to Utah in 1961 to teach at Notre Dame de Lourdes School in Price.

"During all those years I have known Sr. Stella Marie, she is one of the most dedicated, focused and hard-working religious women," Msgr. Fitzgerald said. "She was the pioneer of the Special Needs Program to assist poor children to attend Catholic schools in Utah. Her legacy is extremely beneficial for the diocese and the future will build on that. Many young people are grateful to her, as is the diocese for all of her generous work."

He added, "Sr. Stella Marie is very committed to the education of the poor, especially of minorities and she has worked all her life in that regard, willing to spend her time putting together resources to assist them."

Sr. Stella Marie made her final vows in 1957 and came to Utah from Marillac College in St. Louis to teach fourth and fifth grade at Notre Dame de Lourdes School. She knew she wanted to be a teacher from the time she attended a one-room school house with her older brothers and sisters; she is the youngest of nine children. She attended a Catholic junior high and high school run by Daughters of Charity.

"The idea of being a religious evolved over the years," she said. "I was impressed that the sisters were teachers, but also that they assisted the poor. I saw a joy among them and decided I wanted to teach and help people as a religious."

In 1971, Sr. Stella Marie was sent to Phoenix, Ariz., to teach. She returned to Utah in 1976 to teach fifth grade for four years at Saint Olaf School in Bountiful, where she also taught eighth grade for four years before becoming the principal. She had been principal there for 11 years in 1995, when the Daughters of Charity withdrew from the school.